Among the athletes taking to the Longmont track in search of compelling efforts on Friday will be Lauren Gregory and Paul Roberts.
It will be a different year for the St. Vrain Invitational than it's been in the past. We may see a little less of the top athletes in the state in action this weekend as most have their state qualifications sewn up, though we still will see the overwhelming majority of those athletes in at least limited action.
A sampling of the top-tier athletes we expect to see, based on preliminary entry lists, include Jordan Xiong, Caleb Ojennes, Isaac Green, Paul Roberts, Brandon Storebo, Andrew Barlow, Audra Koopman, Kiana Gomez, Keely Parish, and Chloe Woest.
What we will see a whole lot more of will be athletes battling for those elusive last qualifying spots to state. The St. Vrain Invitational will be ground zero for schools not committed to a league meet this weekend and looking for the best possible foundation of competition from which to launch final bids for state qualification.
If you want some insight into how the state qualifying positions are shaping up in your events, you want to be tuned in on Friday evening!
Another item of special interest will be four high school athletes stepping up to run against elite competition in the USATF-sanctioned part of the meet.
Word is afoot that Lauren Gregory and Riley Cooney will be laying it on the line in the elite mile. Gregory still has hope of making one of the major national mile fields, and a nice performance here certainly wouldn't hurt her chances.
Ryan Younggreen figures to join a group of elites in the 110 hurdles (42" version). And Becca Schulte is reported to be taking on the elites in a 400.
For more on the St. Vrain Elite meet-within-a-meet, check out last night's article about the elite athletes making their way to St. Vrain on Friday.
That pretty much fills up an afternoon and evening of things to look forward to!
Meet action begins at 11:30 AM, and meet management has adjusted the start of the meet a little for more flexibility in dealing with potential weather conditions.
Download your St. Vrain Invitational time schedule here (Updated 12:30 PM, May 6)
Final St. Vrain heat sheets - coming soon!
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