Warning: this edition of Colorado Track XC's track and field notes moves, at points, a little beyond the realm of news and into the realm of opinion. I trust you will bear with me on that.
First off, let's extend a salute and some recognition to some familiar faces in the coaching ranks who won't be in the same job next spring. We bid farewell (at least for the time being and at least as head coaches) to such standards of excellence as Tim McIntire of Longmont, Brian Faulkner of Poudre, Scott Leiding of Erie, Richey Hansen of Peak to Peak, and Jeff Bliven of Smoky Hill. Each will be missed in a profound way. And, there may be more of these to announce. If you know of names to add to this list and you know the person in question is okay with having his/her name on the list, please send me that information and I will add those names.
This is also a good time to remind folks of summer track and field opportunities. Great Southwest is coming up on June 5 - 7. If you'd like to find out about what it takes to be on the Colorado team, contact our state selection chairs (see article link in previous sentence). Among those committed to the Colorado team already are: Dior Hall, Chyna Ries, Ashley Miller, Carly Paul, Carly Lester, Audra Koopman, Alivia Ayres-Perry, Lindsey Kroboth, Lexi Reed, Karli Cumber, Tabor Scholl, Brynell Yount, Shayna Yon, and Damajahnee Birch. If you're wondering about the gender bias of that list, it would be because I extracted that information out of the girls selection chair. I hope to publish a complete list of confirmed Colorado entries soon.
For the throwing oriented, there are at least two events coming up. On May 30 is the Colorado Festival of Throws in La Junta. Then, on July 10 - 12 you have the 3 Day Throwers Quadrathlon which will be hosted at Pine Creek High School. I'm hoping throwers come out en masse to support both events. There have been some mutterings in the past about lack of out-of-season opportunities for throwers, but that lack is no longer in place. And, if you have an interest is seeing more of the javelin here in Colorado, these meets are one positive step you can take in that direction.
And, of course, USATF-Colorado is running a full slate of summer meets. This year, this will include the Region X championship meet at the Air Force Academy over the 4th of July weekend. USATF Junior Olympic Nationals are deep into Texas this year, so that could be a high humidity summer destination for you if you qualify out of the regional meet here.
Thinking over our state meet, and this little melee on turn two of the 5A girls 800 (and another one a lot like it on the 5A boys 4x800)...
maybe it's time to think about different ways of doing the 800 and 4x800. The options seem to be 1) cutting the fields, 2) going to heats (and possibly prelims and finals, at least for the open 800), or 3) using a two-turn stagger off the start instead of a one-turn stagger. If you look to other states, all three of those options are currently in use in other states. At the moment, however, it seems we have too many state dreams being dashed by splats on the track. It's one thing to be beaten in a race, it's quite another to be beaten by being part of a domino effect that takes out close to half the field a little over a quarter of the way into your race. It may be time to write a proposal to bring to the track and field committee....
As soon as next year, we could be seeing widespread use of electronic starting in place of the traditional starter's pistol at track and field meets across the state. We need to start thinking now about the implications that has for starting track and field races. Will it be a predictable start like it is for swimming or a little less predictable as it is with the pistol? I don't know the answer to that question, but I'm interested in finding out. Perhaps the folks from over in Grand Junction have some insights to share with us about that.
On a similar note, there was considerable discussion on the forum this spring about the time it sometimes takes for sprinters and hurdlers to get into blocks after the "to your marks" command. This may be more an NFHS kind of issue than a local issue, but it seems to me there is an extremely easy way to address this issue. Let a few starters and meet directors get together and decide what constitutes an adequate amount of time from command to blocks. I don't know, maybe eight seconds. Anyone not settled in by that time is disqualified. Just like a false start. Easy, no? You can flame me or cheer me for that suggestion on the comments to this article. I can promise you, though, that that would move us through the progression of sprint and hurdle heats in a lot less time than we're taking now.
And, how about a shout out to the Harrison High School girls track and field team? As best as I can tell, they had eight girls out for track this spring but managed to score 34 points at state, including winning two 4A relays!
Cross Country Notes
Just a reminder to all that the competitive season this fall begins one week sooner than any previous fall. Official fall practice starts August 11. August 21 is the first allowable competition date, and we're not talking scrimmages here. That is actual competition. You will note that the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede has moved one week forward this year to take a slot on that weekend.
I have a lot of meets already up on the calendar, but I know there are many more meets not yet on the calendar. Please send to me information about any meet you'd like to see on the calendar. Use the e-mail address you see in the lower left corner of this page.
The Colorado State Cross Country Championships falls on its earliest possible date this fall--October 25. Next fall, it will be back to October 31. And this year's early date means it's four weeks between State and Nike Cross Regionals once again this fall.
Nike Cross Regionals will be at a new location is fall in Casa Grande, Arizona, roughly midway between Phoenix and Tucson. This year's date is November 22.