Wild Finishes At The Colorado State T&F Champs: The 5A Recap


Two names dominated the girl's side of the 5A state meet. 

And that's Camille Peisner and Riley Stewart

Between the two of them, five state titles were won. 

Pesiner swept the 100 and the 200. The Valor Christian senior ran a PR of 11.88 in the 100 to win the event over Michelle McDonald's 11.96. 

Then Peisner rallied back to win the 200 in 23.92 over McDonald's teammate, Kyairra Reigh, who ran 23.93.

Peisner's 200 victory came after Reigh's 400 victory over her several hours earlier. Reigh dropped an eye-opening US No. 7 53.27 to win the 400. Pesiner took second in 54.34. 

In the distance events Riley Stewart completed perhaps one of the most difficult triples - winning the 800, 1,600, and the 3,200. 

That's three-and-a-half miles of racing. 


Stewart won the 800 in 2:09.60. Maelynn Higgins and Cameron McConnell gave chase into the final 200, but Stewart would not be denied. Higgins finished second in 2:10.38, while McConnell shared the same second, finishing third in 2:10.83.

In her third race of the met Stewart ran off into her own world, chasing the shadow of her own state record. The Cherry Creek junior finished just off her PR, but claimed her third state title of the meet, running 4:45.96 - that's also her fourth of the year.  McConnell finished second in 4:53.29, a hundredth-of-a-second ahead of Pomona's Emma Stutzman, who finished third in 4:53.30.

A day earlier Stewart battled Stutzman over eight laps in the 3,200 final. Stewart surged late to win the event in a state-leading 10:31.45, while Stutzman ran a PR of 10:39.18 to finish second. 


Meanwhile, Zeaniah Wedgeworth Fabiola Belibi, and Casia Provencal took the 100H down the final strides. Wedgeworth won the state title in 14.36, while Belibi and Provencal were separated by one-hundredth of a second. Belibi took second in 14.54, while Provencal finished third in 14.55 - both of them are juniors. 

As tight of a race as the 100H was, Kylie Bahr made sure the 300H wasn't. The Valor Christian junior ran away with a 42.92 victory. Belibi took second in 44.18.

Denver East won the 4x100, while Grandview won the 4x200 and the Sprint Medley Relay. Valor ran away with the 4x4, while Cherry Creek won the 4x800 - in 9:05. 


In the high jump Brooke Naughton battled Jadyn Luna for the state title. In the end it came down to an inch - with Naughton winning with a clearance of 5-7, which was just over Luna's 5-6.

Belibi may have tallied two runner-up finishes on the track, but she was able to capture a state title off the track - in the long jump, where she leapt 18-0 to win the title. 

Melody Nwagwu and Taryn Burkett cleared 39-feet in the triple jump, with Nwagwu claiming the title with a leap of 39-9. Burkett finished second in 39-3.25. 


Rain put a damper on the pole vault - the event had to be postponed multiple times Saturday afternoon. The inclement weather kept anyone from flying too high. Regardless, Lilly Nichols claimed the state title, clearing 12-0. Fairvew's Sophie Pierce and Olivia Kosanovich went 2-3 with clearance of 11-9, and 11-6. 

Meanwhile, Kajsa Borrman dominated the discus. The Lovelland junior won the event with a toss of 145-10. 


Likewise, Amanda Opp won shot put with the lone 40+ toss - 40-9.50.

Valor Christian dominated the team competition - they tallied 130.5 points to win the overall title. Grandview took second with 83.5, while Cherry Creek took third with 61.5.