Of course I’m biased, but the Northern Conference Championship is annually one of the state’s best meets—and this year should be no different. With a good weather forecast, excellent facilities at Ft. Morgan and a cast of athletes at the top of the 4A leaderboards all season, Tuesday’s meet should get the Colorado track postseason off to a rousing start. Many meet records on both sides could come under serious assault.
The boys’ team battle looks to come down to Silver Creek, Broomfield and Greeley West, with Longmont and Niwot leading the chase pack.
Top-notch sprinters Kenny Warner, Brett Wright, Scott Hardy and Evan Hurt lead the Raptors’ efforts. Between them, Coach Barbara Keith’s crew should score heavy points in the 100, 200, 400, 300h and all of the sprint relays. Look for the Raptors to take aim at all three of those relay meet records. Sophomore Nick Kadlec is ranked in the top eight in both distance events (4:33 and 10:05), while high jumper Joel Hammond (6-2) leads a diverse and talented field crew.
Broomfield will bring its usual, across-the-board talent to the meet. The Eagles bring four event leaders to Ft. Morgan: Trent Ireland in the 100 (11.02); Ian Donaldson in the 400 (50.13); Carson Wagner in the pole vault (14-1); and the 4x400 relay (3:26.29). Look for Daniel Fischer to score big points in the triple jump, and for all of coach Craig Boccard’s relays to be near the front of the pack.
Coach Mark Roggy’s Greeley West squad will rest much of its hopes on the broad shoulders of throwers Gavin Miller, Jordan Davis and A.J. Frieler. Davis’ seasonal best in the discus (167-11) would eclipse the meet record of 164-4, set last year by Sterling’s Lee Meisner. If form charts hold true, the Spartans would rack up 37 points in the two throws, but that’s not all West brings to the table this year. Kody Leach has had a fine season in the distance events (4:31 and 9:46), as have Daley hall (21-0.75 LJ) and Mark Roggy (13-0 PV). The Spartans’ sprint relays (43.48, 1:31.03 and 3:29.81) are in fine form, as well.
If any of those teams stumble, look for Peter Neis, Matthew Nam, and the talented distance runners for Scott Player’s Niwot Cougars to be poised for an upset. Neis leads the conference in the 110 hurdles (15.07) and is a top 300 man as well. Nam has cleared 13 feet in the vault, while David Perry leads both the 1600 and 3200 (4:28.88 and 9:43.67). He could take a serious crack at the 3200 meet record (9:42.97) and he and his mates could have an epic duel with Windsor in the 4x8. The Wizards set the meet record of 8:00.09 last year and have two runners, Seth Bott and Chris Ullom, who have both broken 1:58 this year.
And don’t forget last year’s conference and 4A champions, Longmont. Injuries have taken their toll on the Trojans this year, but with hurdler Aaron Praska (list-leading 39.09) leading the way, Tim McIntire’s boys will certainly punish anyone writing them off!
By my estimation, nearly every single individual running event record is under serious attack by this year’s girls crop in the Northern Conference. Individuals have already posted faster times than the current records in the 200, 400, 800, 1600, 100h and 300h, and there are several girls within a tenth of a second in the girls 100, as well. All the relay records are in jeopardy, as are the high jump, long jump, triple jump and shot put. Bring the popcorn and your cameras, this one’s going to be fun to watch!
In the team race, Thompson Valley finally won its first meet of the season last Friday in Berthoud, but should be a force on Tuesday. Liz (25.28, 56.07, 2:18.32) and Laura Tremblay (2:15.10, 5:01.14 and 11:09.52) lead the conference in every event from the 200 to the 3200, and are integral members of relay squads that top the conference in four of the five relay events. Brooke Regan, Sierra Method, Katie Lindenmuth, Karina Ernst and Marybeth Ester will be everywhere for the Eagles.
One team that has not had trouble winning invitational titles this year is the Windsor Wizards. Coach Conrad Crist’s girls have been a force all season, a team that scores points in every event on the program. Sophomore speedster Emily Elliott will lead Windsor’s charge toward the team title, as she owns top-three times in the 100 (12.65), 200 (25.66) and 400 (57.52). Whichever relays Crist decides to put her on will be serious contenders for titles as well. Big field event points should be expected from the Wizards; Katie Olson (36-10.5 SP), Chelsea O’Connor (10-0 PV and 107-7 DT) and Rachael Weakland (35-4 TJ and 5-2 HJ) could score 30-40 points between them.
The next two teams should be Broomfield and Niwot. The Eagles are known best for the hurdling prowess of Kayla Wein (who already owns both conference hurdle records) and Ashley Miknis, but Chaudra Sewell (5-2 HJ and 110-9 DT) and Erin Michaelis (33-11 SP and 106-9 DT) will be among those who will also score big points for Boccard’s squad. Count on Miknis and Wein anchoring some quick relays.
Miranda Lahman (16.26 100h, 47.89 300h, 4-10 HJ and 2:23.16 800), Emily Boldt (12.81, 26.31 an6 59.72) and a talented field crew will lead the Cougars. Niwot has the top posted time this season in the 4x100 (49.92), and the second-best times in the 4x200 (1:44.99) and 4x800 (9:54.35).
Not surprisingly, there are many other top-level athletes from schools throughout the conference. Mountain View’s Amy Medina (5-7, 36-0 TJ, 17-1.25 LJ, 13.05, 26.49) is the definition of a multi-event star, and teammate Anna Avila is ranked 3rd in 4A in the discus (125-7). Roosevelt’s Miranda Link is also ranked third in 4A, in the pole vault (10’6), and her teammate, Kayla Simmler, is one of the best shot putters around (37-5.5). Berthoud boasts three excellent jumpers: Courtney Mills (36-1 and 16-5.5); Cheyenne Hall (34-6); and Chanee Lintel (34-0.5). Sam Kee of Longmont has been one of the top sprinters in the state all season, with marks of 12.49, 25.58 and 58.20, while Greeley West has a terrific trio of distance runners: Ashlee Smalley (5:17 and 11:19), Sarah Swenson (5:20 and 11:41) and Erica Hinchcliffe. (2:23 and 5:28).
And there are others! Whoever stakes their claim as the best in the Northern Conference this year can truly be proud of a great accomplishment.