SLIPPERYROCK — Mike Kish always considered dual track and field meets as mere dress rehearsals for the bigger events that loom later in the season.

But that philosophy changed this spring for the coach when his SlipperyRock HighSchool girls track and field team was threatening to claim the region crown — and go undefeated in the process.

"You always like to win," Kish said. "But I never really placed too much on dual meets. But we won a couple of close meets against some of the traditionally stronger teams like Hickory and Oil City, and we decided let's go after it."

After a win againstReynolds last Tuesday, the Rockets finished the dual meet season unblemished at 6-0 and won the region title.

Kish, who has been coaching the boys and girls track and field teams at SlipperyRock for 27 years, said he believes this is the first time a Rockets team has gone unbeaten during the dual meet season.

Depth has been a big reason for that success.

SlipperyRock has its stars in seniors Abby Basta,Casey McCaffrey, Lauren Tibbens, Jodi Meling and Janelle Hartzell, but a strong young class led by Elissa McCune and Angela and Andrea Shaffer have given the Rockets valuable points.

"We've used Casey McCaffrey like a workhorse over the years," Kish said. "Sometimes I wonder, 'Geez, are we killing her?'

"But we've had quite a bit of depth this year.We've been picking up seconds and thirds, and our freshman and sophomore classes have stepped up and rose to the occasion."

Hartzell has been awed at times by the younger members of the team this season. It brought back memories of when she, Basta and McCaffrey were the young pups coming up through the ranks with notable stars such as Melissa Sopher, Erin Cranmer-Hart and Nadia Mamoozadeh leading the charge.

"They reminded me of how competitive we were when we were freshmen and sophomores, too." Hartzell said.

That competitive nature hasn't diminished for Hartzell or her senior cohorts.

Getting the region crown and an undefeated record to boot was something very important to them as the season progressed.

"At first, we were just trying to get ready for the bigger meets, like the invitationals and the districts," Hartzell said. "But as we got closer to the Reynolds meet, we really wanted to finish undefeated."

Now that the dual meet season is over, the full focus has returned to the district meet, which will be held Saturday at Hickory HighSchool.

Basta, who has battled ankle and hamstring injuries this season, is rounding back into form in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.

She placed eighth at state in the 100 hurdles last year.

"She is running the best she has ever run right now," Kish said. "That last meet against Reynolds, it looked like she was shot out of a gun. She's still hurting a bit when the meet is over, but she's accepted the fact that she's going to have to run with pain."

Basta is also a member of the 1,600-meter relay team that has shaved seconds off its time over the last few weeks and looks poised to earn a spot in the PIAA Track and Field Championships, which will be held over Memorial Day weekend at Shippensburg University.

The team, which also includes McCaffrey, Hartzell and McCune, is less than one second off the state qualifying time and the school record. Their best time is 4 minutes, 10.46 seconds this season.

Hartzell would like nothing better than to cap a perfect dual meet season with a school record in the 1,600 relay and a third shot at a state medal.

She has gone to the state meet two other times as a member of the Rockets' 3,200-meter relay team and has come home empty-handed both times.

"We're very excited about the relay team," Hartzell said. "A perfect ending for me would be to get a state medal after two trips without one. That would be awesome."