Flinch and you lose, Longmont Invitational 3200s

With memories of a wind-buffeted 1600 at Banana Belt still fresh on their minds, Conner Wilburn and Corey Lewenkamp come to Longmont Saturday with expectations of much better conditions in place. Photo by Alan Versaw.

If you haven't seen a good distance event since cross country season, you definitely need to be making tracks for Longmont tomorrow morning. 

The Longmont Invitational will be running showdown heats of the 3200 tomorrow morning, 9:50 for the girls and 10:05 for the boys. The boys showdown heat includes:

- Roberts, Paul Lyons High School 09:31   
- Miller, Paul Poudre High School 09:39   
- Such, Marcel Lyons High School 09:45   
- Weaver, Connor Mountain Vista High School 09:45   
- Wilburn, Conner Classical Academy, The 09:51   
- Hamer, Eric Palmer Ridge High School 09:52   
- Such, Joel Lyons High School 09:56   
- Lewis, Kyle Boulder High School 09:56   
- Horen, Joseph Arvada West High School 10:00   
- Lewenkamp, Corey Custer County High School 10:01   
- Roch, Tyger Monarch High School 10:04   
- Raymond, Henry Poudre High School 10:10   
- Hart, Carson Mountain Vista High School 10:10   
- Laguera, Marcelo Pomona High School 10:11.21  
- Herebic, Tommy Palmer Ridge High School 10:14   
- Ryd, Chandler Classical Academy, The 10:14   
- Barton, Forrest Castle View High School 10:16   
- Rieder, David Boulder High School 10:16   
- Freeman, Jesse Castle View High School 10:20   
- Mason, Gavin Pomona High School 10:22.76  
- Minor, Elliot Niwot High School 10:23.38  
- Cox, Ian Littleton High School 10:23.63  
- Dillon, Matt Lyons High School 10:25 

while the girls showndown heat counters with:

- Kennedy, Isabelle Fairview High School 11:03   
- McLaughlin, Erin Boulder High School 11:03   
- Benner, Kaitlyn Monarch High School 11:15.0  
- Mooney, Megan Horizon High School 11:20.40  
- Roberts, Miriam Lyons High School 11:30   
- Boettiger, Christa Niwot High School 11:46.46  
- McCaffrey, Jenna Niwot High School 11:55.00   
- Ritschard, Kristina Loveland High School 11:59.38   
- Knapp, Katie Classical Academy, The 12:02   
- Ramsey, Kaitlin Palmer Ridge High School 12:09   
- Dalton, Savanna Castle View High School 12:12   
- Furst, Audree Palmer Ridge High School 12:13   
- Williams, Hannah Classical Academy, The 12:18   
- Fernald, Sophia Wheat Ridge High School 12:24.93  
- McKinney, Calysta Castle View High School 12:29  
- Kennedy, Cami Pomona High School 12:42.97

Obviously, any meet bringing in these kind of fields is anxious to showcase the races, and the folks at Longmont are no exception to the rule.

Co-host Lyons coach Mark Roberts sees it as a gilt-edged opportunity, "I think there are several folks in the boys' field who are capable of breaking the stadium record of 9:30.50 set in 2006 by Noah Shannon from Fort Collins... the boys' meet record of 9:53.48 set in 2012 by Nick Harris of Niwot may have a number of folks under it tomorrow if the weather holds up."

He's not quite as optimistice about the girls stadium record going down, though, "On the girls' side, 11:08.86 is the meet record by Sam Lewis from Boulder in 2012, and the stadium record of 10:51.44 was set in 1989 by Melody Fairchild from Boulder. The meet record could go down, though the stadium record will be a much bigger challenge."

About the weather... the forecasted 10 AM temperatures for Longmont are in the high 40s with light (5 mph) winds, and a barometer slightly on the side of high. Temperatures in the low 40s, though, guarantee good oxygen density and should keep all the 3200 types comfortably cool. If the forecasted conditions pan out, it is very good news for the competitors.

A second set of 3200s will be run in the afternoon, and there is plenty of potential for times in those heats to drop well into the 10s and 12s. In between, of course, you have the full gamut on track and field events with all the easy access to the field events that the Everly-Montgomery Field facitlies afford.

Colorado Track XC will be on hand covering the feature 3200s. Video will be posted on the site later in the day on Saturday. Ring a few cowbells around the fence if you can find them, but make noise however you can.

 

Longmont Invitational meet page