High Country Hustle At The Western Colorado HS Open

Keirryse Simpson took quick strides down the backside of the bright red track. His muscular arms pounded at an imaginary foe while he flashed by the stands in a sleek white singlet with the word "HUSTLE" stretched across the chest. 

For anyone not paying attention to what was happening on the track, the italic letters across Simpson's singlet said it all. 

hustle [ huhs-uh l ]

verb (used without object), hus·tled, hus·tling.

And that's just what he did - Simpson worked rapidly on the track, sweeping the 60 and the 200 in dominating fashion. He made his 7.10 and 22.49 clockings look like just another day at the office. 

Simpson's performances, and the words stretched across his singlet best personified Sunday's Western Colorado University High School Indoor Open.

It was another swiftly run meet, on and off the track, as athletes poured out all their energy reserves into their performances, while meet officials insured everything ran smoothly. 

Personal records were plentiful among the sprints, as everyone took full advantage of Gunnison's thin air. The Mountaineer Field House sits breathtakingly at 7,750 feet of elevation, which proved beneficial in the shorter events, the distance events, however, endured a much more pronounced burn in the lungs.

I've covered this meet all six years of its existence, and it never disappoints. 

RESULTS | PHOTOS | VIDEOS

Next Page: Great Battles In the Sprints...