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celebrating top performances week after week...</h3>
There was no stopping Kossi Tchenawou or Rajon O'Quinn last Saturday. Colorado Track XC file photo/photo by Alan Versaw.
By the time you make it to your senior year track season, you usually know what you’re good at. You know which events you should be competing in and you’ve established which events are “yours”.
Rajon O’Quinn, however, is proving that this doesn’t always have to be the case.
Last weekend at the Ray Campbell Invitational, the senior from Fountain-Fort Carson won the high jump and the 4x200, events she has always been good at, and also placed first and second in the 100 and 200, two events she had never competed in before.
“It was a pretty surprising but really good weekend,” O’Quinn said.
She has always been one of the state’s top contenders in high jump and O’Quinn put an exclamation point on that, setting a new PR of 5-9 on Saturday. She broke her school record once again and is currently the 5A leader in the event. “I got second in the high jump last year at state,” O’Quinn explained. “It’s always been a goal to win, so starting with ranking first is a big step for me.”
O’Quinn then followed up her high jump win with impressive debuts in the open 100 and the 200. “I went to my coach and asked if I could run them,” she said. “I wanted to try something else and wanted to see if I could be competitive in them.”
Clearly, she can be. O’Quinn was runner up on Saturday in the 100 with a 12.19 and won the 200 at 24.58. That 200 time is currently the second fastest in the 5A rankings. “I just put all I could into it and ended up coming out with a good result,” O’Quinn said. “I wasn’t expecting it but I’m really glad it turned out the way it did.”
Through the years, it’s been an interesting progression for O’Quinn. She began her freshman year as a distance runner, transitioned into the 400 her sophomore year, and by the time she got to her junior year she was a crucial part of Fort Carson’s sprint medleys and relays. The Fort Carson girls have posted the third fastest 4x200 in the state this spring at 1:42.86 with O'Quinn running the anchor leg.
And now, just in time for her senior year, she’s proving to be a solo sprinting star. “I’m all over the board with the events I’ve done,” she said. “The high jump and 400 had always been my main events but I think that the high jump, 400 and 200 could be my main events this year.”
O’Quinn’s talents are proving to be vast and deep and there’s no telling what she could accomplish in these final weeks of the season. “I’m not sure what I’ll run at state yet,” O’Quinn, who is signing to CU Boulder on Thursday, said. “I really want to win the high jump. I really want to see how well I can do in the open 200 at state, and if I can run with the faster girls that will be a really good experience. But hopefully I’ll end up having all my best results at state. I’m hoping for the best.”
Unlike O’Quinn, Kossi Tchenawou is no stranger to the short and fast distances.
The senior from Grandview high school posted the best 100 time in the state so far this season on Saturday winning the event in 10.63. He also won the 400 with a new PR of 49.76 and anchored the second fastest 4x200 in the state in 1:28.85.
“My coaches just wanted me to get good marks down,” Tchenawou said. “We just focused on getting down a good 100 time and then we just wanted to see where I was in the 400 and qualify the team in the 4x200. My 100 time is really getting there. I’ve been running really well lately.”
"Really well" may be an understatement. He is currently the fastest 100 sprinter in the state. “I don’t like to look at myself as the leader because I know people are up there with me,” Tchenawou said. “I still have a lot of work to do, but it’s good not being behind.”
So far, Tchenawou is having quite the season already with new PRs in the 100, 200 and 400. “Going into my season junior year I didn’t really work out over the fall and winter,” Tchenawou explained. “This year I did. I lifted a lot more and trained with really good coaches. I got on the right track early.”
Grandview is developing into a serious sprinting powerhouse this season, and Tchenawou is adding to that reputation. Grandview currently has three sprinters ranked in the top 18 in the 100, and their relays are looking strong. A team state championship is on Tchenawou’s mind. “I’m hoping to win state in the 100 and 200 and I want us to win state as a team,” he said. “We’re in there to win it all.”
Congratulations to Rajon O’Quinn and Kossi Tchenawou, Colorado Track XC’s athletes of the week, on their successful performances and fast times. Less than one month to go until state now--best wishes to all of Colorado’s athletes as they continue in their preparations!