Ignacio High School track and field head coach Tony Kimball sees hosting the Abel Velasquez Invitational as the Bobcats doing their part.
“It’s always better to get good competition for our kids,” he said. “Your top kids need to see that competition before postseason play.”
IHS will welcome Bayfield, Dolores, Dove Creek, Durango, Lake City Community School, Mancos, Montezuma-Cortez, Nucla and Pagosa Springs for the 2014 edition.
It will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at Wolverine Country Stadium in Bayfield.
“Abel Velasquez was just an amazing person,” Kimball said. “It didn’t matter what color uniform you had on, the guy was there to help everyone in the area.”
The Bobcats will be competing at full strength for one of the first times all season after their last meet fell during spring break and they had to wait for winter sports to finish up earlier in the season.
“We’re pretty excited to see some of our relays. We finally have full strength on the boys side, but we’re missing some of our key girls to ineligibility,” Kimball said. “We’re really excited for the (4x100-meter relay), and we’re looking to put together a strong (4x400-meter relay) in the future.”
Kimball also tries to keep a lot of the pressure of hosting the meet off of his team.
“They are our hurdle crews. They put hurdles on the track, move them up and down and move it to different marks,” he said. “Most of it really is on the coaches.”
And they’re used to handling it.
IHS helped out with Bayfield’s meet over spring break and plans to assist with the Wolverines’ Pine River Invitational on April 19 at Wolverine Country Stadium.
“We’ve worked closely with Bayfield for years,” said Kimball, whose dad, Colorado Hall of Fame coach Vernon Kimball, coached BHS for years, and whose mom, Sherry Kimball, currently coaches the Wolverines’ track and field team.
As for the Bobcats on the track, Kimball acknowledged that he’s fielding one of the smallest teams in the area and has tried to promote a supportive atmosphere.
“We try very hard to keep it a tight-knit team. We look to improve on personal performances week to week,” he said. “We really celebrate all of the small successes.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
