Brooke Regan, Liz Tremblay, and Laura Tremblay are running in some select company of late. Read on to find out why. Photo by Ken Regan.
State qualification by performance was the biggest change in 4A and 5A track this spring. How is it working out so far?
Probably the most frequently expressed objection to qualifying to state by performance was that it would allow teams to qualify more than three individuals for state in an event. Presumably, the fear is that this would allow that school to "flood the field" in that event.
With some time today to research the topic and an interest in the question at hand, I looked at the rankings in 4A and 5A for each individual event except high jump and pole vault. The reason for excluding those two events is twofold. One, both events are seriously logjammed right now. Two, both events are highly technical and will likely show a greater change in rankings between now and the state meet than any other events.
In the remaining individual events, I identified six events (while I checked closely, I don't claim to have checked infallibly) where a school would, if the state meet were being held this weekend, qualify more than three athletes for state in a single event. Those events are the 5A girls 3200, 5A girls 1600, 4A boys 200, 4A girls 3200, 4A girls 1600, and 4A girls 800. It's probably not coincidental that five of the six events are middle distance or distance events.
Accolades go to Silver Creek High School, Thompson Valley High School, and Fort Collins High School for being the schools in question. Regardless of your circumstances, putting four or more of your athletes into the top 18 in the state in your classification is a remarkable achievement.
For Silver Creek, the accomplishment has come in the 200 meter dash. Scott Hardy, Brett Wright, Kenny Warner, and Evan Hirt would each run in the state meet representing Silver Creek High School if the meet were held this weekend.
Up the road a short distance in Loveland, the accomplishment may be even bigger. Thompson Valley would have five girls in the 3200, and four girls each in the 1600 and 800 (assuming that Laura Tremblay and Karina Ernst would run all three events). In the 3200, Laura Tremblay, Alicia Randall, Jessica Cunningham, Karina Ernst, and Hannah Pensack-Rinehart all rank in the top 18. In the 1600, Laura Tremblay, Brooke Regan, Alicia Randall, and Karina Ernst all rank in the top 18. In the 800, Laura Tremblay, Liz Tremblay, Brooke Regan, and Karina Ernst all rank in the top 18. Any wonder why Thompson Valley took 4A honors in cross country last fall?
Up the road an even shorter piece, much the same thing is happening at Fort Collins High School, home of the 5A cross country state champion Lambkins (bah, ram, ewe!). In the 3200, Marci Witczak, Miranda Benzel, Rachel Viger, and Kirsten Follett all rank in the top 12. In the 1600, Tati Ogan adds her name to the four already mentioned to make five Lambkins in the mix. As with Thompson Valley, it's easy to understand when you realize Fort Collins was a very successful cross country team last fall, ultimately placing 7th in the nation.
Other teams with three individuals currently ranking among a classification's top 18 include 5A girls 400 - Palmer and Littleton, 5A girls 200 - Littleton, 5A girls 100 - Grand Junction, 5A girls shot put - Littleton, 5A boys discus - Loveland, 5A boys shot put - Loveland, 5A boys triple jump - Fountain-Ft. Carson, 5A boys 200 - Littleton, 5A boys 300 hurdles - Littleton, 4A boys 300 hurdles - Falcon, 4A boys 800 - Wheat Ridge, 4A boys 400 - Silver Creek, 4A boys 100 - Mullen, 4A boys triple jump - Broomfield, 4A boys discus - Greeley West, 4A girls discus - Pueblo Centennial and Broomfield, 4A girls shot put - Widefield, 4A girls triple jump - Berthoud, and 4A girls 100 - Widefield. Hats off to each of these programs!
So, what does it all mean? Does it mean Fort Collins, Thompson Valley, and Silver Creek are in line to score more points at state than they would have under last year's system? Probably not. It would be fairly stunning if any of these schools were to place four or more runners in any of these events at state. More runners at state? Yes. More points at state? Probably not.
Most likely, the biggest impact will be for competitors from the same region who are high-achieving athletes but may not have made it to state last year on account of having the misfortune of living in a "loaded" region.
We'll see, after another three or four weeks rolls by, how many teams will actually be sending four or more athletes to state in a single event.