The highlight of the meet may actually have been off of the track at the pole vault pits. Quinn Pascual of Discovery Canyon High School went into the meet as the favorite with a personal best vault of 15-0, and he came out on top as the easy victor. Not only did he set a new personal best and a new school record, but also a meet record, soaring over the bar at 16-0! Rising that high so early on in the season, definitely bodes well for this junior, who was 2nd at the 4A State Championships a year ago.
In the throws area, the shot put ring turned into a very competitive match between Jude Suhajda of Discovery Canyon High School and Owen Twesme of Palmer Ridge High School. Both threw over 50 feet, but Twesme came out on top with a throw of 51-4 over Suhajda's 50-7. For each of them, they threw big PRs but for Twesme, it was his first time over 50 feet and a personal best by almost three feet!
Other significant marks in the field events included Lewis-Palmer's Joseph Kitonsa winning the triple jump with a mark of 45-9, which is currently leading the state. Also, Jackson Edwards from The Classical Academy threw close to a personal best in the discus, getting out to 150-4 and is currently #2 in the state.
Moving on to the track, the boys' 100m proved to be exciting, however, the winner came out of heat two instead of the final heat. Justyn Jordan, a junior from Fountain-Fort Carson High School had never raced a 100m before, usually focusing on the long sprints. He even won the 400m a year ago at this same meet. However, his coaches decided to place him in the 100m with "no mark" hence why he was placed in heat two. To race solo to a time of 10.99 and still come out on top in a shorter event than what Jordan is used to, showed off his range and well-roundness in speed and endurance. 
A teammate of Jordan's also had himself a day, winning three events, including an event he had never done before. Joseph Barlow started his day by winning the 110m hurdles, racing to a time of 15.53. He then went on to compete in the long jump, an event he had never contested before and won over some tough competition with a jump of 22-1.5. Finally, he ended his night with another personal best time in the 300m hurdles, crossing the line first in 39.77. A year ago he was chasing his teammate but this year, the field was chasing him.
Switching to the longer events, Cole Mazurana of Niwot High School crossed the finish line first in the Seth Abeyta Memorial Mile. As everyone stood to their feet to cheer on the boys, they also cheered in remembrance of Seth Abeyta, who competed in track and field himself. Abeyta's favorite race was the 800m but one meet, his coach put him in the 1600m, to the dismay of Abeyta. Through his struggles with CTE, Abeyta passed away in 2021 and Pueblo West's coach, Brandi Menegatti, who coached Seth Abeyta, chose to remember him with this 1600m race. 
The crowd was definitely given a show with a huge pack of Niwot boys and also Gable Rial of Pine Creek High School. Though Rial put on a good finishing kick, he settled for 2nd place as Mazurana took home the victory in a time of 4:18, very close to a MileSplit First Team National mark at altitude in the first weekend of March!
A couple of other significant finishes on the track included an impressive mark by sophomore Bruce Hobbs of Pueblo West in the 400m. He raced to a time of 49.48, putting him #2 in the state of Colorado. Finally, Carson Tapia of Vista Ridge High School may have finished 2nd in the 100m, but he came back and defeated Jordan in the 200m with a time of 21.99, just sneaking under the 22 second barrier.