Benji Anderson highlights a loaded 800 field at the Stutler Twilight.
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By Chris Carhart
It's finally time for the Stutler Twilight Twilight!
Although the originally scheduled date of Saturday, April 27th was not smiled upon by the weather gods, it appears as if the rescheduled date of April 30th will provide conditions that are ripe for the customary Colorado rankings takeover by marks produced at the Stutler Twilight. Last season, the athletes who competed at the Twilight ended the season with a staggering 24 1st Place finishes at the State Championships, and three Team State Titles (Niwot Girls, Classical Academy Boys, Cherokee Trail Boys). We expect nothing less in 2024!
You will not see a meet in Colorado that is as tightly packed with elite talent than the Stutler Twilight. This meet marks the beginning of Championship season, and provides a true preview of what the top talent in Colorado is capable of in a given year. Teams who attend The Stutler Twilight have won 8 out the last 10 Boys 5A State Titles, and 7 of the last 10 Girls 5A State Titles. This does not include 4A powerhouse Niwot, and 3A juggernaut Classical Academy, who have more State Titles than fingers on which to put the rings.
It will be an evening packed with State-leading performances and unforgettable competition. Get to the Stutler Bowl for the 3:30pm start, and stay to watch the athletes "Rock the Boat" under the lights for 4x400! While you're there, grab yourself a Stutler Twilight t-shirt to commemorate your experience!
Admission is $5 for adults, and $3 for kids.
2024 Girls Preview
Sprints
The 100m Dash looks to be a showdown between two ladies that come in with sub-12 bests, with The Classical Academy's Heidi Nielsen seeded at 11.89, and Grandview's Gabriella Cunningham at 11.93. Nielsen, a Junior, enters the meet undefeated in both the 100m and 200m in her 2024 outdoor campaign, but she will certainly have her hands full with the LSU-bound Grandview Senior, who is a nationally-ranked hurdler and multiple-time State Champion.
The 200m looks to be an exciting race as well, with Nielsen again seeded atop a stacked field, along with a fellow sub-25er in Eaglecrest's Junior standout Jaylynn Wilson (2x 5A State 4x200m Champion). Nielsen will be the only non-Centennial League entrant in the fast heat, with Grandview, Cherry Creek, and Cherokee Trail half-lappers filling out the rest of the field.
Mountain Vista enters two ladies in the 400m under 59 seconds in Ariana Akey (58.10) and Ashley Hollingshead (58.24), while Niwot's Simocea Esquibel looks to spoil the Golden Eagle's party atop the event, coming in with a 58.34.
Distance
The top ten girls entered in the 800m all have run 2:18 or faster, with Niwot's Anna Prok coming in with the top-seeded time of 2:12.66. Prok's sister Mia is just a second behind, as is Creek's Kinley Wolfe. The third through sixth entries are all from Mountain Vista, and we know that Coach Dalby's squad always comes to compete at the Twilight. This race should come down to the final few meters and will be a race to watch!
Defending 5A 800m and XC State Champion Rosie Mucharsky of Denver East comes in as an unlikely underdog on the 1600m, seeded 3rd in a field that includes four sub-5 minute entries. Niwot's Mia Prok has run a 4:49, while Peyton Adams of Mountain Vista is right behind her with a 4:52, and don't overlook the 4th-seeded Emily Cohen of Cherry Creek. We could see the entire top-ten run under 5 minutes in this race.
The 3200m at the Twilight has provided the atmosphere for many of the fastest times ever run on Colorado soil, and this year that charge will be led by Mountain Vista's Keeghan Edwards, who is fresh off of clocking 10:22.54 at the Arcadia Invitational in California.
Hurdles
Cherokee Trail's star Junior Kaeli Powe and Fountain Fort-Carson's Alexa Queen have both run sub-15 in the 100m Hurdles, although Queen is the only one who has done it in 2024. All eight entrants in the fast heat have run 15.6 or faster this season, so we could very well see multiple 14's run in this event.
Queen comes in as the top-seed in the 300m Hurdles. The Trojan, only a sophomore, ran a 44.46 just two weeks ago on her home track. Hot on her heels is a familiar face from Colorado Springs in Doherty Junior Elliana Adams, who ran a 44.52 in the same meet. Eaglecrest Senior Rachel Carlsen will be the #3 seed in the event and looking to capitalize on the momentum she built last weekend at Hayward Field in the Oregon Relays.
Throws
The #1 ranked throwers in both 4A and 5A will be atop the field in the Shot Put. Niwot's Jade West leads all-classifications with 44-0, while Eaglecrest's McKenna George has been ranked #1 in 5A for the entirety of the season thus far. Get up the hill to watch these two athletes heave the big metal ball into the evening sky!
Three of the ladies competing in the Discus have gone over 120' in their careers. Creek Senior Addison Edwards comes in with a lifetime best of 134-4, while Niwot's West has gone 128-0. Palmer Ridge's Kylie Mayer will be in the mix with a PR of 121-6.
Jumps
Colorado leader (and US #2) Kaeli Powe of Cherokee Trail should be putting on a show as usual in the jumps pit in the Long and Triple Jump. This year, the Junior has already jumped further than the meet records in both events. Those in the know will have their eyes on the South pit as this special young woman takes to the air.
Grandview Junior Andrea Davis comes into the High Jump with a PR of 5-5, but there are 10 other ladies in the event who have gone over the 5' bar as well. The North end of the stadium will be an exciting place to be when this event begins.
Six of the ladies in the Pole Vault come in having cleared at least 11 feet. Classical Academy's Anna Willis and Denver East's Camille Cummings should be clearing some very high bars toward the end of this competition.
Relays
Niwot and Mountain Vista's ladies are ready to battle in the 4x800m. The two teams stand alone in the Colorado All-Classification rankings in the event, and with only 1/100th of a second separating them (9:11.76 / 9:11.77). There should many make-or-break moments in this race for these two squads, and the biggest winners will be all of us who get to witness it happen.
The meet record could be in jeopardy in the 4x200m (Eaglecrest 1:40.73, 2022), as Cherokee Trail comes in having recently run a 1:40.99. They may be all-alone at the front however, as the 2-time defending State Champion Raptors will be concentrating on the 4x100 and 4x400 on Tuesday.
The Eaglecrest ladies enter the meet with the top seed in the 4x100 once again, and will be attempting to win the event at the Twilight for the third straight year. Last year, the girls from Cherokee Trail gave them everything they could handle, with the difference of .01 seconds between 1st and 2nd place. This year it looks like the Raptor's top competition will come in the form of Legend, Smoky Hill, Niwot, and Classical Academy, who have all run sub-50 this season.
The 4x400 should be an epic showdown between top-seeded Mountain Vista, Eaglecrest, Cherry Creek, and Niwot, who call come in having run 4:03 or faster. We expect all four teams, and maybe more, to run sub-4 while the boat is being rocked by their teammates.
2024 Boys Preview
Sprints
There are 12 boys entered in the 100m Dash who have run sub-11 seconds. Although the current 5A #1 in the event, Noah Brown from Eaglecrest, will not be running due to a baseball game for the 2-sport star, there will likely be some guys flirting with 10.6 in the fast heat. DJ Ruff of Fort Collins ran a 10.8 at Jeffco Stadium two weeks ago, and Legend's Jaden Lawrence has run a wind-aided 10.76. They will be chased by Revano Plummer of Grandview, Jackson Heydenberk of Ftn. Ft. Carson, as well as slew of 10.9's from Mountain Vista and Eaglecrest. Last year the top 7 boys went under 11 seconds, but that will likely be outdone on Tuesday night.
Cherokee Trail is locked and loaded for the 200m Dash. Three of the top 4 entrants are Coach Faust's Cougars, including defending 5A 200m/400m State Champion Peyton Sommers. The top 5 boys in the event have all run under 22 seconds. There is no doubt that the top spots in the 5A rankings will change after this race.
Denver East is bringing the heat in the 400m, with 5A #2 Jameson Leigh (48.19) leading the way for the Angels. Richjarion Hines of Smoky Hill has clocked the second best entry time (48.88), with Leigh's teammate Sean Donelson right behind at 49.69. The fellas behind the top three all look primed to go sub-50, so the once-around race should be a crowd-pleaser for those in attendance.
Distance
The 800 is going to be an absolute burner, as 12 boys in the field have gone 2:00 or faster. There will be guys in this race that run each of their 2 laps faster than some of the entrants in the 400m Dash. It will also be a display of the prowess of the two best distance schools in Colorado, as 10 of the top 13 entries are from either Mountain Vista or Niwot. Benji Anderson (2nd place in 5A State 3200 & XC in 2023) of Mountain Vista clocks in with a lifetime best of 1:54.05 for the first seed. William McDavid of Cherry Creek, who has been showing off his sub-50 400 speed of late, comes in tied for the 2nd best seed with Gavin Engtrakul of Niwot. Engtrakul has run the fastest this season of any boy in the field, so look for him to be in the mix along with his teammates Quinn Sullivan and Kye Toothaker, with Alex Fowler and William Wachter of Mountain Vista trying to play the spoilers for those at the top of the entry list.
The 1600m should provide equal fireworks, as the top 5 seed times are 4:20 or faster. Rocco Culpepper of Niwot not only has the coolest name in the state, but has also run the 1600m faster than anyone else this year, clocking 4:14.45 at the Chandler (AZ) Rotary Invitational last month. Tanner Brown of Chaparral (4:16) and Jonas Scudamore of Denver East (4:19) will be looking to make it a race with Culpepper and pull each other to even more eye-popping times as they barrel toward State.
Defending 3A 3200m State Champion (and 2x 3A Cross Country Champ) Matthew Edwards of The Classical Academy leads the way as the sole sub-9 runner in the event, having gone 8:54.37 in Arcadia this year. Anderson of Mountain Vista went 9:00.13 at Arcadia and could very well place an 8 at the beginning of his PR time. It should be an impressive bout between these two special athletes under the lights and with the music blaring on Tuesday.
Hurdles
With the rescheduling of the meet, we lost the chance to see Coach Justin Hazzard's stable of Broomfield hurdlers (they have their League Championships Wednesday along with usual attendees Fort Collins and Rocky Mountain). This has opened the door for a what looks to be a 3-way showdown between Fountain Fort Carson, Cherokee Trail, and Eaglecrest in the event. Each of the three schools will have two guys in the fast heat of the 110's. The Trojans' Kyler Lewis comes in as the favorite, with the 5A #1 time of 14.33. The rest of the field will be gunning for sub-15's and many of them could very well do just that.
Six guys who will be on the track for the 300m hurdles have run sub-40's. Once again, Lewis of Ftn Ft Carson leads the pack with 38.68. Solomon Latimer of Doherty, Lavelle Kabeya-Kombo of Cherokee Trail, Pierce Martinez of Eaglecrest, and Joseph Barlow of Ftn Ft Carson will be attempting to pull each other to 38 second times as well.
Throws
As usual, Palmer Ridge is well represented at the top of the entry lists in the throws. They have 2 of the top 5 in the Discus and the Shot Put. The unusual part of this is that these are four separate individuals (Clark & Mabe in the Discus, Twesme & Towns in the Shot Put). This speaks volumes to the Bears' coaching staff and their ability to identify and develop talent. Thomas Goeglein and Soren Shinofield of Cherry Creek are the top entrants, but will be chased by the aforementioned dudes from Palmer Ridge as well as Jackson Edwards of The Classical Academy and Kael Weatherby of Eaglecrest.
Jumps
The Classical Academy's Jordan Wenger, who won both the High Jump and Triple Jump at the 2023 3A State Championships, as well as the Triple Jump the year before, will be in flight both above the bar in the High Jump and into the sand in the Long Jump. Last year at the Stutler Twilight he PR'd in the High Jump, winning it with a clearance of 6-9. He currently holds the #2 jump in meet history. Can he break David Thorton's (Cherokee Trail, 2016) meet record of 7-0? Look to your left at the North end of the infield on Tuesday night to find out!
Wenger's teammate Noah Osterloh enters the meet as the number one seed in the Triple Jump (45-2), with Denver East's Kai Luna (44-6.25) and Eaglecrest's Bezalel (BEZATRON!) Tizazu (44-5.5) right behind. The North Long Jump pit (right next to the pole vault) will be rocking for this event.
The top nine guys entered in the Long Jump have all surpassed 21 feet, with Brooklyn Bailey of Mountain Vista looking to replicate his 23+ foot jump he obtained at the Broomfield Shootout. In order to win this one, he will likely have to do just that!
Thirteen feet will likely be cleared by at least four boys in the Pole Vault. Taylor Waters of Cherokee Trail is the top seeded vaulter, having gone 15-4 earlier this year in California. He could be challenged by teammate Sawyer Carr as well as Grayson Pence of Cherry Creek as the bar raises.
Relays
A rematch is looming between the current #1 and #2 4x100m teams in 5A. Eaglecrest and Mountain Vista battled all the way to the line at the Niwot Invitational on March 30th, with Eaglecrest taking it by .02 seconds. The Raptors and Eagles are hoping to push each other under 42 seconds, and could very well be joined there by Cherokee Trail and Legend. We'll see who can get the stick around the track the cleanest in what will likely be the most intense race of the day.
It appears as if the defending 5A State Champion Cougars of Cherokee Trail will be the team to beat in the 4x200. Perennial sprint powerhouse Fountain Fort Carson will be sure to give them trouble, as will Eaglecrest.
Cherokee Trail likes to run the 4x400 at the Stutler Bowl. Three of the four boys who last year shattered the State Record there during the Centennial League Championships return this year to try to do it again. Having already run a 3:17.84 at the Arcadia Invitational this year, they are surely looking forward to running the race back on home soil. The current 5A #1 Eaglecrest team will be attempting to break their school record of 3:23.19, having already run a 3:23.93 this season. Denver East has loaded the relay as well with their talented crop of quarter-milers. This race should provide a perfect conclusion to a breathtaking meet on Tuesday night.
Colorado's best athletes will be under the lights at the Stutler Bowl on Tuesday night, we'll see you all there!
Meet History (credit John Reyes)
CHSAA Hall of Famer Sally Moos and former Grandview Head Coach John Reyes started the Stutler Twilight in 2015 with a new concept for a running track and field meet in the state of Colorado. It is a true invitational. Invites only come from meet management. Partial squads or individual entries are not permitted. Rather than finding competition by entering a meet with a lot of schools and limited entries, both felt that they could accomplish the same thing by competing against the right schools. As a result, the Stutler Twilight is just different. Despite a low number of teams, the Stutler Twilight produces the highest percentage of state qualifying marks each year. Along with an atmosphere that can't be matched!
Teams that attend the Stutler Twilight consistently produce top-end Track and Field athletes every year. Each school is guaranteed 3 entries in all events, but in events where teams may have more than 3 quality athletes, they are allowed to enter them. Prior to the creation of the Stutler Twilight that never happened at Invitationals. However, at the Stutler Twilight it is highly encouraged.
In the previous 8 editions of the meet, the Stutler Twilight has seen some of the greatest high school marks ever produced on Colorado Soil. The highlights include:
Jordyn Colter (2015) Cherry Creek HS Girls 800 2:05.48 (All-Classification Record at the time, she would later break her own record at the State Track and Field Meet)
Paul Roberts (2015) Lyons HS Boys 3200 9:13.55 (Class 2A Classification Record)
David Thornton (2016) Cherokee Trail Boys High Jump 7-0 (Top 10 All-Time mark by a Colorado High School athlete, Tied for 9th)
Brie Oakley (2017) Grandview HS Girls 3200 10:27.97 (Class 5A Classification Record at the time, she would later break the All-Classification State Record at the State Track and Field Meet.
Sydnee Larkin (2018) Cherokee Trail HS Girls Triple Jump 40-10 (All-Classification Record, she would later better her mark later in the season)
Riley Stewart (2021) Cherry Creek HS Girls 1600 4:44.13 (All-Classification Sate Record)
Anna Willis (2021) The Classical Academy Pole Vault 13-3 (5th best female Pole Vault in the history of Colorado on Colorado soil)
Lilly Nichols (2022) Broomfield HS 13-4 (Tied for the 3rd best female Pole Vault in the history of Colorado)
GRANDVIEW HS (2022) 4X100 Luke Trinrud, David Maldonado, Charlie Dick, Evan Johnson 41.26 (3rd fastest 4x100 time ever from Colorado. Would later set the state record at 40.59. Becoming the first 4x100 team from Colorado to run sub 41).
Riley Stewart (2022) Cherry Creek HS 3200 10:06.23 She does it again this time in the 3200.
CHEROKEE TRAIL HS (2023) 4x400, 3:16.94. Kaelan Kombo, Kahari Wilbon, Beck Gutjahr, and Peyton Sommers set the meet record just two weeks before shattering the All-Classification Colorado State Record on the same track (3:13.02).
Participating Schools: Arapahoe, Chaparral, Cherokee Trail, Cherry Creek, Denver East, Doherty, Eaglecrest, Fountain Fort-Carson, Grandview, Legend, Mountain Vista, Niwot, Palmer Ridge, Smoky Hill, The Classical Academy.
