Carly Paul will be attacking hurdles at her home meet on Friday of this week. Photo by Alan Versaw.
If you've been waiting for track and field to get busy, and I do mean really busy, here this spring, your time has arrived. For the most part, spring break is done, and the action is heavy this week--starting today. Thursday's weather could be an issue, but the rest of the week looks like full track and field ahead.
| 04/01 |
They're making this grudge match up this afternoon, only in Fort Collins. Littleton facilities, apparently, were booked. I'm not sure how much steam is left in the engines of the Fort Collins schools, however, as this will be the third meet in eight days for these schools. But, it should be a good opportunities for those athletes left standing to get some marks in.
Arapahoe High School
|
Fort Collins, CO |
| 04/01 |
As JV meets go, this one is a little on the side of big. There are ten schools coming, including entries from as far away as Alamosa and Buena Vista. If we get results (we don't always from JV meets), they will be posted.
Glenwood Springs High School
|
Glenwood Springs, CO |
| 04/01 |
This one figures as another big convocation. For most--maybe all--of these teams, it's the season opener. And we'll get our first good look at what the Eastern Plains region has to look forward to at the high school level for the next few years. It looks like Shining Mountain Waldorf Middle School will be making the longest trip to Limon.
Limon Middle School
|
Limon, CO |
| 04/01 |
This meet could be of a lot of interest to the 1A/2A crowd. Dayspring Christian, Heritage Christian Academy, Liberty Common, and Resurrection Christian are all in attendance. And there isn't a one of those schools that won't figure in some significant way in the state title hunts this spring.
Liberty Common High School
|
Fort Collins, CO |
| 04/01 |
Declining enrollments have left Stratton and Liberty (Joes) in the position of merging programs this spring. Look for them to be joined by several of the schools from the eastern end of the Eastern Plains along I-70.
Stratton/Liberty High School
|
Stratton, CO |
| 04/02 |
This meet is one of the biggest early-season gatherings of Denver Metro area 3A teams you can find. But, don't get too used to it being that way. Holy Family goes to 4A next school year. Figure on a lot of athletes coming to this one anxious to show what they are capable of with a whole spring break's worth of pent-up energy.
Holy Family High School
|
Broomfield, CO |
| 04/02 |
If you're a Jeffco program, you get to see a lot of Jeffco Stadium. The Jeffco schools, I presume, keep expenses down for their track and field programs by scheduling a lot of meets right here in their showpiece facility. And, now that it's April, almost everything that happens in Jeffco Stadium is rankings-eligible.
Arvada West High School
|
Lakewood, CO |
|
04/04 - 04/05 |
The local college programs have been running outdoor meets for a couple of weeks already. This will be the second multis meet in the state thus far this season. If you go, go with the mindset that things happen on a slower, more deliberate, schedule at a multis meet than they do at a conventional track meet. All the better to keep the athletes rested (or at least relatively so) for the next event.
Air Force Academy
|
USAFA, CO |
| 04/04 |
Fresh off their grudge match with the Fort Collins schools, the Littleton schools renconvene for a sort of intramural grudge match. Host school Arapahoe doesn't exactly have a Littleton mailing address, but they are part of the Littleton Public Schools. And that is good enough credentials to host this meet.
Arapahoe High School
|
Littleton, CO |
| 04/04 |
Palmer High School hosts at venerable Garry Berry Stadium on back-to-back days. Lest you think the FR/SO meet on Friday gets all the leftovers, you need to look back on the results from this meet for a few years running. This meet almost always turns up at least a couple exceptional marks.
Palmer High School
|
Colorado Springs, CO |
| 04/04 |
If you somnambulated through March, you might not realize that Poudre has a pretty good track and field team this spring. They get to show it off in front of the home crowd on Friday. Hurdles are something of a specialty for Poudre, so be sure not to miss those events if you go. But, it's also an impressive field of schools that are coming in from this one, including several from across the border in Wyoming. And, speaking of hurdles, maybe, possibly, we'll see Dior Hall's outdoor debut for 2014 at this one.
Poudre High School
|
Fort Collins, CO |
| 04/04 |
Sand Creek hosts, but the meet actually takes place at Vista Ridge High School. VR is a little wind exposed, so we'll hope the winds are taking the day off on Friday. It's mostly a Colorado Springs area meet, but entries are also arriving from Mullen, Del Norte, Custer County, and Hinkley. Sand Creek and Vista Ridge have been off for a while, so look for them to have something they want to show at this meet.
Sand Creek High School
|
Colorado Springs, CO |
|
04/04 - 04/05 |
It's a huge collegiate invitational, but they also run high school events here as well. So far, I have no word of any Colorado high school entries, but I usually end up being surprised by some result or other over the weekend in Palo Alto.
Stanford University
|
Palo Alto, CA |
|
04/04 - 04/05 |
Last I checked (and it was recent), Haley Showalter is the lone Colorado entry for this event. She'll be slinging hammer and discus in Florida this weekend, which means you won't be seeing her at the Poudre meet on Friday where her teammates are headed. |
Miramar, FL |
| 04/05 |
After the mulit-event types are done, they clear the track and run the usual slate of events. If you've never been, the new Air Force Academy facility is a great place to watch track and field. And, if the track looks a litte short to you, your eyes are not deceiving you. The USAFA track was constructed was the maximum allowable turn radius, making for short straights and long, wide turns.
Air Force Academy
|
USAFA, CO |
| 04/05 |
The meet names "relays," "triangular," and "quad" come in for a lot of abuse these days. The Bayfield Quad appears to have six teams in attendance. They really should ponder renaming this meet the Bayfield Hex and let the schools coming ponder the intent of the double entendre. If you like San Juan Basin track and field, this is the place to be on Saturday. Apparently, though, either Montezuma-Cortez doesn't like San Juan Basin track and field, or they're late getting their school name on the meet list.
Bayfield High School
|
Bayfield, CO |
| 04/05 |
This meet would be one notable exception to the rule about April meets in Jeffco Stadium being qualifiers. Not only is it not a qualifier, but they run mixed-gender relays at this one--hence the Jack and Jill part of the meet name. At this point, six Jeffco schools are on the list of attendees.
D'Evelyn High School
|
Lakewood, CO |
| 04/05 |
So that you know and can count yourself as among the well-informed, Eagle Valley may have a larger percentage of its student body involved in track and field than any other school in the state. So that you can compare, I just counted 143 names on their curent roster with an enrollment of 700 listed in the latest CHSAA directory. If you can beat that (a little over 20% of the student body), you should be proud of that and let us know. In the meanwhile, you should expect a lot of results with a little x beside them in the Hy-Tek output of the meet results for Saturday.
Eagle Valley High School
|
Gypsum, CO |
| 04/05 |
For those not heading the Eagle Valley to see wave after unending wave of red-and-black clad Eagle Valley athletes, the nearest available option is at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction. But, if you want to pole vault, you'd better be headed for Gypsum.
Palisade High School
|
Grand Junction, CO |
| 04/05 |
As elevations go in Colorado, Highland High School is not on high ground. Relative to the rest of Weld Country, however, perhaps it's a different story. I leave all that as a geographical mystery for you to ponder. But, the competition should be pretty good on Highland's spiffy new track on Saturday. Fort Morgan joins the 3A-and-under crowd for this meet.
Highland High School
|
Ault, CO |
| 04/05 |
If you're in northeastern Colorado and a small school, you're likely headed to an 'H' meet this Saturday. Holyoke is the more easterly option; HIghland is the more westerly option. But, either way, you're going to find it difficult to get away from green and gold. If I were headed to this meet, I'd make it a point to spend some time in the vicinity of the pole vault. Be sure to pack along your Field Guide to Northeastern Colorado Pole Vaulters. There's nothing worse than seeing a new pole vaulter tnd not being able to nail the ID on the spot.
Holyoke High School
|
Holyoke, CO |
| 04/05 |
The Clash happens at Sports Authority Stadium. From humble beginnings just a couple of years ago, this meet has grown large in a hurry. But I wonder why Longmont hasn't gotten after the Legend folks about the rather liberal borrowing of the logo. Perhaps imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
Legend High School
|
Parker, CO |
| 04/05 |
The most prominent feature near Mountain Range High School is decidedly not a mountain range, but, somehow, "I-25 High School" doesn't roll off the tongue with the same air of elegance. In any case, this is a big meet and they'll be packing a lot of action onto their nine-lane track on Saturday. Stay tuned and I'll try to update later in the week, but this actually could be the biggest meet in the state this weekend. You can safely expect to find some big marks on the board when you check out the results for this meet.
Mountain Range High School
|
Westminster, CO |
| 04/05 |
This one will be the big one in Colorado Springs this weekend. It's a prelims-finals meet, so the sprinters and hurdlers, or at least the best of them, get two opportunties to dodge the wind instead of one. Honestly, I'm surprised more meets don't do this. Yes, it may limit events for a few athletes, but distance and throws folks have dealt with that issue for a long time. Garry Berry is the antitthesis of the USAFA track. If there's a track in Colorado with longer straights than Garry Berry, I would like to know about it.
Palmer High School
|
Colorado Springs, CO |
| 04/05 |
After a few years at Dutch Clark, this meet has moved out to the shiny-new track at Hornet Stadium out east of Pueblo. Hornets are not yet in season, though, so you needn't worry about getting stung. This meet's pull in the Lower Arkansas Valley is strong, so look for large representation from La Junta, Lamar, and surrounding communities. If I were attending this meet, I would make it a first priority to find out where the throwing venues are and spend an extraordinary part of the day enjoying that show.
Pueblo County High School
|
Pueblo, CO |
| 04/05 |
A little north of Mosca (means "fly" in Spanish, and there are plenty of flies--including those of the biting variety--to be found in the area, but not this early in the year), is a six-lane track that will be playing host to the whole of the San Luis Valley. Cripple Creek-Victor, Lake City, and South Park also come in to lend the meet a little bit of an exotic feel.
Sangre de Cristo High School
|
Mosca, CO |
| 04/05 |
Sterling Middle School Invitational If junior high track and field is more your style, head to Sterling. There will probably be a few younger siblings of those competing in Holyoke at this one, so a few parents may have to make a choice on Saturday.
Sterling Middle School
|
Sterling, CO |
| 04/05 |
Yes, the granddaddy of all Eastern Plains meets is happening this weekend in Limon. And, you know what that means--lines two blocks long out the restaurant doors right after the meet. But, the meet will start and end on time because Craig Bailey times this meet. So, those restaurant lines will at least happen at a very predictable time for staffing. Track-wise, the list of small schools (and Denver North) coming to this meet is kind of mind-boggling. While your mind is boggled, and in between events, try taking a blank map of Colorado and sticking a pin in the location for each of the schools coming to the meet. But, you won't have much time between events because... well, read the paragraph above again.
Limon High School
|
Limon, CO |
| 04/05 |
No,it's not a rankings meet, but as non-rankings meets go, this has a whole lot more tradition and staying power than most. Most people in Colorado, including myself, have only the vaguest idea of what a windjammer is, but maybe you can ask around if you go the the meet.
Englewood High School
|
Englewood, CO |
That, folks, is a lot of track and field for five short days! Enjoy.