Tevin Donnell and his Fountain-Fort Carson teammates saw a potential state title elude them this year. Most of the team will be back next year. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Fountain-Fort Carson had their opportunities this year and didn't make the most of them. Cherokee Trail also had their opportunities and got done what they needed to do--and sometimes a little more--at almost every single point. That was the difference in this year's state team title.
It looks like next year, both teams will have at least an opportunity to revisit the script, but the early advantage appears to tilt toward Fountain-Fort Carson. The Trojans bring back a large segment of the squad that put fear in a lot of people's hearts. Sprinters Drue Harris, Tevin Donnell, and Jai'Shawn Thompson all come back next spring. High jumper Duane McClurklin returns. Dylan Day has the potential to be one of next year's better distance entries. And you can bet the relays will be back as well. It won't be possible to forget about Fountain-Fort Carson next spring.
Cherry Creek returns a team very much like the one they ran at state. Alec Brudzinski graduated, but Brudzinski's season was over before the state meet. So, the load will fall once again on the shoulders of Daniel Book, Shane Rhodes, Stanford Cooper, and others. Don't be surprised if Creek comes back with a little bit of redemption on their mind. On a different set of three days, state might very well have gone the way of the Bruins.
Poudre has arguably the best hurdler in 5A, and certainly one of the best distance runners in 5A returning in Spencer Long and Paul Miller. If the Impalas can find a few more ways to augment those points, Poudre may get some mention among the state's track superpowers.
Cherokee Trail needs no introduction after this year. Filling the Jaylyn Mars hole won't be easy, but Brandon Singleton may be the best returning long sprinter in the state. Relays figure to be solid--as always--and the Cougars will look for big things from Harley Korte in the pole vault. It's not at all unthinkable that this team doubles up their state title next year.
ThunderRidge has been a steadily improving boys team the last few years. In Joel Isakson and Blake Jacobs, the Grizzlies have the foundation laid for a very strong title run. Some big relay production would be huge for this team.
So, at this point, 5A boys stands wide open. If you have to pick a team for the driver's seat right now, that team probably is Fountain-Fort Carson, but that nomination is nothing that anyone should be feeling secure about.
2013 CO HS M Outdoor Track Team Scores (Returners Only)
Calculated as of June 04, 2013
These rankings were calculated by scoring the rankings as a meet. We took the individual rankings only and scored them as a normal meet: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Athletes whose graduation years are unknown were left out of the list.