Zainab Sanni and Colt Sessions came up big winners at two big meets last weekend. Photos by Kelli Noto and Alan Versaw.
Colt Sessions and Zainab Sanni, Colorado Track XC’s athletes of the week, are making it count when it matters most.
Coming off an injury that set him back for seven weeks, Colt Sessions finally had the weekend he had been hoping for all season. The junior from Cheyenne Mountain won the high jump in a new PR and state leading mark of 6-9.5 at the Pueblo Twilight Invitational. Sessions also won the long jump in a jump of 21-7.5 and placed fourth in the triple with a 42-10.5.
“I didn’t think I was going to jump as well as I did,” said Sessions. “I’m super excited. Just to be back is awesome.”
Suffering from a sprained ankle, Sessions’ first “healthy jump” this season was only a week and a half ago. “While I was out watching everyone else jump, I was so bummed out,” said Sessions. “I had to sit back and watching everything else happen on Milesplit.”
Now Sessions is back in action and he’s impacting the high jump competition in a big way. “I’m very excited that I’m the state leader. I’m very excited that that has happened.”
Being a state leader is not new territory for Sessions. As a freshman, Sessions placed 4th at state, and his sophomore year he went home with the state championship. Now healthy and especially motivated, Sessions has high hopes for the state meet. “I want to be at seven feet for the high jump by state,” said Sessions. “And if I can jump as high as I want to, I’m sure that will be a state championship.”
Zainab Sanni’s story sounds similar to Sessions'. Her season didn’t start out as she had hoped but she has turned it around in these last few weeks.
Sanni won both the long jump in an 18-5 and the 100 meters in 11.69 this weekend at the Cherry Creek/Grandview Invitational. These marks currently place her at second in the state for the long jump and third in the state for the 100.
The senior from Smoky Hill High School ran a very strong indoor season, running a PR of 7.47 and placing fourth at New Balance Indoor Nationals in the 60 meter dash. “In indoor I had a really good season,” said Sanni, “and I knew running that fast indoor would make a PR for outdoor. I feel like my outdoor season started out slow, but now after this weekend I’m motivated to go out there and be faster than I ever have.”
Sanni isn’t only fast. She has also had a very strong showing in the long jump this weekend, an event that is relatively new to her. “I hadn’t long jumped a lot before,” said Sanni. “The 100 has always been one of my strongest events, but this year the long jump has topped that. I feel like I’m better at it right now than I have been running, but I’m still really excited about the 100.”
She runs fast, she jumps far, and no doubt she will be an athlete to watch at the state championships. Despite feeling as if she had a slow start to her season, Sanni is happy with the way it has progressed. “This is the time that times need to be dropped. Comparing myself to [some of the] other athletes, I was slow compared to them in the beginning but now I feel like I’m really coming back strong.”
Good lessons from Colorado Track XC’s athletes of the week this week: it’s never too late to stage a comeback! Congratulations to Colt Sessions and Zainab Sanni on their impressive and inspiring performances.