After competing in two meets in four days, the Scorpions track and field team returns home this weekend.
Up next for the Scorpions is the Sedona Invitational on Saturday, April 6.
Sedona is coming off a solid performance at the Copper Classic on Saturday, March 30.
Morgan Welch took second in pole vault at 6 feet 6 inches.
“Her jumping was just amazing on Saturday,” Sedona coach Harry Schneider said.
Sarah Frey won the pole vault at 6 feet 9 inches and recorded a 18.89 time in the 100-meter hurdles.
Eric Schrader took first in pole vault 12 feet 1 inch and set a new personal record in the 200 meters at 24.90 seconds.
Freshman Shota Yabuuchi had a stellar performance and recorded a 5:00.61-minute mile.
“On Saturday, we are making a big deal of him breaking the five-minute barrier,” Schneider said. “For a freshman to achieve that score is pretty nice.”
Schneider and the team are now heading toward their home meet.
With one month remaining in the season, what are the team’s goals?
We want to get as many kids as possible to qualify for state. We have had a lot of meets, so thankfully
we finally have had opportunities to practice. We have had a lot a shin injuries and that happens when kids put on spikes suddenly. Half the kids realized they can compete at a high level despite how banged up they are. A lot of our athletes have not qualified
for state yet, but are extremely close. Our pole vaulters are ranked tenth but every team will start putting their great teams together.
What are you most looking forward to?
I am excited about it now that the weather has finally picked up. Even though we have rested a couple of days this week, we can finally properly train for state. The athletes are still fairly sore from Saturday so we have started this week off slowly. The rest of the week should go well and then our meet is on Saturday. Both Emma and Dylan Beattie are banged up so it can be quite frustrating
as a coach. It is a big meet with 22 schools but hopefully our kids and parents help with the process. It can be difficult explaining to others that we need 30 volunteers to successfully run a track meet. Track is like a circus there are so many things going on at once, so it can be chaotic at times.
What will you be looking for on Saturday?
The meet is based a lot on the young kids. We are the only track meet in the state that does freshman and sophomore events along with varsity. A lot of the big meets are predominantly varsity, so it is for the younger players to realize their abilities. Sometimes they get a little intimidated but hopefully they are starting to get more acclimated to the competition. Now they are starting to accept that they have to perform well and they will.
Who excelled at the Copper Canyon Meet?
Our pole vaulters put on a great performance last week. Abby Stevenson won the long jump and Gabe DeLuz ran his best time in the 400. Cooper Canyon is not a great jumping place but she did well distance-wise. She beat over 20 other schools, so sometimes
the distance is there and the competition is what counts. That meet was very much a disaster, as they made seven mistakes in their results.
n Will the team have a light week to prepare?
They understand that we have had two comfortable days, so Wednesday and Thursday must be intense. We have four good meets coming up and I would say most of these schools are at our level. There is no team score on Saturday because the event emphasizes freshman and sophomores. Instead of attempting to score points, teams have to utilize players in their intended area.
How has the team dynamic been?
Excellent. This team has a great group of guys and girls. Most importantly, they all get along very well with each other during practice and events.
Schneider encourages volunteers to meet him by 9:30 a.m. on the morning of the event.
“We need help, especially from any willing adults,” Schneider said. “You do not need an adult to rake but you need their assistance in running the meet.”
“It is a state-qualifying event, so hopefully some kids can qualify in front of
