OURAY – With her sights set on competing in the state meet this year, Ouray High School senior Geordyn MacDougall is off to an impressive start in the 2011 season after taking first place in the 100-meter hurdles last weekend at the Delta Invitational.

MacDougall was Ouray’s top finisher, running for a first place time of 17.59 in the 100-meter hurdles and taking seventh place in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 53.47.

“She is our record holder in both the 100 and 300 hurdle events,” Coach Bernie Pearce said. “They have been her forte over the course of her first three years, and this was a good start to the season. I think she would really like to get over to the state meet this year.”

Ouray’s Candace Yengst placed third in triple jump with a distance of 31’5” beating her old personal record by .25.” Yengst also placed seventh in the high jump at Delta with a leap of 4’ 4.”

The girls 800-meter relay team, made up of Jasmin Braund, Sydnee Kimmel, MacDougall and Yengst, placed fifth with a time of 2:00.94, and that same team of girls placed sixth in the 4x200 meter relay with a time of 2:00.41.

The boys’ 4x200 meter relay team, made up of Zane DeZeeuw, Noah Hughes, Chris Cramp and Kyle Cotton, placed eighth with their time of 1:45.28.

“We really did well,” Pearce said. “It was great opportunity to get things started off on the right track with the Icicle Opener in Montrose two weeks ago and then in Delta last weekend.”

Ouray will be traveling to compete at the Bulldog Invitational at Hotchkiss High School on Saturday at 9 a.m. Pearce said the team has a few athletes returning from Washington, D.C. trips, and from France, and hopes that the team can do even better in some of the relay events, including putting together 4x800 relay teams.

“We are going to be experimenting with those relays once we get back into the groove of things,” he said. “The biggest thing is praying to the weather gods. I hear we have some storm systems that may settle in over Hotchkiss. In that case, our biggest thing is to not freak out because of the weather, warm up properly and get out there and be affective.”