One second.
That’s all the Odessa High School Lady Bronchos track team needs.
It’s been a struggle so far, but Odessa High has been hard at work this season as they try to improve their times on the track.
At this point, the Lady Bronchos are playing catch up. Time, unfortunately, isn’t on their side. After spring break there are only two regular season meets remaining before the District 2-6A meet in Midland.
“We’ve competed against Midland High, Midland Lee and Permian already,” Odessa High head coach Tracey Borchardt said. “We’ve been with them for the last several weeks. I know what we have and competitions really good.
“Permian’s loaded and both Midland High and Midland Lee have great squads. We’re working on times. We got to get better at what we do. Every week I’m seeing improvement even though we might be playing catch up. We have a few weeks to work with.”
It’s still a work in progress, but Odessa High is hoping to use the West Texas Relays as a turning point.
“I’m seeing some good things and then I’m seeing some things that we still got to fix, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Borchardt said. “I just want the kids to improve. So, practice is really designed to hopefully see improvement from week to week.
“It seems like we kind of stall in some areas that we need to be moving up. This meet will be the turnaround on some of our times.”
Odessa High’s Gaby Jaquez had a third place finish in the high jump with a mark of 4 feet, 10 inches at the West Texas Relays. Another highlight from the field events was a sixth place finish from Hattie Green in the shot put. Green had a throw of 33-9.
“We’re struggling in field events and Gaby got third in the high jump,” Borchardt said. “I thought maybe she would go a little bit more. She can and hopefully she will.
“Our field events are hurting right now because we’re not pulling our weight. I’ve put some of the kids back down on JV to hopefully get some more reps in. We’re struggling in a lot of areas right now. I’m just trying to get these kids to understand that we’ve got to place somewhere one through six just to start building some points.”
>> ODESSA HIGH BOYS SEEK CONSISTENCY: Consistency is a big theme in track.
That has been an issue for the Odessa High Bronchos thus far. Nine of their athletes have been competing in power lifting.
“I’ve got a lot of guys power lifting. I got nine out today,” Odessa High head coach Ryan Jackson said. “I think consistently getting the whole team out there — I’ve run all my relays (with) different guys every week.
“So, once I can get everybody back and (to) be here consistently I’ll really know. My JV went second at Frenship and won last week over in Midland. My young guys are consistently there and we’ve been able to progress pretty fast with that young group so far.”
During the West Texas Relays, Odessa High’s Dawson Hayes set a personal record in the pole vault with a mark of 13-0 to take second place. Dylan Hayes placed fourth in the same event with a mark of 10-6.
“(In) field events we actually did pretty well,” Jackson said. “Dawson Hayes PR’ed in the pole vault. He went 13 feet. My long jumpers couldn’t get their steps right today.
“There’s a lot of good competition, especially those Lubbock schools. We’ve seen a lot of these teams week in and week out. So far, it’s been a good day.”
There are a couple things the squad needs to tweak, but Jackson remains optimistic. It has been a whirlwind of events for him after getting hired in January.
“Specifically, handoffs, exchanges — that’s the big thing,” Jackson said. “I’d like to have everybody for the next couple meets before we go into district because that’s just less than a month away.
“We’ve been in nine weeks now and every day they miss they fall back a couple of days. Spring break is coming up. Moving here in January and starting in January, and track started a week after I got here. I blink my eyes and we’re already to spring break, but it’s been good. I love the kids.”
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