The 3A State Recap: Lutheran Sweeps Competition


On the girl's side of the competition we could be seeing the start of a dynasty, because's Avery Wright swept the 100 and 200 as a freshman.

The Montezuma-Corteza freshman took the 100 in 12.36, and the 200 in 25.23. Rebecka Ballard took the runner-up spot in the 100 in 12.53, and Regan Aurich took the runner-up spot in the 200 in 25.34.

The 400 was perhaps one of the most competitive events of the meet, with Lilly LavierAshten Loeks, and Aurich all finishing within a second of each other, and dipping under 57 seconds. 


Lavier took the state title with a 56.10 clocking, while Aurich claimed her second runner-up finish in 56.67, and Loeks finished third in 56.93.

Lavier's dominance over the mid-distance was on full display in the 800, where she ran away from the field for a 2:13 state title. Shannon King was the shocker of the race, dropping over five seconds from her personal best to run 2:15 for a runner-up finish. 

The 1,600 was all about The Classical Academy. 


The Burgundy girls swept the top two spots with Kaylee Thompson claiming the state title in 5:02, and Katie Flaherty finishing second in 5:04.Quinn McConnell finished third in 5:06, while King completed her big weekend with a 5:07 PR, fourth-place finish. 

Thompson's victory in the 1,600 came a few days after her kick-to-the-finish state title in the 3,200, where she was pushed to the line by Basalt sophomore Sierra Bower

Thompson took the title in 10:58.00 to Bower's 10:58.31.


In the 100H Jordan Lanning and Esther Diza-Mbelolo both girls dipped under 15 seconds. Lanning took the state title with a 14.20 clocking, which was just ahead of Diza-Mbelolo's 14.54. 

Loeks was the runaway victor in the 300H, claiming the state title in 43.63. Cedaredge freshman Megan Jenkins took the runner-up spot in 44.89, beating Lanning's 44.91 finish.

Lanning added two more state titles to her belt, however, as the Bayfield senior went on to win the high jump with a 5-8 mark, and the long jump with a 18-2.5 leap. Caitlin Simmons was a close second in the long jump, going 17-8.5

Simmons did get her state title, however, as the Lutheran junior won the triple jump in 38-6.

In the pole vault Kristina Willis took two more steps up on the podium, winning the event with a PR of 12-1. She won the event by over a foot. 

Katie Dack-Howell was the queen of the throws.

The Lutheran sophomore dominating the field in the discus with a toss of 136-7, which beat Gunnison freshman Melita Ferchau by 22 feet.

Dack-Howell claimed the shot in 42-9.25, which beat Emily Arseneau's toss of 40-6

In the relays Eaton was the stunner in the 4x1, winning the event in 49.05. Moffat claimed the 4x2 over Coal Ridge, while Lutheran slipped by Elizabeth FTW in the Sprint Medley. 

Alamosa dipped under four minutes in the 4x4 to win in dramatic fashion. Their 3:58 finish beat The Classical Academy's 4:01. 

In the 4x8 Peak to Peak were a runaway train, dropping the field halfway through and running away with a 9:17 victory. D'Evelyn took second in 9:33. 

The team race came down to single digits, with Lutheran claiming the state title with 109 points, which was just two points ahead of The Classical Academy, who tallied 107. Coal Ridge finished third with 45.5 points, which was just ahead of Alamosa's 45, and Peak to Peak's 43.