Shorthanded because it was the start of spring break, Middle Park High’s track and field team was still able last weekend to turn in some excellent results, including setting some new school records.

Traveling to Gypsum on Saturday, April 5, the Panthers competed in the Eagle Valley Invitational against 20 other teams from the 2A through 4A divisions. More than 600 athletes ran, jumped and threw during the day-long competition.

In the team results, Middle Park’s girls placed 10th while the Panther boys took 14th place.

While these results could be described as “middle of the pack,” they were essentially earned by the efforts a small number of Panther athletes who made not just good, but spectacular performances against a large field of athletes from teams with full rosters last Saturday.

Leading these outstanding results was Panther freshman Samantha Berggren, who turned in her first performances of the season with the track team. The star of last fall’s cross country team and the 2007 state runner-up, she demonstrated that her sprinting abilities are also top rate by winning two races in Saturday’s meet as well as setting two new school records while doing it.

Berggren’s first victory at the Eagle Valley Invitational was in the girls 200-meter dash. She sprinted the distance in a time of 25.61 seconds, which shattered Middle Park High’s previous school record of 26.02 seconds set in 1990.

Maintaining the momentum from that win, Berggren then earned a second victory in the girls 400-meter dash. She flew down the track in a time of 57.10, which blew away the old school record by an incredible 2.23 seconds.

“That was phenomenal,” said Middle Park’s assistant coach Jim “Cajun” Courville. “Hopefully, these are the first of many records to fall this season.”

Also winning a first place at Gypsum was the Panthers’ Jacqueline Thomas in the girls pole vault. She went over the bar at 9 feet, 6 inches.

“Jacqueline also made three good attempts at 10 feet, which would have set a new school record,” Courville said. “As it was, her pole vault of 9 feet, 6 inches was a personal best.”

A second-place finish was earned by Panther junior Mike Schmidt in the boys discus. He threw for 136 feet, 6 inches.

“It was not quite a personal best for Mike, but it was close,” Courville said.

In the Eagle Valley Invitational’s relay events, Middle Park picked up a couple of placings.

The Panther girls team of Melissa Plum, Jessica Gleisberg, Jacqueline Thomas and Kelly Little raced to a fifth- place finish in the 4 x 400-meter relay with a time of 5:02.08.

An eighth-place finish was made in the boys 4 x 800-meter relay by the Middle Park team of Justin Cisneros, Jared Cooper, Connor Nicklas and Matt Naschak who ran it in 9:56.35.

After this week’s spring break, Middle Park High’s track and field team will return to action on Tuesday, April 15. The Panthers will be competing in the Metro League Relays at Holy Family High School near Broomfield. The first event is at 3:45 p.m.