Taylor Alexander goes to 10-4 to win the 1A girls pole vault. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Although it was a very short day of action on the 1A scene, there were still a few things to take note of.
The girls title race already appears to be shaping up as a struggle between Shining Mountain Waldorf and Vail Christian.
SMW picked up big, though at least partly expected, points in the 3200 with Ginger Hutton's win and Paisley Sheehan's third-place finish. The third for Sheehan puts SMW well ahead of schedule for day one. Also adding points for SMW was Sarrah Claman in sixth and Chloe Weber in eighth in the pole vault, making for a very good day overall for the team in maroon.
Vail Christian's points came by virtue of a 1-2 finish in the pole vault from Taylor Alexander and Celia Smith.
Dove Creek, the other main player in the girls team title chase, got eight points from thrower Madison Young in the discus, but failed to score in the 3200. Dove Creek will have many more opportunities to pile up points over the next two days, but it's already clear it will take a pile to reel in SMW and VC.
Among the boys, Bethune got something of a boost in the 3200 with a slightly-higher-than-anticipated combined point total of 16 from Alex Duarte and Cole Koepke.
Boys favorite Heritage Christian Academy essentially picked up two points on the day from Garret Niichel in the long jump. Bigger days lie ahead for HCA.