Luke Tichi was in a class by himself in the Great Southwest mile.
The call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment, but a good deal of today's enchantment came from parts north in Colorado.
The Great Southwest is something of a championship meet in a month full of sort-of championship indoor meets. As such, it draws from heavily from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. But there were a few more states in the mix as well. And, Colorado helds its own rather nicely.
Maddie Ortman edges out the competition in the 60 hurdles.
It didn't take long for Colorado to get into a winning way, with Maddie Ortman taking the 60 meter hurdles in 9.41. Somehow, it's not Valor Track Academy without a fast hurdler or two in the stable.
Not counting relays, which I'll get to later, Luke Tichi was the next Centennial Stater to post a win. Tichi bided his time early and attacked big late to win the mile in 4:27.50. We saw Tichi's star rising in cross country season. He's evidently going to be even easier to find in track season.
But Colorado wasn't even close to done yet.
Camille Peisner took down favored Dominique Mustin out of Arizona in the 400. Peisner ran 55.95 to Mustin's 56.39. And Mustin was fortunate to have kept it that close at the end, as Peisner finished the last straight looking ready for another 400 (turns out, she almost was--see the note about the 200 below).
Rece Rowan sent a message with a throw beyond 57 feet.
Meanwhile, in the field events, Colorado was being heard from as well. Teagan Zwaanstra leaped a monster PR of 19-7 to win the girls long jump. Rece Rowan heaved the shot put 57-9.75 to win the toss of the cannonball. Mark Rowan's distance down--it should definitely became a conversation piece around the state as the outdoor season draws nearer. It's been a while since we've had someone threatening 60 feet this early in the season.
Colorado teams also posted wins in both the boys and girls 4x200, then again in the 4x400s. AMATA (three times) and Valor Track Academy (once) did the heavy lifting there.
Colorado second-place finishes went to Sydney Holiday (60), Korey Hairston (60), Michael Ciccio (400), Charlie Gordon (800), Camille Peisner (200), Sadie McMullen (LJ), Caitlin Simmons (TJ), Aliyana White (S), and Anthony Hicks (LJ).