YOUR AD HERE »

Granby " Middle Park sends five athletes to state track championships

Will Bublitz
Sky-Hi Daily News
Byron Hetzler/Sky-Hi Daily News
ALL | Sky-Hi Daily News

All of Middle Park High’s athletes gave it their best at the regional track and field championships in Grand Junction last week, but only five made the cut and qualified for this week’s state meet.

The five Panthers who qualified and events they will be competing in at state are: Zach Peterson, boys 400-meter dash; Mike Schmidt, boys shot put and discus; Quincey Pedersen, girls high jump; Jacqueline Thomas, girls pole vault; and Samantha Berggren, girls 200-, 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter runs.

“We’re only taking five to state this year, but each one of them has a real chance to place,” said coach Christine Dubois-Miller. “None of them are shoe-ins or givens in their events, so they are going to have to really compete and give it their all. It’s going to be so exciting.”



Middle Park’s five athletes will be competing Friday and Saturday at the 2008 Colorado High School Track and Field Championships at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo. Friday’s competition is slated to begin at 9 a.m., while Saturday’s finals get under way at 10 a.m.

To earn their state qualifications, the five Panthers had to place in the top three of their events at the regional championships at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction on Friday and Saturday, May 9-10.



As she did at the district championships the previous week, Panther freshman Samantha Berggren swept to victory in all four of her events, winning regional championship titles in each.

In three of her events, Berggren broke the new school records that she had just set at the district championships. She won the regional title in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.77 seconds and the 400-meter dash in 56.38 seconds. Racing in the 1,600-meter run, she won it with a time of 4:12.37, almost three seconds faster than her district championship time.

In addition to breaking the school records she set just the previous week, Berggren also set a new school record in the 800-meter dash in a time of 2:14.23. She bettered her time in that event by shaving off an incredible 10 seconds from what she ran at the district meet.

Also winning a regional championship title was Panther junior Mike Schmidt who won the boys discus competition with a throw of 137 feet, 3 inches. In addition, he earned a third-place medal in the shot put with a toss of 42 feet, 10-1/4 inches.

Taking a runner-up finish at the regionals was Middle Park senior Zach Peterson, who sprinted the boys 400-meter dash in 52.88 seconds.

Panther senior Jacqueline Thomas took a second-place medal at the regionals in the girls pole vault by going over the bar at a height of 9 feet, 6 inches.

Earning a third-place medal in the girls high jump, Middle Park freshman Quincey Pedersen went over the bar at 5 feet, 1 inch.

In the team results at Grand Junction last weekend, the Panther girls took third place behind Gunnison and Hotchkiss in the 3A division’s regional competition.

Earning points toward the team’s third-place finish along with the above results by Berggren, Thomas and Pedersen, Middle Park’s girls posted the following results:

Fourth place ” Elsa Krieg, discus, 97 feet, 1 inch

Fourth place ” team of Jessica Gleisberg, Kelly Little, McCall Linke and Hannah Garcia, 4 x 800-meter relay, 11:46

Fifth place ” Lihla Clancy, pole vault, 7 feet

Fifth place ” Elsa Krieg, shot put, 31 feet, 8-3/4 inches

Fifth place ” Hannah Garcia, 3200-meter run, 14:24.60

Fifth place ” team of Amanda Lange, Melissa Plum, Cheyenne Hickox and Lihla Clancy, 800-meter medley, 2:08.31

Sixth place ” Melissa Plum, 400-meter dash, 1:08.79

Sixth place ” Cheyenne Hickox, 100-meter hurdles, 18.38 seconds

Sixth place ” team of Katie Mattfeld, Cheyenne Hickox, Lihla Clancy and Quincey Pedersen, 4 x 100-meter relay, 56.03 seconds

Seventh place ” Kelly Little, 3200-meter run, 14;30.73

Seventh place ” Cheyenne Hickox, high jump, 4 feet, 8 inches

Seventh place ” team of Amanda Lange, Melissa Plum, Jessica Gleisberg and Quincey Pedersen, 4 x 200-meter relay, 2:00.64.

In the boys’ competition at Grand Junction, Patrick Hutchins earned a fourth place in the pole vault by going over the bar at 9 feet, 6 inches.

A seventh place was taken by the Panther team of Marc Schmidt, Connor Nicklas, Simon Nicol and Zach Peterson, who sprinted the boys’ 4 x 100-meter relay in a time of 49.08 seconds.

Summing up the regional’s results, coach Dubois-Miller praised all of the team’s athletes.

“At the regionals, not all of our athletes qualified for state, but every one of them earned PRs (personal records),” she said. “You can’t ask more than that.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.

Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.

If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.