Regional qualifying actions gets underway in a big way tomorrow. In this installment, we preview the 4A regional meets taking place in Fort Collins and Longmont. Both meets run a two-day schedule that begins on Tuesday and concludes on Friday.
No region in the state screams "girls distance" like 4A Region 2. Although many of the top contenders may be content to carry their prequalifications forward into the state meet, this is the home region of distance powerhouse programs Thompson Valley, Greeley West, and Greeley Central. The luster of the region may be diminished a little by the apparent absence of Greeley West's Erica Hinchcliffe, there is still plenty of talent to go around. Kendra Gerk (Greeley West) and Laura Tremblay (Thompson Valley, at left) own the top 3200 and 1600 times, respectively, in the state on the season and are safely qualified for the state meet. Both have a long list of teammates, however, who will look to be qualifying for state. Look for scorched track in these two events.
Speaking of injuries, this will be the meet where we should find out if Liz Johnson (Fossil Ridge) makes a bid to defend either of her throwing titles from last year. A knee injury sustained in April has kept Johnson on the shelf and her status remains in question.
The most interesting question may be what events Mountain View's Brianne Beemer will run at the regional and state meets. Season performances for her indicate the 400, 300 hurdles, and 800 are each well within the realm of possibility. Of course, there are tantalizing relay possibilities for Beemer as well. Teammates Amy Medina and Anna Avila raise fewer questions. Expect Medina to continue her run of success in the high jump and triple jump and Avila to be close to the top, if not at the top, in the throwing events.
Lee Meisner of Sterling and Joe Hochanadel of Fort Morgan promise to make both throwing events interesting. Although already prequalified for state, throwers rarely take a week off and these two should stage an interesting duel for the throwing titles.
Teamwise, Thompson Valley and Greeley Central seem to hold the most cards on the girls side, particularly so if long sprinter Liz Tremblay is back in stride for Thompson Valley. The boys' side of the ledger could see closer competition, but Windsor has been steadily improving all season.
Down the road a few miles, Longmont appears to be as dominant as any team in any region, regardless of classification. In a word, the Trojans are loaded. The biggest question marks will center around which relays Longmont will load up. Matt Butcher gets most of the headlines in Longmont, but he is scarcely without a supporting cast. Look for Daniel Berry, Beau Brittenham, and Aaron Praska to haul in a few big points as well.
Returning state champion Cherokee Trail figures to post some solid results as well. Distance runner Scott Ingram, though already prequalified in the 1600 and 3200, should make his mark in the distance events. Unfortunately, however, Cherokee Trail seems to be running a bit behind where they were at this time last year.
Broomfield lacks the team depth to make a strong run at the regional title, but thrower Nick Zissimos and middle distance runners Ian Donaldson and Matt Biegner should bring quality points to the table for the Eagles.
Broomfield will likely see a similar level of success on girls' side, led by sprinter/hurdlers Kayla Wein and Ashley Miknis.
Kelly King of Silver Creek High School has prequalifications under her belt in all three distance events, but it's a safe bet she will not try to run all three at the regional meet. Elsewhere, the Raptors will look for points from pole vaulter Erin Ehrmentraut.
Unfortunately for Ehrmentraut, she happens to pole vault in the same region as Elizabeth Stover, the state record-holder in the pole vault. Largely due to Stover's impact, Longmont is a likely team favorite on the girls' side, but Stover will need some help. Longmont is traditionally strong in the relay events and those events could tell the story for the Trojans this weekend.