The commanding view of all track and field events from the press box at La Junta's Tiger Stadium is rivaled by few venues in the state. Colorado Track XC file photo.
If you were thinking that spring break (for most schools in the state) would lead to a light schedule of meets this week, you would be mistaken about that. We'll be busy with track and field all week long, as a matter of fact.
| 03/24 |
This meet is going on even as I write the article. We wish them well and a relatively wind-free experience. That's asking for a lot where Yuma is concerned, but no harm in wishing. This should be something like a season-opener for many of the teams in attendance.
Yuma High School
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Yuma, CO |
| 03/25 |
The Ft. Collins folks bravely held out as long as they could on Saturday, but the meet got moved into Tuesday. It likely means a smaller assemblage of schools, but still probably somewhat of a high-octane meet.
Fort Collins High School
|
Fort Collins, CO |
| 03/26 |
This is another reschedule from the weekend. After three weekends in a row of bad-weather Saturdays, folks are a little less content to merely cancel, and we are into reschedule mode now. Like the Runners Roost of Ft. Collins, this one figures to lose a few teams from the original slate, but still should have a decent list making an appearance.
Greeley Central High School
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Greeley, CO |
| 03/26 |
Presumably, the Runners Roost of Ft. Collins on Tuesday and this one on Wednesday will compete against each other a little, but only for a select few teams. This one being the regularly scheduled meet, expect it to take a little less of a hit.
Fossil Ridge High School
|
Fort Collins, CO |
| 03/26 |
If you really like your track and field, you can bee-bop back and forth between this meet and the Greeley Central meet on Wednesday. Based on initial lists of teams entered, this one just might be the bigger of the two meets, which should make for an interesting fan seating situation at University High School. And, there is no comfy press box for the timing crew at University. At least there wasn't four years ago, the last time I showed up at a meet at University High School.
Roosevelt High School
|
Greeley, CO |
|
03/26 - 03/29 |
Yes, indeed, there will be some Colorado athletes headed to deep down in the heart of Texas. I doubt I have the complete list of athletes yet, but there's word out of Highlands Ranch High School that some Falcons will be landing in Austin this weekend. Trevor Rex and Connor Turnage are on the list of athletes making the trip. It's a shame, though, that neither are distance types so they could enjoy running the riverfront trail in Austin. In any case, we hope they do as well as Colorado's big entry in this meet last year.
University of Texas
 |
Austin, TX |
| 03/26 |
Warrior Wild West Invitational It's spring break in Grand Junction, so it's anyone's guess how big this meet will turn out to be. As of this moment, seven teams have started making entries into the meet, but a few of those teams figure to be fairly depleted.
Central (Grand Junction) High School
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Grand Junction, CO |
| 03/26 |
Somehow, I doubt this meet is happening, though I don't have official word on it yet. But, with the Greeley Central meet slated for the same time and same venue, it seems probable that this one gets folded into the Greeley Central meet--somehow.
Greeley Central High School
|
Greeley, CO |
| 03/27 |
Centennial League Spring Break Qualifier The Cherry Creek schools, or at least what's left of them over spring break, bang heads with one another in what could be a stunningly competitive six-team meet. Think of it--Cherry Creek, Cherokee Trail, Grandview, Eaglecrest, Smoky Hill, and Overland. Colorado Track XC has plans to be on hand at this one, should the weather hold out.
Cherry Creek High School
|
Greenwood Village, CO |
| 03/27 |
If the weather gets dicey in south Denver metro, this meet is the backup plan, and it couldn't be much more different than it is from the CCSD meet. This one draws small schools from far and wide. As a rough set of boundaries, figure west of the Kansas state line, south of I-70, east of the Continental Divide, and north of New Mexico. The eateries in La Junta are stocking provisions for this one. They should take a lottery for teams showing up at Subway and make the other teams disperse themselves among the other local La Junta options.
La Junta High School
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La Junta, CO |
| 03/28 |
The weekend's big meets kick off with Friday's showdown in Broomfield. The fact, however, that Longmont is hosting on Saturday may keep this one a little more down to size than it would otherwise figure to be. As a casual observation, Broomfield is a good team--one that doesn't figure to get pushed around a lot at its home invitational. And, this one just might be the outdoor season opener for Alexei Cox...
Broomfield High School
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Broomfield, CO |
| 03/29 |
The Altitude Running Invitational looks like the big meet of the weekend. A few high-powered schools from Wyoming come in to lock horns with the Lambkins, plus several track and field strongholds from Colorado. My one beef with this meet? It's really difficult to take good photos over the fence. Homeland Security would love the defensibility of French Field. Must be time to visit the field event venues...
Fort Collins High School
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Fort Collins, CO |
| 03/29 |
More or less the same crowd that showed up in Hotchkiss last weekend travels a few more miles up the highway to Cedaredge. Mark this fact well: the Delta County schools are putting on a good show this year. Make sure you catch the show at least once if you call yourself a fan of small-school track and field.
Cedaredge High School
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Cedaredge, CO |
| 03/29 |
The venerable track beside the highway through Elbert hosts a big one on Saturday. In fact, when they host here, it's typically a massive gathering of small schools. There isn't much in the way of seating, so get there early, stake out your location, and defend it well. Word is that close to 30 schools are making their ways to this meet. Simply stated, Elbert has no restaurant capacity to feed this kind of crowd, so figure that the concession stand does a stellar business. The overlap of schools attending this meet on Saturday and La Junta on Wednesday is substantial.
Elbert High School
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Elbert, CO |
| 03/29 |
Historically, this out-of-state classic has hosted a few Colorado schools. Doherty, in particular, has long made an annual pilgrimage to this meet. They run 1500s and 3000s here instead of our usual 1600s and 3200s. Otherwise, it's mostly your typical multi-state big meet.
Del Sol High School
|
Las Vegas, NV |
| 03/29 |
If you can't make it to the Boulder County Championships or the St. Vrain Invitational, this meet will give you a decent idea of the feel. There are no bad meets at Longmont High School. Drop in early for the feature 3200s in the morning. Colorado Track XC will be on hand for the 3200s before making a break for Fort Collins.
Longmont High School
|
Longmont, CO |
| 03/29 |
This is the week that will test the mettle of one Daniel Betz. He gets to host Randall Hess on Wednesday and his own meet on Saturday. About the time the grass starts springing back again from the trampling on Wednesday, it gets pummeled into submission again on Saturday. If you're trying to get a feel for the composition of this meet, start your search by looking up the composition of the Patriot League. Many of them will be in attendance.
University High School
|
Greeley, CO |
And, there are also a couple of college meets within our borders this weekend. A few of the state's top athletes will be headed for the Texas Relays, but for those staying closer to home there is:
| 03/29 |
As a rule of thumb, figure this one draws the DII crowd. Colorado School of Mines has a nice new track, but seating is a little short under the shadow of the Coors brewery. Unlike football, baseball, or basketball fans, however, most track fans are capable of standing through an entire day's worth of events. It's worth noting that the DII schools aren't heading for either Alamosa and Gunnison this weekend. Some things just aren't such a good idea in those parts during March--track meets being high on the list.
Colorado School of Mines
|
Golden, CO |
| 03/29 |
Figure the DI crowd mostly heads to Ft. Collins. The track is just off the main drag of Ft. Collins in the southeast corner of the CSU campus, but--like Colorado School of Mines--this one is kind of short on spectator seating. As a side note on this meet, Fum McGraw was probably better known as a football star than as a track star at Colorado A & M (circa 1950), but thus far, football hasn't started selling naming rights for games, so the late Mr. Thurman McGraw must be content with having his nickname and surname attached to a track meet. Now that the idea has been broached, however, look for schools to start marketing naming rights to football games. To think, we could have the eHarmony.com Colorado-Colorado State Classic as early as next fall. It's a little bit of a mouthful, but most announcers are loquacious types...
Colorado State University
|
Fort Collins, CO |
That, folks, is a lot to look forward to!