Despite the weekend exodus of distance talent to the Arcadia Invitation, the Mullen Runners Roost 3200 still boasted a formidable field of talent. Photo by Rick Wilson.
Despite an afternoon turn of the weather that had athletes facing a 20+ mile per hour headwind down the homestretch, the 12th-annual Mullen Runners' Roost invite lived up to its reputation as one of the best collections of talent during the Colorado regular season. Five new meet records were set, two in the difficult afternoon conditions, and the leaderboards in both 4A and 5A were rearranged significantly by days' end.
Two of the meet records fell in the 1600, which was run in near perfect conditions mid morning.
Mullen's Andrew Berberick, named the outstanding male athlete of the meet, used a terrific surge at the bell on his way to a 4:16.80 run. But, he had to hold off a late charge by Wheat Ridge senior Henry Cowhick, who also finished under the old record with a time of 4:17.24. The Mustang senior came back to best Cowhick in the 800, in a more tactical 2:00.30.
The girls' race, while featuring a who's who of distance talent in Colorado, turned into a three-way battle between Thompson Valley's Laura Tremblay, Sierra's Samantha Thompson and Highland Ranch's Eleanor Fulton. A sub-71 first 400 meters insured that the race would be fast and with 200 meters to go it was still anyone's race. But Fulton had a gear no one could match on this day, powering to the tape in 4:57.08, besting Greeley Central's Annie Bersagel's 2001 mark of 4:59.34. Thompson was 2nd in 4:58.73, while Tremblay "settled" for a school record of 5:01.14. Several others (sorry-I can't remember accurately!) finished under 5:10.
But Thompson was far from finished with her outstanding performances. She anchored the Stallions' winning 800 medley relay (1:52.85), then ran down Mullen's Vanessa Fabrizio and sliced nearly three seconds of the meet record in the 800, turning in a 2:15.19 clocking. Thompson also anchored the 4x400 relay for good measure.
The other two meet records were eclipsed in solo efforts. Smoky Hill's Chase Cooper bested his own record in the pole vault, jumping 16-3; second place was nearly three feet in tow. The Thompson Valley girls claimed the final meet record of the day, winning the 4x400 relay in 3:57.91, over nine seconds ahead of second place.
Of course, there were many other outstanding performances, from athletes we've been hearing from for quite some time.
Sierra's Kelby Dias was a three-event winner, claiming both hurdles races (14.42 and an impressive 39.36 into the wind) and the long jump (21-10). Smoky Hill's Mark Sparks added several feet to his 5A best in the shot, winning with a throw of 59-0.5; he also claimed the discus title in a fine 171-3. Kenny Chambers of Doherty conquered last year's 5A 100 champ Jordan Edwards of Heritage in both short dashes, running 11.25 and 22.67 in the unfavorable afternoon conditions. Castle View's Aldric Brown soared again in the high jump, clearing 6-8.
Conifer's Emily Blok won two of her specialties, the long jump (18-0) and 100 (12.91 into the teeth of that afternoon wind); Katie Kruger of Alamosa took the 4A lead in both throws, launching a 44'5" and 133'7" winners. Thompson Valley's Liz Tremblay (400 in 56.07, 800), Boulder's Kelsey Lakowski (3200 in 11:21.76, 1600), Rampart's Sara Benson (300h in 44.86, 100h), Wheat Ridge's Annie Kunz (100h in 14.83, HJ), and Mountain View's Amy Medina (HJ in 5-5, TJ) picked up big wins and followed them with top-four finishes.
One of the day’s most intriguing races came in the boys’ 3200 and despite the wind, thrilled those in attendance with a fine performance. Cross country stars Evan Appel (Dakota Ridge), Dart Schwarderer (Wheat Ridge) and Andrew Roberts (Lyons) gamely fought the late-afternoon gusts, quickly separating themselves from another fine field. With a burst similar to Berberick’s in the 1600, Appel took off at the 2800-meter mark and won in a time of 9:35.40. Schwarderer (9:37.79) and Roberts (who led most of the race and ran 9:42.27) can be proud of their efforts and look forward to races in more favorable conditions.