Senior Heather Calandra and the Mingus Union High School 4×800 relay team struck gold as the Marauders girls track team won its third straight Division III state title Saturday, May 10.
Sophomores Megan Goettl and Rachel Valentine joined seniors Monica Soliz and Justine Taylor in running the 800-meter relay in just over nine minutes, 48½ seconds — a new school record for the third consecutive year — to finish first and propel MUHS to a state title win by 15 points.
“It is kind of surreal,” said head coach Yancey DeVore. “It seemed closer at the time. After the 3,200-meter race, we were a little nervous, because the girls 4×400 didn’t score.”
But the Marauders could relax, as Calandra had already got a silver medal in discus with a throw of 107 feet, 2 inches, with Goettl finishing second in the 1,600-meter competition and Taylor running the 400 meters in under a minute to take the bronze and round out the Marauders medalists.
“I still feel like it hasn’t happened yet,” Calandra said. “I mean, who would have believed when we entered high school as freshmen that we would be three-time state champs?”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, May 14, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
