The 2024 edition of the Air Force High School Indoor Open launches off the starting line at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. at 11 a.m. Saturday morning!
And this year's edition looks pretty hot across the board.
Of additional note on the venue: the Cadet Field House sits at 7,048-feet, and hosts a 268-meter track. While distance runners will likely enjoy the softer turns and longer straights, the altitude will favor much shorter events.
We've scanned the start lists. Here are six events you won't want to miss...
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Girls 60 Hurdles
One of the best 60 hurdlers in the country is set to toe the line here.
Gabriella Cunningham has been on fire this indoor season. She heads to the Cadet Field House with five (of six) victories in the 60H to her name.
Cunningham's lone loss of the indoor season was a 8.41 runner-up finish at the Carl Lewis Invitational. That is currently the No. 3 time run in the country so far.
The Grandview senior has run 8.57 or faster every time she's raced the 60H this season. She is a clear favorite to claim the event Saturday.
Cunningham is really in her own race here -- she's the only athlete on the start list who has broken nine-seconds in the 60H this season.
The girl's 60H final is scheduled to run at 3:30 p.m.
Boys 60 Hurdles
You'll want to remember this name moving forward: Karamoko Sacko.
The Northfield senior has put together an impressive indoor season so far.
Sacko ran 7.94 in the 60H at the Carl Lewis Invitational last month - that currently ranks him No. 12 in the country.
In Colorado he's run 8.05, which leads the state by .15. Add that he's been undefeated against Colorado competition throughout the 2024 indoor season.
He was the runner-up in the the 110H at the 2023 Colorado State Track and Field Championships, where he ran 14.26.
Sacko has been Colorado's No. 1 60H most of the indoor season, and he's the top returner in the 110H across all classifications.
The boy's 60H final is scheduled to run at 3:40 p.m.
Girls 200
The top-three 200 sprinters this indoor season are slated for a battle royal here.
The Classical Academy's Heidi Nielsen, Denver East's Amelie Campbell, and Chatfield's Aspen Webb are currently ranked No. 1, 2, and 3 in the Colorado rankings.
Nelson has run 25.20. Cambell has run 25.38. And Webb has run 25.49.
In other words: all three have run within three-tenths-of-second from each other this season.
Nielson owns two wins out of three, with her one loss coming from Webb at the USATF All-Comers #1. She's won her last two outings in this event.
Cambell has finished behind Nielson and Webb once - at the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr Mile Hi Classic. Her personal best of 25.38 came as a runner-up finish to Nielson.
Meanwhile Webb has one victory and two runner-ups in this event. Like Cambell, Webb's PR in this event came as a runner-up finish to Nielson.
Nielson has run the event three times, with all three times being under 26-seconds. Additionally, she's improved every time she's run. Cambell and Webb have also broken 26-seconds every time they've run the event.
So...
Nielson has beaten Cambell and Webb. But she has one loss -- to Webb.
Webb has beaten Cambell and Nielson. But she has one loss -- to Nielson.
Cambell hasn't beaten either Nielson or Webb. But she's the second-fastest in the field.
Who takes the victory?
It's too close to call...
Add one more name to the list: Cunningham. She's also on the start list for this event.
The girl's 200 is scheduled to run at 4:25 p.m.
Boys 800
We've got another wild battle on tap here...
There's Coronado's Xzavier Campos. There's the Cherokee Trail duo of Brady Smith and Dylan Smith. There's Centaurus' Jacoby Ennis. And there's Valor Christian's Dane Eike.
What do all four of five of these athletes have in common?
Well, a few things.
For starters, four haven't raced indoors this season.
But all five ran 1:57 or faster during last year's outdoor season.
Campos heads to the Cadet Field House as a bit of a favorite, however. He's not just the fastest in this field - he's the top returner in this very event for the outdoor season. Last year Campos torched a 1:52.99. This makes him the fastest in this field by nearly three-seconds.
Last year Brady Smith ran 1:55.86 outdoors, while Dylan Smith an 1:56.93. Eike ran 1:56.23. And Ennis ran 1:57.25.
Of the five, only Ennis has raced indoors this season. Among his performances include a 1:26.28 in the 600.
As mentioned previously, this race will be a bit of a rust-buster for quite a few. Either way, spectators will want to keep an eye on the clock here - the meet record stands at 1:55.19.
What'll make this battle all the more interesting is that both Smiths are in Heat 2, while Campos, Ennis, and Eike are in Heat 1.
The boy's 800 is scheduled to run at 4:08 p.m.
Boys Mile
Matthew Edwards will open his 2024 track season here in the mile.
The last time Edwards toed the line was Foot Locker Nationals, where he finished 29th.
He had a stellar cross country season, which saw him reclaim the 3A state cross country title. Last year he won this event in 4:32.
While he raced sparingly during the 2023 indoor season, he did cap it with a 22nd-place finish in the 2-mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor.
Edwards will likely have competition in Josh Shriver.
The Summit junior has raced twice this indoor season, and it was a 4:11 1,500 at this same venue just last week. The time converts to a sub 4:30 mile, which puts him well within range of what Edwards ran here last year.
If there's a wildcard in the mix, it's Aiden Le Roux.
He hasn't raced once this indoor season, but he did finish fifth at the 4A Colorado State Cross Country Championships las fall. Last year he ran 4:34 for the 1,500 indoors, but went on to run the same time for the 1,600 outdoors. But if his fall told us anything, it's that he's already made The Jump.
The boy's mile is scheduled to run at 1:20 p.m.
Girls Mile
Like Edwards, Isabel Allori is set to open her 2024 track season here in the mile.
The last time Allori toed any line, she finished fourth at Nike Cross Nationals in December.
In other words: she's one of the best distance runners in the country.
The 3A State cross country champion hasn't raced since NXN, though she owns personal bests of 4:52 in the 1,600. During the 2023 indoor season she finished seventh in the 2 mile at the New Balance Nationals Indoor - that was her lone indoor race of the year.
Currently no one has run faster than 5:19 in the mile in Colorado this season. So it's highly likely that we'll see a state-leading mark coming out of this event.
The girl's mile is schedule to run at 12:55 p.m.
BONUS: Pole Vault
Editor's Note: The live stream will mostly be covering events on the track, but I'll do my best to scan to the pole vault throughout the competition, because this event looks loaded.
Meet record holder Kourtney Rathke is slated to return to the Cadet Field House, and it's clear she really enjoys competing here - just last week she cleared 13-7.75 at the venue.
Not only is that a Colorado No. 1, it's also a US No. 3.
Rathke heads to Air Force undefeated in Colorado this indoor season. She's cleared 13-0 six-consecutive times, with her last three outings being 13-1, 13-4, and 13-7.75.
Last year she cleared 13-9.25 at this meet.
Anna Willis is another athlete to keep an eye on. She's competed just twice this season, but what's most impressive is how quickly she's found her stride -- her first outing was a 12-1.25 clearance, and she followed that up with a 13-1.75 last week. Last year she cleared 11-11.75 here, but she's already well ahead of that mark in just two competitions this season.
Coming from California is Jathiyah Muhammad -- she's cleared 13-0 this season, though she did clear 14-3 during the 2023 outdoor season, and 14-0 indoors.
The girl's pole vault is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.