One of the great successes of the 2017 Colorado high school indoor season has been the introduction of the Colorado School of Mines series of indoor meets.
Four meets. Four consecutive Thursdays. With none of the meets lasting more than two hours and 45 minutes. And, a lot of very nice performances packed into those four weeks.
Mines aims to be back with the series next year, and pretty soon we may all be wondering how we ever got along without this series. It fills a clear and definite niche.
The last of the four indoor meets was a mix of intensity. Some events were lightly contested; others were contested at as high of a level as we've seen all season long.
Zaire Jackson edged Chase McLean and Marcus Howard in the 60 meter hurdles, taking the win in 8.40, only .05 off his PR set just last weekend.
Weston Donati-Leach held off James Lee and Brandon Swenson to win the 800 in 2:01.33. When you factor in the Steinhauer hairpins, that could be a sub-2 equivalent elsewhere.
Nick Paone edged Titan Birkholz in a very close triple jump battle at a little beyond 41 feet.
The story was similar on the girls side.
Taylor Watson's season just keeps getting better. Last Saturday, she gave Arria Minor all Minor could have ever asked for in the 60. Last night, Watson turned up another very nice time with a 7.55. Kiona Gibbs laid down a 26.90 on the Steinhauer hairpins that nobody came close to touching in the 200.
Sonja Morin ran a PR 2:24.36 to put an 8th-grade imprint on the 800 meter title. Morin beat 400-meter winner Chantae Steele to the finish line to claim that crown.
With no Brie Oakley to contend with, Alayna Szuch easily disposed of the competition at 3000 meters, winning in 10:35.01.
Semaye Johnson nipped Kylie Davis in the 60 hurdles finals, but Davis got the consolation prize with a shiny new PR mark of 8.92.
Erika Willis reached a new season-best mark in the pole vault at 12-6. Aumni Ashby missed her best mark in the triple jump by a mere quarter of an inch. Watch out for both of these individuals come outdoor season.