Cats, Lady Cats hope to build on first meet

Sports writer

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Longtime Clovis High boys track coach Darren Kelley admits he wasn’t expecting a second-place finish in the Wildcats’ season-opening meet last Friday, the Reagor Dykes Relays at Plainview.

link Staff photo: Tony Bullocks

Clovis High sophomore Jaci Sievers and juniors Brianna Casimer and Hayley Kidd, from left, work on their starts out of the blocks during practice on Thursday at Leon Williams Stadium. CHS squads are slated to compete today in their second meet of the season, the Lovington Relays.

“I was definitely pleased last week,” said Kelley, entering his 16th season at the helm. “We did better than I thought we’d do, especially for an early meet.”

Clovis squads are back in action today in the Lovington Invitational.

“It’ll be interesting,” Kelley said. “We’re young; we only have seven seniors on the roster.”

Kelley said among other things, the Cats are trying to put together a solid 1,600 relay team with sophomores Micah Gray and Sebastian Roanhaus and junior Tucker Dobbs back from last year’s quartet. All run the open 400 as well.

link Staff photo: Tony Bullocks

Clovis High freshmen Seth Lopez, left, and Austin Fuentes practice their relay handoffs during Thursday’s practice at Leon Williams Stadium.

“We want to be one of the top three teams in (Class 6A in) the mile relay by the end of the year,” Kelley said. “Our 4 x 2 (800 relay) should be decent for us.”

Senior Taylor Stratton leads a good group of hurdlers, Kelley said, while seniors Alejandro Perez and Tabor Stanfield lead the throwers.

The top distance runner is sophomore Harrison Rikel. Senior Kaine Bender, fourth in then- Class 5A pole vault last year, had hopes of making a run at the event at state but sustained a knee injury in football which may keep him out most of the season.

“Our goal is to get a trophy (top-three team finish at state),” Kelley said. “Realistically, we want to get a couple of our relays up on the awards stand.”

The Lady Wildcats, meantime, finished third in the four-school girls division under first-year coach Dawn Coleman. She said her squad will also be young.

“We have a lot of building and growing to do,” said Coleman, who teaches at the CHS freshman academy. “We didn’t run any relays (at Plainview) and I think we had one girl do triple jump.”

Sophomore Areanna King won the girls 200 at Plainview while freshman Kelsey McNaughton came in first in the 3,200. Jessica Sanchez (triple jump) and Brittany Reed (shot put) also posted wins.

Several of the girls are just coming back from basketball, including defending state shot put champion Shelby Jones. Junior Heather Pastirchak has back-to-back third-place state finishes in pole vault.

Coleman said she should get a more complete look at her squad today.

“My goals right now are for the team to get some experience,” she said. “I would like to see us win some meets this season, and I think we’re capable of that.”

Both teams are coming off fourth-place finishes in last year’s Class 5A state meet.

SCHEDULE

March

13 — Reagor Dykes Relays at Plainview; 20 — at Lovington Invitational; 27-28 — at Amarillo Relays.

April

2 — at Hereford Invitational; 10 — at Moriarty Invitational; 17 — Wildcat Relays; 24 — at Alamogordo qualifier; 28 —Pat Henry qualifier at Hobbs.

May

1 — Ross Black Relays at Lovington; 8 — District 4-6A meet at Alamogordo.