Norwood’s track and field team is something of an underdog — they have no home track to practice on, and their season is almost always shortened significantly because of weather. Most teams show up on buses, but the handful of Norwood athletes fits in a smaller vehicle. None of that, however, seemed to matter this season; after a great season, four of the Mavericks qualified to compete in the state championship this weekend in Pueblo.
Stryker Lane, Mollie Lane, Billy Fourney and Gabe Torres all earned a spot at state this weekend.
Stryker Lane, a junior, had prequalified to compete at state in both discus and shotput earlier this season, but that didn’t stop him from asserting himself at the regional qualifiers in Grand Junction last weekend. Lane took first place in both events, with a  148-foot, one inch throw of the discus and a 51-foot, one-half inch throw of the shot.
Mollie Lane, a sophomore, had prequalified to compete in the discus earlier in the season, but like her brother, she didn’t let up the pressure in Grand Junction. Lane threw the discus 118 feet, eight inches and took first place. Lane also qualified in the shotput this weekend, taking third at regionals with a throw of 33 feet, ten and one-quarter inches.
Junior Billy Fourney had a good showing in all his events, said Coach Jack Brier, and he qualified for state in the 300-meter hurdles. He finished first in the 300-meter hurdles, with a time of 42.18 seconds. He narrowly missed qualifying in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing fourth with a time of 17.89 seconds. He survived to the final round in the 100-meter dash, placing sixth with a time of 12.29 seconds.
Gabe Torres, a freshman, qualified for state in the mile. Torres moved into third place after another runner was disqualified, and he ran the 1600 meters in a speedy four minutes, 55 seconds. Brier said that Torres was suffering from a sore back when he competed in the 3200-meter event later, finishing seventh.
“He stayed with the top kids until the last couple of laps,” said Brier.
Sandy Royer made it to the final round in the 300-meter hurdles, coming in eighth place with a time of 56.15 seconds. She just missed qualifying in the discus, coming in fourth with a throw of 94 feet, three inches.
Ethan Alexander had a good showing in the 200-meter dash, and nearly had his best shotput of the year. Alexander threw the shot some 39 feet, but he scratched. He ended up with a throw of 35 feet, 11 and one-quarter inch. Alexander also threw the discus 100 feet, ten inches.
“It was a wonderful, excellent season overall,” said Coach Sheri Carr. “The weather was difficult for us, but the kids did very well.”
The state championship will be held in Pueblo, Colorado this Friday and Saturday.

Middle School track season ends on high note

If the middle school track and field results are any indicator, next season’s high school team can expect some great things.
The middle school finished up their season at a league meet last Thursday. The boys team took first place and the girls team took second. The girls were behind first-place rivals Dolores by just three points.
“It was close,” said Coach Jack Brier. “Overall, the boys ended up first in every running event, and our girls won most of their events. All in all, the middle school kids had a great season. I’m looking forward to them moving up to high school and having a full team.”