'Stangs' girls 2nd in 4A
Quality over quantity for Mullen as Agur Dwol and Kaleah-Mitchell Ruff lead a small, but productive contingent that won 3 events and was 2nd in 2 others at Jeffco Stadium; it was the final event in the very trying COVID-19 2020-21 school year.
LAKEWOOD – Do the math …
Mullen entered Thursday’s beginning of the three-day Colorado Track and Field Championships at Jefferson County Stadium with just seven girls qualifiers, yet won three events, placed second in two others and eighth in another against a Class 4A field that had dozens of teams with significantly higher enrollments.
Add it all up and the Mustangs finished second in 4A and turned in yet another top performance for a program that is tied for first in state annals in any class for most titles won (11).
“I call them the Magnificent 7,” Mullen girls head coach Caitlin Able said. “Technically, we only had five who ran and that’s crazy!
“We loaded up. They all had four events and they all went out and performed. They all had tired legs, but were still able to pull it off.”
On Saturday, Agur Dwol won her second consecutive triple-jump crown, leaping 40 feet, 9 inches. The junior, ranked No. 4 nationally, was hoping for more than 42 feet, but knows she’ll have additional opportunities next season.
”My form was really good,” she said. “I just couldn’t finish it and that’s on me. I feel good about winning and we did really well as a team.”
She also won the long jump on Thursday, going 18-11, and has a longer-term goal of 20 feet.
With the late schoolgirl season completed, Dwol also said she’s headed to the South Sudan this summer, her first-ever trip to meet her grandmother.
Mitchell-Ruff, a speedster, won the 100 in 12.03 seconds and turned in 24.82 for second in the 200, just .22 off the pace. She, too, craved a double-double.
“I’m pleased,” she said. “I’m happy with a good race. I could have finished my race a little harder and that’s the only reason (she finished runner-up in the 200). If you win, you win …”
In a season delayed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and after the previous season was cancelled, Mitchell-Ruff pointed to the Mustangs’ “quality over quantity” and “we came back, I (had personal records) in a lot of these meets. It was good.”
Mullen’s 800 relay team of Mitchell-Ruff, Dwol, Mikaela Henderson and Paige Lousberg was second and the same group was eighth in the 400.
“The girls came in very well prepared and exceeded any expectations we’ve had for them,” Mustangs girls assistant head coach Darius Reed said. “Our big thing was to go out and execute and have fun, and they’ve done a really good job of doing that.”
Niwot won the team race with 1a whopping 183 points. Mullen;s sewocnd palce totaled 48 points.
The Mullen staff is working on improving numbers for both genders and th girls’ high finish can only help.
Said Able: “This was a good stepping stone to show who Mullen is.”
TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Jefferson County Stadium Lakewood
Saturday’s Mullen results
Top Team Scores – 1. Niwot 153: 2. Mullen 48.
100 meters – 1. Kaleah Mitchell-Ruff, 12.03 seconds.
200 – 2. Kaleah Mitchell-Ruff, 24.83.
Triple jump –1. Agur Dwol, 40 feet, 9 inches.
400 relay – 8. Mikaela Henderson, Kaleah Mitchell-Ruff, Paige Lousberg, Agur Dwol, 51.48.
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