Back in January, Aikaterina Stefanidi was flirting with the best-ever women's pole vault mark in Colorado. Weather permitting, she'll be back in Longmont Friday taking another shot at it. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Special to Colorado Track XC by Jeff Boele
What - St. Vrain Track and Field Invitational
Where - Longmont High School
When - Friday, May 8th
Time - 11:30 am - 9:00 pm. The elite program gets underway at 5:10 pm.
Elite Events - Men: 100M, 110M hurdles, 200M, 400M, 1 Mile, Pole Vault; Women: 100M, 200M, 1 Mile, Pole Vault
In addition to some of the top high school track and field athletes in the state, the 2015 St. Vrain Invite will feature professional athletes from the US, Germany, Panama, Czech Republic, Israel, Greece, Sierra Leone and Slovenia. A large contingent of athletes from the World Athletic Center, an elite training enclave in Phoenix, will be participating in a variety of the sprint events. Additionally, some of the best local talent will take to the track in the men's and women's miles. They are taking a shot at the Colorado soil records - 4:01.27 and 4:40 respectively. The pole vault fields are strong as well. There are five men who have cleared 16 feet and six women who have cleared 13 feet, one of whom has cleared 15 feet.
Highlight Athletes:
Katerina Stefanidi - 2012 Olympian for Greece in the Pole Vault. Currently #1 ranked woman in the world and has cleared 15-5.5 this outdoor season.
Matthias Buehler - 2012 Olympian for Germany in the 100 meter hurdles. Also competed in the 2009 World Championships in the same event. He is a 4 time German national champion in the 110 meter hurdles.
Andrej Poljanec - 10x Slovenian national champion in the pole vault. He has competed at the European and World championships.
Jahvid Best - Former NFL running back with the Detroit Lions. Now focusing on track and field, training with the World Athletic Center.
Trevor Brown - Wasson High School (Colorado Springs) and CSU grad. Training in Ft. Collins. Currently ranked 22nd in the world in the 400 hurdles.
Elite Participants:
Mens 100
- Ryan Milus
- Tucker Peabody
- Albert Huntley
- Curtis King
- Jahvid Best
- Dominique Hubert
Womens 100
- Yasmin Woodruff
- Candace Jackson
- Kaylon Eppinger
- Hafsa Kamara
Mens 200
- Tucker Peabody
- Albert Huntley
- Curtis King
- Jahvid Best
- Joel Lynch
- William McCaskill
- Dominique Hubert
Womens 200
- Yasmin Woodruff
- Candace Jackson
- Kaylon Eppinger
- Hafsa Kamara
- Becca Schulte
Mens 400
- Frankie Wright
- Joel Lynch
- William McCaskill
- Trevor Brown
- Chris Sterling
Mens 110H
- Tre Lathan
- Matthias Buehler
- Chris Thomas
- Logan Taylor
- Ryan Younggreen
Mens Mile
- Dey Dey
- Ben Vaughn
- Charles Hillig
- Shawn Lindbom
- Kurt Roeser
- Scott Dahlberg
- Carl Arnold III
- Zach Kuzma
- Alex Monroe
- James Vance
- Stephen Pifer
Womens Mile
- Alia Gray
- Addie Bracy
- Eva Krchova
- Kristin Johansen
- Maor Tiyouri
- Lindsey Mills
- Riley Cooney
- Lauren Gregory
Womens Pole Vault
- Katerina Stefanidi
- Leslie Brost
- Samantha Sonneburg
- Natasha Kolbo
- Christy Gasparino
- Jamie Connor
- Jocelyn Sparks
- Lacy Harris
- Brittany Grasberger
- Kari Novotny
Mens Pole Vault
- Andrej Poljanec
- Sam Pierson
- Ethan Ostrom
- Jack Szmanda
- Mitch Krier
- Mark Van Benschoten
- Ben Niemann
- John Finke
- Jacob Hetrick
As a reminder, Colorado Track XC will be live streaming the St. Vrain Invitational. The live stream will be available to MileSplit Insiders and will include both high school and elite (USATF sanctioned) sections.