Delaney Smith battled back to win the 300 hurdles.
Soon after the fireworks of the boy's mile, was the girl's 4x100, where the aforementioned
Cherokee Trail blistered a 46.79, a mere .28 off the state record. They pulled along
Smoky Hill and Cherokee Trail to season leading times of 48.38 and 48.79 in the
process.
in 49.69.
One of the more competitive races of the day was the girl's 300 meter hurdles. Delaney Smith overcame Mary Gillett with a late charge, winning 43.27 - 43.90,
leading five girls under 46 seconds -- which are fantastic times, while Mitchell Gorman led three under 39 in the boys' race with his 38.57.
Cruz Culpepper used a come-from- behind tactic to maximize his raw speed in taking
the 800 meters. Caden Foster surprised the field with an early surge to gain 10
meters on Culpepper. It took all the speed Culpepper possessed to chase down
Foster, yet Foster wouldn't capitulate and the final outcome was 1:54.05 - 1:54.06, barely in favor of Culpepper.
It seems that both Niwot and Mountain Vista will be
taking a crack at Smoky Hill's all-class record in the 4x800, probably sooner rather
than later.
This was on the heels of Katelyn Mercer's victory over Jenna Fitzsimmons in the
girl's 800. Mercer won in 2:14.75 to Fitzsimmons' 2:16.11, a nice double for her.
Both 3200's were run in "Mark Roberts style" with two separate staring lines, and
the slower seeds running 7.5 laps, but staying in lanes 4-8 for the entirety. It is a
style becoming more common at the larger meets.
Isabella Prosceno outlasted Caitlin McConnell under lights and the cool night sky.
Their times, 11:05 and 11:07, are excellent.
The girl's triple jump was a national class event approaching the wee hours of the
meet. Earlier in the season, Sydnee Larkin held the top mark in the country. Still
ranked in the top three nationally, she didn't disappoint last night hop, skip, and
jumping her way out to 40-10.
The surprise however, was Aumni Ashby, who leapt
to a near two-foot PR of 40-5. She now joins the national leaders. Anna Hart came third with a big 38-9, a mark that wins nearly every other meet in Colorado. Larkin also won the long jump with another national class leap of 19-6.
Grandview's Alisha Hart won the girl's high jump at 5-6.
Gabriella McDonald took both throwing events in meet record fashion, the shot put
in 46-0, and the discus in 14-9.
The final event of the evening, concluding just before 10 p.m. was two sensational
4x400's
Smoky Hill led the first two legs of the girl's relay. Fresh off a 4:01 at the Kansas
Relays last weekend, they were looking to steal one from Niwot and Grandview, who
had each posted sub-4 clocking's.
Niwot's third leg blasted the homestretch to
give them a sizable lead over Smoky and even bigger over Grandview.
However,
Grandview was anchoring 55-second quarter-miler Lily Williams. She tracked and
caught Smoky on the backstretch, but came just short of Niwot by the finish. Thus
Niwot walked away with the victory in 3:52.60 - 3:52.77, while Smoky held on well
for third in 3:56.03.
The boys' action witnessed back and forth action throughout, punctuated by a near
blanket finish. Mountain Vista, comprised of a combination sprinters and distance
runners, shocked the field with their winning time of 3:22.58 to Smoky Hill's
3:22.64, while Cherry Creek nearly caught them all at the finish with their 3:22.88.
A Few Takeaway's From The Meet
Cherokee Trail's girls are loaded! As are Niwot's
girls. Grandview, the 5A defending girls champ, lost a lot to graduation but still has
nice talent. Broomfield's Mooney twins are quite good, and they'll likely put
together a stout girls 4x800. The same goes for Mountain Vista's boy's and girl's
4x8's. Finally, we should see a massive assault on the all-classification 1600 record
at the state meet.