Taking a look at the heat sheets available on the CHSAA web site, one thing is abundantly clear: the wind on the Front Range on Saturday wreaked havoc with the seedings. To a large extent, this is true in every classification, but expect several of Saturday's finalists to have advanced from lanes and seeds that don't normally advance to finals.
The heavy winds that buffeted regional meets in Erie, Eaton, and Colorado Springs on Saturday dramatically impacted the seedings for the state meet. In some cases, strong trailing winds helped sprinters to times well above what they had prequalified at, if they had prequalified at all. In other events, especially races of 400 meters and up, the recorded times were considerably slower than what these competitors had recorded earlier in the season. If these competitors had a prequalifying mark, they could carry that forward to the state meet. If not, the mark they carry forward to the state meet is the time they had at the regional meet. All in all, a serious reshuffling of the seedings took place over regional weekend.
Fortunately, everyone gets to compete at the same time and location, and under the same conditions, this weekend.
One very important note about the 3A state track meet concerns the boys' discus venue. Ever since Mason Finley made the 200-foot barrier obsolete, people started wondering what to do about holding the discus competition at Dutch Clark Stadium where anything approaching 200 feet takes you into a row of trees and then over "the cliff." The resolution is that the 3A boys discus competition will be moved to Pueblo South High School and conducted there on Saturday morning at 9:30 AM. A shuttle service will be provided for competitors, coaches, and officials only.
I will not endeavor to pick a team favorite for either the boys and girls competition, but more than a few interesting matchups appear to be emerging out of the seedings.
On the boys' side, an intriguing matchup will unfold very early on Friday in the 110 hurdles. Patriot League standouts Mat Mathiason (Highland) and Corey Spahn (Roosevelt) will square off in heat 1. Tri-Peaks League standouts Ryan Cantu (St. Mary's) and Dan Gieck (Manitou Springs), pictured below, are the top seeds in heats 2 and 3, respectively. Look for the intensity of this one to build right into the finals.
It won't let up for Mat Mathiason in the 300 hurdles, either. This time, however, the primary competition for Mathiason appears to be coming from Bruce Barker of Cedaredge.
Platte Canyon, Hotchkiss, and Holy Family join a mass of Patriot League contenders--Erie, University, and Platte Valley--in what is shaping up as a very competitive 4 X 200. Erie, Hotchkiss, and Platte Valley are likewise bringing very competitive teams into the 4 X 400. As always, however, the 4 X 400 could hinge on who has the most left at the end of the day.
In the long jump, the only jumpers coming in with marks over 21 feet are from the western slope or the San Luis Valley--Wesley Byers of Olathe, JaLoni Martinez of Monte Vista, and Tyler Thompson of Roaring Fork. Thompson and Martinez also carry the top two triple jump marks, followed closely by Hayden Loudenslager of Faith Christian--last year's runner-up in this event.
The mystery in the shot and discus would appear to be in who will place second; Mason Finley is in a league and stratosphere of his own. The Erie Tigers can help their march for a state title immensely with a good showing by Cees Doxsey and James Tallent in these two events.
Sprinter A. J. Melillo and middle distance runner Thomas Hoffman should contribute heavily to Platte Canyon's title hopes. Roosevelt will look to a broader spectrum of athletes, but particularly to Corey Spahn's versatility in the 110 hurdles, 400, and long jump. Platte Valley should mount a serious title bid as well. Sprinters Brad Madison and Ty Burman, plus middle distance runner Sterling Zehnder hold the keys for the Broncos. University is yet another team that could quietly pile up more points than you might expect at first glance. Bayfield won its regional title and has potential to score well in most running events, relays, and the pole vault.
On the girls' side, no race holds more intrigue than Friday's 800 meters. Freshman phenom Sam Berggren of Middle Park has already run the fastest girls 800 in 3A history, but four other competitors (Kara Slavoski of St. Mary's, Kaitlin Hanenburg and Kelsey Brown of The Classical Academy, and Kim Hansen of Estes Park) have already run under 2:20. Not long ago, running under 2:20 before state made you a serious favorite in this event. So much for that lesson from history....
Each of the same suspects, except Hansen, return on Saturday to take their shots at the 1600 title.
The signature event for Berggren, however, is probably not the 800 meters. In the bigger picture, her times in the 400 (twice under 56-flat this season) are even more dominant. As with the boys' discus, nobody appears to be close.
The best 300 hurdles field in recent memory will take the track for Friday prelims. Peak to Peak's Margaret Weingart, last year's defending champion, is the favorite, but a long list of prequalifiers, led by Valley's Lindsey Hubbard, lurks close behind.
The 4 X 200 relay appears to be similarly competitive. The Classical Academy, defending state champions in this event, will have their hands full against the likes of Hotchkiss, Eaton, Roosevelt, Valley, and Colorado Springs Christian. There will be no redemption for even one sloppy exchange in this field. There is only slightly more breathing room for the favorites--Eaton, TCA, Roosevelt, Hotchkiss, and Peak to Peak (the defending state champion)--in the 4 X 400. Roosevelt and The Classical Academy, accompanied by Brush and Holy Family, once again appear among the favorites in the 4 X 800.
Yet another tight field may be found in the high jump. Ten girls enter the competition with marks of 5-1 or higher. Buena Vista's Jacy Jacobsen, no stranger to high finishes in the high jump competition, is a reasonable favorite going in, but misses and tie-breakers will almost certainly be huge in this field. Jenny Young of Bayfield is the only other 3A girl in the state to have cleared 5-3 this season.
Katie Dreher of Salida (at left), who has performed consistently around 36 or 37 feet all season long, ranks as the favorite in the triple jump. Beth Jones of Eaton, however, could help her team's cause in a huge way with an upset in this event.
Roosevelt, Eaton, and The Classical Academy bring the broadest respresentation of events to the state meet. If these three should slip even a little, however, look for serious bids to be mounted by Peak to Peak, Platte Canyon, Gunnison, and Middle Park. Middle Park was not a contender for a regional championship last weekend, but they cleary have the potential to put up a big set of points at state. State meets are rarely decided on team depth.