1A boys: good to the last event

Heritage Christian Academy had a whole roster of heroes this past weekend, but none found their way to as many points as Isaiah D'Amico. Photo by Alan Versaw.

It's honest to say we saw it coming. It would be less than honest to suggest we saw the margin by which Heritage Christian Academy and Vail Christian pulled away from the rest of the field.

Christian school teams with a running emphasis are fond of putting a reference to Isaiah 40:31,

... but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,...

somewhere on their teamwear. While I'm pretty certain the primary meaning of that passage has little to do with either track and field or cross country, it did seem curiously applicable this weekend. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, seemed to wear down the guys from either Vail Christian or Heritage Christian Academy.

Nothing seemed to wear down Clay Russell, either, but we'll get to that part of the 1A boys story in just a little bit.

On paper, neither Vail Christian nor Heritage Christian Academy seemed like 85 or 90-point teams. Paper can be deceiving that way. And, clearly, neither the Saints nor the Eagles were paying attention to that kind of message. Mostly, it seemed, they were paying attention to each other and engaged in a friendly game of "Can you top this?"

It came down to the last event of the meet, the 4x400, with Heritage Christian Academy up on Vail Christian by a count of 84 to 77. Under most circumstances, 84 is going to win that battle, but things aren't always guaranteed. VC ran like they weren't guaranteed, earning a second in 3:42.24. But HCA had enough left in the tank to keep from letting this one slip out of their hands. The 3:43.42 the Eagles ran was more than enough to preserve their top standing. And so, the big trophy went home to Fort Collins where is has an identical twin in the trophy case from last year.

Only the guys who earned it last year were a very different cast from the guys who earned it this year. Heritage Christian Academy looked to have graduated the franchise last spring, but Joe Packard found the guys walking the hallways (does HCA have more than one?) this year to make the magic happen again.

Mostly, the Heritage Christian Academy/Vail Christian story from this weekend is a story of guys meeting or exceeding seeds. All weekend long.

For Vail Christian, Cole Caynoski delivered big, taking a third in each of the three sprints. Clearly, three was a big number for Vail Christian this weekend, as Ethan Pence added two thirds and a fourth in the 800, 1600, and 3200. A little more gas left in his tank on Saturday and that 1600 might have been a third place finish as well. Relays contributed a fourth and two seconds. Nick Boyne and Cooper Daniels snared a first and a third in the pole vault. Branden Currey added a fifth in the discus. It was a monstrous state meet for the Saints.

Only it was five points more monstrous for Heritage Christian Academy. Jeff Stellingwerf exceeded a lot of expectations with a fifth in the 100 and a fourth in the 400. Distance did their part with Jason Richard taking seventh in the 800 and ninth in the 1600, and the duo Daniel Palmer and Luke Gilliland going six/seven in the 3200 on opening day. Kale Morgan ate his vegetables and took a fifth in the 110 hurdles and sixth in the 300 hurdles as his reward. Danny Weaver got a seventh in the shot put.

But, the biggest single contributor for the Eagles was senior Isaiah D'Amico. D'Amico didn't win any event titles, but his thirds in the long jump, high jump, and 110 hurdles, plus a fourth in the 300 hurdles added up nicely to 27 points. In case you were wondering, that exceeded seed marks by 8.5 points. In a five-point final margin of victory, that is huge. 

The only event title for Heritage Christian in the entire meet was the 4x100 late on Saturday. The Eagles' 4x200 was DQd, and the 4x800 took a second. In all, it was a very impressive demonstration of depth for a 1A team.

The most visible meet fireworks, however, belonged to a senior out of North Park. Clay Russell swept the 100, 200, 400, and 800, with the 200 and 400 coming in meet record times. Better still, perhaps, Russell's 400 time would have won 2A and 3A as well. Russell's performance also matches the feat of Ashley Atkin from the 2011 state meet--a feat many of us figured we'd never see replicated. Some people, apparently, are just born to be fast. Add Clay Russell to your list of said people. 

Granada's Koy Palmer dominated both hurdle events, and Kyle English did the same with the horizontal jumps. English was unable to take down his own triple jump mark from last year, but did get his name on the 1A list of state meet records a second time with his long jump mark.

 

Colorado State Track and Field Championships

On-Site Coverage

2A boys: safety in numbers

The uniforms at the start of the 2A boys 200 tended toward the side of monochromatic. Photo by Alan Versaw.

1A girls: non-stop suspense

If you are looking for unsung heroes in Shining Mountain's state championship story, look no further than Paisley Sheehan. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Hurdle Race + Destruction Derby = Viral Video Success!

Want to watch the actual race video of the above carnage from a hurdles race at the Colorado High School Track & Field State Meet this past weekend? Check out the linked article with video with a story context or watch the video directly here.

Another tidal wave of records

The lengthy list of state meet records from 2014 includes a 53.44 400 from Nicole Montgomery. Photo by Alan Versaw.

5A boys: a tale of tumbling batons

The eventual top teams were nicely represented the 5A boys 100 meter final, but it was Trey Smith of Douglas County in lane one who took the event title. Photo by Alan Versaw.

The 3A 110 meter hurdles train wreck

Nothing at today's opening day of the 2014 Colorado State Track and Field Championships generated as much buzz and conversation as the train wreck at the fifth hurdle of the 3A boys 110 meter hurdles prelims, first heat. Photo by Eric Versaw.

State Saturday track event heat sheets

One of the things you can look forward to on Saturday is a kind of rematch of today's 4x200 final between Fountain-Fort Carson and Cherokee Trial in the 4x100. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Friday notes: 5A

Cerake Geberkidane and Blake Yount battled for the entire last 300 meters of the 5A boys 800. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Friday notes: 1A

Clay Russell keeps Idalia's Erick Enriquez-Acosta in second place around the third turn. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Seeing red

TCA's Andrea Willis sets a new 3A pole vault standard at 11-6. Photo by Tim Hilt.

Friday notes: 4A

Elise Cranny's 10:17.48 3200 eclipsed all other state meet news on Friday. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Friday notes: 3A

Coal Ridge extended their tradition of relay excellence with a big win in the girls 4x200. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Friday notes: 2A

Morgan Hartigan pitched a win for Paonia in the shot put with a throw of 39-10. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Tales from the pit

Taylor Alexander rose to the occasion to reset her own 1A state meet record, a few times over. Photo by Tim Hilt.

Thursday notes: 3A

Sarah Yocum had a very nice first day of her first state meet, with promises of more to come. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Thursday notes: 4A and 5A

Fort Collins moved by Monarch on the second leg of the 4x800 and never looked back. Photo by Alan Versaw.

 

Videos

Colorado State Championships - 3A Boys 110 Hurdles Prelims Colorado State Championships - 4A Girls 3200 Finals Colorado State Championships - 5A Girls 4x200 Prelims Colorado State Championships - 5A Boys 4x200 Finals
Colorado State Championships - 5A Boys 800 Finals Colorado State Championships - Olabisi Johnson Interview Colorado State Championships - Alleandra Watt Interview Colorado State Championships - Andy Bowles Interview
Colorado State Championships - Ashley Miller Interview Colorado State Championships - Broomfield Eagles 1600 Boys Colorado State Championships - Corissa Guynes Interview Colorado State Championships - Carly Lester Interview
Colorado State Championships - Cedaredge Bruins 4x100 Girls Colorado State Championships - Cerake Geberkidane Interview Colorado State Championships - Cherokee Trail Cougars 400 Boys Colorado State Championships - Cherry Creek Bruins 4x400 Boys
Colorado State Championships - Chris Baker Interview Colorado State Championships - Conner Wilburn Interview Colorado State Championships - Clay Russell Interview Colorado State Championships - Dior Hall Interview
Colorado State Championships - Dominic Compoz Interview Colorado State Championships - Elizabeth Cardinals 4x100 Boys Colorado State Championships - Fountain Fort Carson Trojans 4x40 Colorado State Championships - Fountain Fort Carson Trojans 100
Colorado State Championships - Hannah Carr Interview Colorado State Championships - Harrison Panthers 4x100 Girls Colorado State Championships - Heather Harrower Interview Colorado State Championships - Hotchkiss Bulldogs 400 Girls
Colorado State Championships - Jayce Hall Interview Colorado State Championships - Jackson Spalding Interview Colorado State Championships - The Classical Academy Titans 300 Colorado State Championships - Jordyn Colter Interview
Colorado State Championships - Katie Rainsberger Interview Colorado State Championships - Kayla Pinnt Interview Colorado State Championships - Kayla Zink Interview Colorado State Championships - Kelsi Lasota Interview
Colorado State Championships - Kevin McClanahan Interview (1/2) Colorado State Championships - Kevin McClanahan Interview (2/2) Colorado State Championships - Lance Munoz Interview Colorado State Championships - Lauren Gregory Interview
Colorado State Championships - Lutheran Lions 100 Boys Colorado State Championships - Lyons Lions 110 Hurdles Boys Colorado State Championships - Manitou Springs Mustangs 4x100 Bo Colorado State Championships - Marissa Storey Interview
Colorado State Championships - Miguel Molas Interview Colorado State Championships - Miranda Mathiason Interview Colorado State Championships - Nick Deray Interview Colorado State Championships - Nicole Montgomery Interview
Colorado State Championships - Palmer Ridge Bears 4x400 Boys Colorado State Championships - Paonia Eagles 200 Girls Colorado State Championships - Lyons Lions 1600 Boys Colorado State Championships - Pine Creek Eagles 4x400 Girls
Colorado State Championships - Rachel & Rebekah Rairdon Intervie Colorado State Championships - Ryan Dollerschell Interview Colorado State Championships - Ryan Younggreen Interview Colorado State Championships - Sarah Yocum Interview
Colorado State Championships - Shining Mountain Waldorf Lions 4x Colorado State Championships - Sophia Anderson Interview Colorado State Championships - Spencer Long Interview Colorado State Championships - The Classical Academy Titans 4x40
Colorado State Championships - Trevor Lyons Interview Colorado State Championships - Will Schmidt Interview Colorado State Championships - Zac Petrie Interview

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights