For the girls, Kaeli Powe of Cherokee Trail High School has been named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Colorado. Powe has been a staple name when it comes to the horizontal jumps, where she led the state the whole season in both the triple jump and the long jump. She is also one of the only girls in the whole state to consistently jump over 40 feet in the triple jump.
Powe got out to a hot start this track season, jumping 19-2 the first weekend of the Colorado track and field season. Her mark from early march was the #1 jump for the majority of the season. Then the next week, she got out to a staggering 42-1.75 for her opener in the triple jump. However, the mark was not wind legal, but still showed what Powe could do later on in the season.
Then she did not compete again until the middle of April, where she jumped at Arcadia, once again jumping over 40 feet. After Arcadia, Powe started to compete much more. The rest of the season, besides one meet, she never jumped under 40 feet in the triple jump. Her best jump came at the Centennial League Championships, where she jumped 42-1. This jump put her in the top 10 in the whole entire nation! Finally, Powe finished up her season with a 5A state title in the triple jump and a 5th place finish at the New Balance Outdoor National Championships, where she once again jumped over 40 feet.
She did not just have success in the triple jump though. In long jump, Powe achieved the elusive 20-foot barrier, jumping exactly 20 feet at the On Ye Bruins Relays, a couple weeks after Arcadia. This was the best jump in the whole state of Colorado for the season! She ended up runner-up in the event in the 5A division of the Colorado state meet and placed 11th overall at the New Balance National Championships, jumping 19-.75.
Powe has definitely electrified the runway for Colorado and has had an incredible career for Cherokee Trail. She plans on continuing her track success in Florida, where she has signed a letter of intent to compete at the University of Central Florida.
