Fresh off a PR in the mile, Shane Niksic (Conifer HS, 2010) will be accompanying his Colorado Mesa teammates to Alamosa for some action under the Bubble this Saturday. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Yes, it was kind of busy last weekend. It was more or less a packed house in Boulder for the Fort Collins Track Club Indoor All-Comer in Boulder. Just north of Colorado Springs, the Air Force All-Comers meet hosted a good-sized college group, several open competitiors, and a bunch more of the high school set. That all meant a lot of performances and a few newly-minted spots in the national rankings for both college and high school athletes. It definitely did seem busy...
But if you thought last weekend was busy, you really haven't thought much yet about this weekend. Here's a quick overview on what we can expect from this weekend:
- Pole vaulters all Colorado, and across the nation, will be packing their poles and heading to Reno, Nevada, for the Reno Pole Vault Summit. And, yes, pole vault competition is a big part of the weekend.
- Colorado State Unversity will be headed to Gillette, Wyoming, for a dual meet with the University of Wyoming. That, folks, is taking track and field to the masses. And they do take their indoor track and field seriously in Gillette. If you lived in Gillette, you'd understand.
- The University of Colorado is hosting their annual Potts Indoor Invitational at Balch Field House.
- Adams State is hosting a major DII invitational under their new Bubble, to include most of the DII programs in the state, and a couple more from out-of-state. Expect a few national-qualifying marks to emerge out of this one--there should be some very good pent-up energy spilling over at this one.
- Air Force (less their storied cadre of pole vaulters) and the University of Northern Colorado are pointed toward Lincoln, Nebraska, for the Holiday Inn Invitational. The desk staff at the Holiday Inn was much relieved to learn that the chain only bought the naming rights to the meet and that the weight throw will not be contested in the hotel lobby.
- The Martin Luther King, Jr., Mile-High Classic will take place in the Cadet Field House on Sunday
- And, the Great Southwest Indoor Classic will occupy the late hours of Saturday in the Albuquerque Convention Center. Online registration for this meet is rapidly exceeding the standards of all previous editions of this meet. Large contingents of athletes are coming in from Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado. And, we may yet see good participation of out Texas. Look for a preview of this meet appearing on Friday once online registration has closed. In advance of the meet, I can tell you now there will be several very competitive events staged on UNM's banked 200-meter oval. Look for some exceptional times as the track warms up for hosting USATF Nationals and the NCAA DI National Championship meet later this winter.
In short, there's track and field to be had everywhere you look this weekend. Even with the Great Southwest Indoor Classic siphoning off a large portion of Colorado talent, the Martin Luther King meet on Sunday figures to be the best convergence yet of Colorado's top high school indoor talent this season. Technically, an athlete could compete in both meets, but don't look for any to do so. It would likely require driving through the night from Albuquerque to Colorado Springs, a feat which just might have deleterious impacts on second-day performances.
Here at Colorado Track XC, we'll be collecting and posting results as fast as we can. That will include on-site coverage for the high school events at the Martin Luther King meet on Sunday.