To a very large degree, New Balance Nationals Indoor is the holy grail of indoor track and field. Make it there, and you have arrived.
Practically, for the southern tier of states--which sort of does and sort of doesn't include Colorado, a lot of athletes are fully invested in the outdoor season before NBNI rolls around. In Colorado's case, most indoor athletes are willing to call it good with the trip to Pocatello, Idaho, for the Simplot Games.
A few, however, are not willing to call it good when they check out of the hotel room in Pocatello. It's probably not so much an issue with the hotel room as with the siren song of New York City.
I get it why some folks would prefer New York over Pocatello, but count me among those who would prefer the ambiance of Pocatello to that of New York City. I'll take Napoleon Dynamite over King Kong any day of the week. Like I said, though, not everyone is like me.
In any case, even meeting the championship event entry standards for NBNI ranks as a significant accomplishment. In this article, and the companion piece to appear tomorrow, we'll take a look at who from Colorado has already met the qualifying standards.
60 Meter Dash (7.04) - Devin Cadena (6.98), Zion Gordon (7.04)
200 Meter Dash (21.94) - none
400 Meter Dash (49.44) - none
800 Meter Run (1:55.10) - none
Mile Run (4:17.50) - none
Two Mile Run (9:20) - none
5000 Meter Run (15:12) - none
60 Meter Hurdles (8.14) - Zion Gordon (8.13)
High Jump (6-7) - none, though Jequan Hogan is within a quarter inch
Pole Vault (15-3) - Max Manson (15-5.75)
Long Jump (22-9) - none
Triple Jump (45-9) - Jequan Hogan (48-4.75)
Shot Put (56-6) - none
Weight Throw (61-0) - none
Pentathlon (3550) - none
This list will probably not grow by leaps and bounds by the middle of February (when the indoor season is, for all practical purposes, done around here), but it is reasonable to expect a few more additions to the list between now and then. Anyone hoping to check off the standards for distance events had best have a trip to low elevation scheduled for sometime in the next five weeks.