I confess that I was hoping to do a two-for-one on this article, but results from the Montezuma-Cortez meet are still pending, so we'll go ahead with a few quick hits on the Runners Roost of Fort Collins.
As a rule the RR of FC didn't do a lot to budge the rankings from where they stood prior to the meet. Whatever the explanation, this year's version of the RR of FC wasn't the huge chart buster that it sometimes has been in the past.
Which is not the same as saying there was no movements in the rankings coming out of this meet.
Front and center among the performances that did have rankings implications was Jordan Cherin's 400. Not only did Cherin go straight to the top of the 1A 400 rankings with his 50.16, the time also put him at #3 in the all-classification rankings for the season.
It was a good day for the 400 in general, as Becca Schulte's 56.50 put her way out in front of the all-class and 5A rankings for the event. And, both Mary Gillett and Jasmine Chesson came out of the meet with new-and-improved 400 meter standing as well.
Eaton's Josh Gregory raised a few eyebrows with a 22.78 winner in the 200 when the wind had died down to practically nothing late in the meet. And, the fact that Eaton put three in under 24 seconds speaks volumes about the possibilities for a very Red 4x200 at some point in the season.
Thomas Robillard swept both hurdle events, but that falls under the category of expected. Both times were new season-best marks for Robillard.
In girls events, Zoe Gilbertson won the 100 hurdles, but left care of the 300s to Niwot's Kela Fetters. Fetters did not disappoint.
Audra Koopman and Maya Evans had a very tight finish in the 100, with Koopman taking the nod. Evans did not long jump, leaving that event for Koopman to win by about 16 inches.
Lily Tomasula-Martin swept the 1600 and 3200, while Lauren Gregory was not a participant in either field. McKenna Ramsay edged Emily Gallegos-Francksen in the 800 with a winning time of 2:21.
Casting an eye toward more subtle indicators, both Shining Mountain Waldorf and Heritage Christian Academy were among the participating teams. But, other than Cherin's 400, little stood out about the performances of the 1A powerhouse franchises. It would, however, be way too soon to safely go to sleep on either team.
Vista Peak looks to have assembled a formidable boys sprint troupe. And, if you got to see the Fort Collins boys cross country team at any point last fall, you won't be too surprised to learn they have three guys right around 10 minutes at the front of the 3200 field. The three in question this time would be Antonio Calderon, Blake Salvador, and Jack Conlon, but there are more horses in the barn.
The truth of the matter is that Fort Collins (or at least the boys) is looking like a very nicely rounded track and field team. They will need some top-end kind of performances to emerge in order to become a bona fide state title contender but, for now, they just might be the best dual meet team in the state.