Sophie McNeeley (graduate of Arapahoe High School) ran 16:55.73 in the 5000 at the Mt. SAC relays last weekend. Western State Athletics photo.

Gunnison's Connor Coleman is now a multi-event athlete for Southern Connecticut and is headed to DII Nationals. Colorado Track XC file photo.

It's always a little subjective picking a "top x stories," but these stories were big in 2011.

Connor Winter earned two spots on the Rutherford list this spring, one for this effort in the 3200 in April. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Sporting the latest in adidas racing attire, Eleanor Fulton enters the turn with the rest of the Girls Dream Mile field. Photo by Don Rich (PA Track XC).

Girls Dream Mile, Story and Video!

Another weekend of exciting track and field.........The adidas grand prix dream mile and dream 100 dash.....The Golden West Invite.......The New England Championships............NY Federation.........NJ Meet of Champions!  

Eleanor Fulton finished her high school career undefeated in the 1600. Contributed photo.

Palmer Ridge's Hunter Warwick has the distinction of owning the top time for the year in both the 110 and 300 hurdles. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Doherty's Jordan Rand went over 40 feet to win the 5A triple jump. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

Jeff McCoy takes his camera to the track events.

Lakewood's Jake Jones eyes the flight of his winning throw in the shot put. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

Casey Young bested all other 110 hurdlers at the finals of the Liberty Bell Invitational on Monday. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

If you can names the girls of this row of the Liberty Bell 3200 start, you're up-to-speed on Colorado distance. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

NEW YORK CITY (April 27, 2011) – Eleven high school track stars, including eight who have run fast enough to currently be ranked among the Top 3 in the country at distances ranging from 100 meters to 3200 meters, have been added to the fields for the High School Dream Mile and Dream 100 at the adidas Grand Prix on June 11, meet organizers and adidas have announced.

Eleanor Fulton had another big day at the Mullen Runners Roost, dominating the 1600 and 800 meter events. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

Christine Scott ran 24.86 (-4.9) to upstage Chyna Ries and Mary Beth Sant in the 200 meters. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

Widefield's Tony Carodine dominated the Pikes Peak Invitational triple jump competition despite splitting time with the high jump. Photo by Alan Versaw.

It's never surprising when Littleton has a good team, but this year's squad is definitely among the very best in recent memory. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Brandon Cartagena of Vista Ridge won the 100 and 200 meter events at the Pueblo Centennial Invitational. Photo by Alan Versaw.

If you saw the finish of this race, you aren't likely to forget it any time soon. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Texas A & M picks up Nolan Mayhew, one of our top 400/800 runners. Contributed photo.

Pam Yu gives the Falcons good reason to hope for state points in both horizontal jumps. Photos by Paul Jaeger.

Remember the big stories of 2010? This should help jog your memory.

David Garcia and Griffin Hay helped take Fort Colllins from a state title threat to the #4 team nationally in a little over two months. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Kelsey Lakowske leads a pack through the midway point of Foot Locker Nationals. Photo by Don Rich, penntrackxc.com.

Amid all the races Eleanor Fulton has run, there's one big race she hasn't run--Foot Locker Finals. She checks that one off her bucket list on Saturday. Photo by Paul Everett.

Columbine's Will Kincaid posted Colorado's top finish at FLMW. Photo courtesy of Paul Everett (mo.milesplit.com).

This Saturday in frigid Wisconsin 10 boys and girls will look to qualify for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship in San Diego. Missouri MileSplit's David Everett takes a look at the top female contenders in a very strong field .

Kelsey Lakowske and Spencer Wenck this year's class of all-state runners. Photos by Alan Versaw & Jeff McCoy.

Cheyenne Mountain's boys executed a near-perfect patient pack strategy to dominate the Colorado 4A boys state championship. Photo by Alan Versaw.  

"I'll match your two strides with three of mine." Photo by Alan Versaw.

New harriers make rank, while the top of the guys rankings is as tight as ever!  Here comes the post-season!

A few changes and a few editions, but look for the action to heat up in the coming weeks!

Few changes as most are idle, but there are a handful of new editions to the national roster.

Colleen Koenig's third-place finish helped to lead Arapahoe to the Centennial League title on Thursday. Photo by Alan Versaw.

That look of confidence on Kelsey Lakowske's face isn't necessarily good news for the rest of the 5A field. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

Clayton Young has stepped up in a big way for American Fork over the last three weeks. Colorado Track XC file photo.

Highlands Ranch phenom Eleanor Fulton had a very nice weekend, winning the Division II girls title at Liberty Bell and breaking the meet record in the process. Photos by Jeff McCoy.

Let's just say that Eleanor Fulton quickly erased any doubt about the outcome of the Division II girls race. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

Boulder brings an excellent pack time and favorite status into the Division I girls race at Liberty Bell. Photo by Alan Versaw.  

Galena's Bryan Jordan opened up his season with a nice win at the Jim Vanden Heuvel Twilight Classic. Colorado Track XC file photo.

Columbine's Will Kincaid made it look easy at the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial. Photo by Alan Versaw.

 

If you can't spot a few contenders for the individual state title in this photo, you aren't very familiar with 5A girls cross country. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Eleanor Fulton clocked at 10:25.89 en route to qualifying for finals of the 3000 steeplechase at the World Junior Championships. Photo by Vic Sailer, photorun.com.

Eleanor Fulton, shown here en route to a second-place finish at the USA Junior National Championships last month, was named to the USA World Junior Team. Photo by Rick Wilson.

Colorado product David Oliver won big in the 110 Hurdles at the USA Track & Field Championships this past weekend. Photo by Vic Sailer, photorun.com.

Doherty's Kenneth Chambers, winner of the 5A 100 and 200 meter dash, was an unanimous all-state selection. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Heather Bates, shown here at the state track meet, won a Great Southwest title in the 3200 meters. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Desert Dust Storm: Due to dessicated park conditions last fall, the start of the NXN-SW girls race raised a serious cloud of dust. Colorado Track XC file photo.

Although Loveland's 4x400 would eventually bow to Littleton, it was Loveland's relays that gave them a 2010 state track and field title. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Brittany Lewis in the long jump should be one of the top attractions at the 5A state meet. Photo by Paul Jaeger.

Cheyenne Mountain drops the first sub-8 4x800 of the season at the Coronado Cougar Classic. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Although she "only" managed 38-3 on Saturday, Jordan Rand ranks as the state's top triple jumper with a season-best mark of 38-0. Photos by Alan Versaw.

Wasson's Trevor Brown rules the hurdles for the 2010 edition of the Mullen Runners Roost. All photos by Paul Jaeger.

Cherry Creek's Olivia Anderson made her mark in the 300 hurdles as a freshman. She's back--and better now--as a sophomore. Colorado Track XC file photo.

Liberty's Gina Hauptman edges out Beth Luckel of Vista Ridge at the finish line of the Sand Creek Invitational 800. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Eleanor Fulton brought home third place in the mile at Nike Indoor Nationals. Photo by Matt Shatkus.

Denver East's Kami Mendez returns with the best 5A 100 meter hurdle time from last year. Colorado Track XC file photo.

Arguably Colorado's top two freshman runners of 2009, Kailie Hartman and Heather Bates battle for places late in the NXN-Southwest Regional race. Photo by Alan Versaw.  

  Photo by PFFlyer                  

Wade Meddles (Sierra Lutheran, Nevada) dominated the boys championship race at NXN-SW. Photo by Alan Versaw.

           

Eleanor Fulton starts to pull away from Julia Foster of Albuquerque Academy at 2.5 miles. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Scott Fauble of Wheat Ridge and Kelsey Lakowske of Boulder finish the CHSAA season as the Colorado Track XC runners of the year. Photos by Paul Jaeger and Mark Oveson.

As they had done all season long, Walter Schafer and Kelsey Lakowske dominated the 5A competition at the state meet. Photos by Mark Oveson and Alan Versaw.

For the third week in a row, Scott Fauble takes home a major meet title. Photo by Rick Wilson.  

Get used to the faces you see at the front of this pack. They'll be causing trouble for other teams all season long. Photo by Jim Lewis  

You can figure on finding Sam Lewis, Rachel Viger, and Kelsey Lakowske at the front of the pack again this year. Photo by Jim Lewis.

Vincent Valdez heads up the finish straight in the 300 hurdles. Photo by Steve Rex.

Arapahoe's Connor Winter, who did not run cross country last fall, was arguably the state's major find as a distance runner this spring. Photo by Alan Versaw.

As meet officials look on, Boulder's Kelsey Lakowske nips Eleanor Fulton at the finish of the 5A 3200. Photo by Rick Wilson.  

Moffat County's Erin Urbanoski went 18-2.5 to win the 4A long jump over a very tough field.

Sophomore Eleanor Fulton just may have climbed to the top of the pile among a very solid group of female distance runners in Colorado. Photo by Rick Wilson.

Despite the weekend exodus of distance talent to the Arcadia Invitation, the Mullen Runners Roost 3200 still boasted a formidable field of talent. Photo by Rick Wilson.

In what would turn out to be a classic battle, Eleanor Fulton takes an early lead in the 1600 at the Mullen Runners Roost on Saturday. Photo by Rick Wilson.  

For the second weekend in a row, Widefield's Derek McAllister posted one of the state's top 400 meter times of the weekend.

Smoky Hill's Vanessa Samuel, above, returns to defend her state title in the 300 hurdles. (Photo by Alan Versaw)

Action from early stages of Sunday's 60 Meter Hurdle finals at the Cadet Field House (photo courtesy of Mark Weeks).

Eleanor Fulton raised a few eyebrows with a 17:45 finish for third place. Photo by Alan Versaw  

Dart Schwaderer (Wheat Ridge, CO) passes Jon Nelson (Timpview, UT) on the final stretch to win the individual title of the boys championship race at NXN SW.

2008 Colorado Track XC Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year -- Allie McLaughlin

Kristen Kientz of Highlands Ranch, this year's freshman phenom in the 5A ranks, has helped transform Highlands Ranch from a mid-level state team to a top-five level team this year.

A good day to be in purple... Miranda Benzel, Sam Lewis, and Kelsey Lakowske work a small early lead at the Front Range Conference Championships on Friday (photo courtesy of Jim Lewis).  

Falcon got a solid 2-3 finish from Wes Rickman and Kevin Johnson, above, but it wasn't enough for Falcon to prevent Fairview and Niwot from slipping into the top two places of the team standings.  

Garrett Wilson's would take an early lead at the East Angel Invite and expand it to 44 seconds by race's end.

Some things--like the domination of the New Mexico boys--played out according to expectations. Other things did not.

While a number of things didn't go exactly as hoped for Colorado athletes on the final day of USATF National JOs competition, the young women's 1500 meter race did.

Samantha Berggren and Eleanor Fulton--both had very memorable days at National JOs today. Both will return home knowing that their efforts are paying off in a huge way.

The first day of results from Omaha are in and it looks like a pretty decent day for the athletes from Colorado Springs and Douglas County.

Last year's 5A state meet produced perhaps the most stunning margin of victory ever in girls' cross country in Colorado. There had been a buzz of anticipation about what Dakota Ridge was putting together, but the decisiveness of their margin of victory caught everyone off guard. The element of surprise will be missing this year for Dakota Ridge, as will Alexa Rogers, but the Eagles figure to be among the contenders again this year.   Allie McLaughlin, at left, returns with hopes of staying healthy through the entire season and proving that the first month of last fall's cross country season was no fluke.

For most track athletes in Colorado, summer is a time away from competitive events. Increasing numbers and quality, however, are showing up in post-season summer meets such as the USATF Colorado Junior Olympics, held this past weekend at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. Margaret Weingart, at left, won both hurdle events at the 3A state meet in May. This weekend, however, she distinguished herself as a heptathlete. Meet Results

Although many of the most highly-anticipated match-ups did not take place, there was still plenty of action and excitement to go around at the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic.   Tennessee's Jacquelyn Coward, at left, lights up the track with a wind-aided 13.00 in the 100 hurdles. Complete Meet Results Photo Gallery

There was a lot of success to be spread out among the Colorado distance runners at the Great Southwest Classic on Saturday. And nobody's smiles were bigger those worn by Dey Tuach and Eleanor Fulton.   Roman Holmes had one of the nicer performances for Colorado athletes on the day with a best long jump of 25-3.25, good enough for second place. Complete Meet Results Photo Gallery  

French Field in Fort Collins could see the first major salvo of the track and field season as Fort Collins High School hosts the 2008 Runners’ Roost of Ft. Collins Invitational.

Doherty's Kenny Chambers is one of the athletes who turned in some rankings rattling performances on Monday and Tuesday. Photo by Alan Versaw.