It was the McClave girls 400 relay team that brought back gold from this year's State Track Meet held this past weekend at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo.

    The team of Brittney Dickerson, Jerrica Mallard, Alisha Pettitt, and Ashley Tague went into the Saturday final with the top time  from Friday's preliminary round and they made that hold up on Saturday.

     They blasted the competition winning the gold medal on Saturday by nearly a second. They broke their own school record with a time of 50.92, set last year.

    A happy Brianne Howe, McClave head track coach, was all
 smiles after the race:

    "I just can't believe how far they beat the competition. I expected a very close race, but they just put it all together  today. I am just so excited for them."

    The boys finished tied for seventh in team competition, placing in all four of the events they wer entered in, while the girls placed 11th in team competition, placing in three of the four events they were entered in.

    The top individual for McClave at state was senior Gage Coen. Coen finished second in both the 100 and 200, just nipped at the line by Simla's Jake Toney in both races. Coen ran his best times of the season, lowering his school record in the 200 in the process. He broke 11 seconds for the first time in his career in the 100, running a 10.99 for his second place medal. That 10.99 was just off the school record of 10.9 by Ryan Platt.

    Jerrica Mallard was the only other individual running over the weekend for McClave and she brought back a third place medal in  the 100 hurdles. Mallard also broke her own school record in the hurdles in the process.

    Mallard failed to qualify for the finals in the 100, as13 girls broke the 13 second mark in the 100 qualifying times on Friday.

    The McClave girls' 800 relay, defending state champions in the event, brought home a second place medal. Lyons, the state team champions this year, blitzed the field, winning the relay by over a second. It was two strong final legs by Dickerson and Mallard that got McClave into second. Mallard passed an Akron runner about 15 yards from the finish line to help grab the silver medal for the event.

    Both of the McClave boys' relays were plagued by bad handoffs in their attempt to get into the top three in the 400 and 800 relays. Both teams went into Saturday's final with top three times from the Friday preliminaries, but poor handoffs negated their efforts in the finals.

     The 800 relay team of Coen, Blayze Melgoza, Darron Williams, and Ethan Williams finished fifth, while Coen, the Williams' brothers, and Ryan Geisinger, the 400 team, took home a sixth place medal in the finals.

    "We had a very, very good day," Howe commented after the meet's conclusion. "We had the problem with handoffs all year with our boys' relays and that came back to haunt us today. I wish they could have finished a little higher. They were certainly capable of it.     “Our two girl relays were just outstanding. The 400 relay was a good way for them to conclude their year.

    “Gage (Coen) just had an incredible day. The boy from  Simla was an outstanding runner, but Gage ran his best times of the season today. Second in both of those events is just a wonderful  accomplishment."