Nucla Elementary School Principal Sara Bray, who is also the head high school track coach, told the Forum there are many returning athletes on the track team this year, but also some new ones too. Official practice started Feb. 24, but the majority of the team didn't join until after regional basketball was over on March 8. Competing are Destiny Bilazzo, Amber Bockrath, Ayva Davis, Brenna Morlang, Charlie Mull, Cadence Shaw, Kieley Shepardson, Jacque Tapia, Sydney Tomlinson, Jocelyn Vose, Viviana Zunich, Cole Bray, Uriah Cook, Jacob Davis, Austin Garvey, Drake Long, Josh Platt, Brycen Rummel, Daniel Zunich, Owen Tackett, Bryce Trosper and Josh Turner.
“I definitely notice that as our middle school program grows under Ms. (Megan) Urban’s coaching, our high school program grows as well,” Bray told the Forum over the weekend.
Again, Norwood and Nucla are combined for track season, and this is the fourth year of doing so.
The Mustangs are thriving in many events. Bray said Drake Long and Austin Garvey are excelling at high jump; Cadence Shaw is doing well with the mile and the two-mile races. Kieley Shepardson is trying long jump for the first time “and continues to get better and better.” Bray said the girls’ 4x8 relay team is currently qualified for the state track meet — that’s Kieley Shepardson, Sydney Tomlinson, Amber Bockrath and Cadence Shaw.
And, many are setting personal records (PRs).
“These athletes seem to improve almost every week in so many things,” Bray said. “Cadence had a huge PR in both the mile and two-mile recently. She is currently qualified for state in the mile, the two-mile and the 4x8 relay. Drake and Austin are qualified in high jump as well.”
Student athletes are traveling all over the Western Slope for track meets.
“Seeing as how our closest track is two hours away, we spend a lot of early mornings and late evenings traveling on a bus to and from our meets,” Bray said.
The season ends at the state championship track meet in Lakewood the weekend of May 15-17. That means there is still time to reach set goals.
“The 4x8 team, including one new member, is trying to return to the state championships,” Bray said. “Overall, we were very excited to have (seven) boys from the baseball team join track, and that made it possible for some boy relay teams as well. We have continued to grow in numbers and that helps bring both healthy competition to the team, as well as more event opportunities.”
Bray is assisted this year by two new assistants. Rachel McNeil, Colt Care's new infant teacher, is the throwing coach, bringing her experience as a former college-level thrower. Keoni Souza, Nucla’s new kindergarten teacher, brought new life to the high jump team with his previous experience, as well as helping start a triple-jumping program for the first time.
Bray said she’s grateful for her time in the track program and the way it’s evolving.
“As I head into my fifth year of coaching high school track, I have the pleasure of working with students from their freshman year to their senior year,” she said. “I absolutely love watching the growth of these athletes, and it's always amazing to see their passion, work ethic and success grow as they mature on the track. I am also extremely grateful to have Coach Rachel and Coach Keoni's help this year. For the last four years, I've done my best to coach all events, which sometimes meant learning how to even coach an event. The experience and expertise Rachel and Keoni bring has been a wonderful blessing to me and, most importantly, our athletes.”
