Lesha Essien and Kiana Gomez had their way with the horizontal jumps on Sunday. Colorado Track XC file photos by Alan Versaw.
A lot of very good track and field slipped through the door in advance of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
There were, of course, some missing names of prominence, but the names that did show up showed up big.
We'll start with the boys this time.
Christian Lyon added his name to a very short list of Colorado boys who've run under 7-flat for 60 meters this winter with a 6.98 winning time in finals. For good measure, he came back late in the day with a 22.41 to win the 200 over Trenton Stringari. Stringari has been amassing a considerable collection of second-place finishes this winter.
Calvin Munson busted the 50-second barrier with a 49.75 to win the 400, but a sub-2 800 within the borders of the state continues to be elusive. Noah Riley scampered away from the 1500 field with a 4:12, but 4A may want to take note that D'Evelyn's Charlie Doebbler ran second in 4:23. That is a new name on the radar screen.
Ryan Younggreen won yet another 60 hurdles event, but this time against what is probably the best high school field he has face all winter. Austin Campbell and Kyle Rex did the best at clearing bars, though neither at a season-best performance.
I'm going to hazard a guess, but I'm really not sure, that the James Jones who won the long jump at 21-6.75 will be jumping for Mullen in the spring. The Ryan Cornell who won the triple jump is a Raider of Regis Jesuit. We may need to get used to hearing those names here in short order.
The Charles Broomfield who won the shot put at 38-plus won't be competing for the school of the same name in the spring, but I don't yet have a clear reading on where he will be competing.
For the girls, Shayna Yon was all over the 60, dominating the prelims in 7.63 and then the finals in 7.54. In all, eleven girls ran under eight seconds on the day, including Jaiden Paris who dipped below eight for the first time.
Carly Lester blistered the track, and probably her feet as well, for a 24.76 200. Five more reached the finish line in under 26 seconds. Heide Baron posted a new indoor season best 400 for Colorado with a 56.97. Carly Lester was two-thirds of a second in arrears, with Damajahnee Birch in third. The result shuffles an earlier order of finish for the three.
Becca Schulte may have let slip a clue regarding a new feature race for her when she took the 800 in a hair over 2:24, while Camille Morales took a 5:20 first to the finish at 1500 meters.
If you take a look at the national 60 meter hurdle rankings, you'll now find Carly Lester, Zoe Gilbertson, and Emily Sloan each holding down top-ten marks courtesy of yesterday's action. The 5A 100 meter hurdles should be a doozy this spring.
Kiara Kearney PRd the high jump at 5-7.75. Christina Stathakis tied her pole vault PR at 11-5.75.
Lesha Essien edged Audra Koopman and Maya Evans for the long jump title at 18-1. I'm guessing we'll see more of Essien this spring, but I have no idea what uniform she might be wearing in the spring. For now, though, she wears the colors of Nite Moves Track Club.
Kiana Gomez PRd the triple jump at 37-3 for the win, and Haley Showalter dominated the shot put at 40-11. No explanation is required of what uniforms we'll expect to see those two in come spring.