By Lyndsie Ferrell
CREEDE— Casper Freedle is in his fourth year competing in track and was the only one of his teammates to make it to the state competition this year. “The season went really great. I started out with a back injury from playing basketball, but recovered in time to be able to practice,” said Freedle.
Freede went to state to compete in the discus throw and high jump. “I was able to beat both of my personal records for the season. I came in at 134 yards for discus and jumped at about five foot, 11 inches for the high jump. Next year, I won’t have a back injury and will be able to practice both activities sooner than I did this year and I hope to reach 150 feet in discus and I am really going to try to beat the state record of six foot, four inches on the high jump,” explained Freedle.  
“One of the things I love the most about the state track meets is the high energy you can feel from everyone and how nice people are. You get to see some familiar faces from previous years and that’s always nice too,” said Freedle.
Freedle came in at fourth place for discus and eighth place for the high jump. “I really wanted to do better at the high jump but because of my injury I wasn’t able to practice as long as I had wanted to. Next year though I think I will be able to do much better.”
The track team had a new opportunity this year that made all the difference in how the team is able to prepare for competitions. The Creede School used money left over from the BEST grant to construct a practice track field for the students and though it cannot be used for CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association) approved track meets, the team was thrilled to have the opportunity to run and practice different events on their new field.
“My dad, Bo Freedle, used to compete in track using the rings and he helped design and pour the concrete for the rings in the new field. I think that was one of the best things to have this year, because we were actually able to practice on a real rings pad,” said Freedle. In addition to the throwing rings, Freedle and his teammate and fellow student Olivia Madrid agreed that having a place to run that wasn’t on the side of the road was by far the greatest.
“We used to have to schedule a time to go run and practice down at the ball fields. It was okay, but having a track and field to ourselves is much better. If we want to go run, we go run. Not to mention that it helps us prepare for the actual competition, and we are able to familiarize ourselves with how it feels to run on an actual track, get used to the turns and the length,” explained Madrid.
Madrid came within one of qualifying for state, but was not able to make the cut. “If we had been a 2A school I would have been able to go because they take the top 18. Being a 1A school, they take the top 9,” said Madrid.
Though both students are getting ready for college, Madrid is graduating this year and Freedle graduates next year, neither think they will pursue track throughout life. “It was a great way to stay in shape and gave us something to do, and we really enjoyed it,” said Madrid.
Madrid accompanied Freedle to state to cheer him on and help with the event. Both students expressed their thanks to coaches Nancy Leggitt, Katlin Fullen, Shannon Goldsberry, Ray Kemper and Bo Freedle  for a great season.