The 2026 spring track season is finally here with the season starting on Monday, February 23rd and some of the first meets of the season kicking off the first weekend of March. Here are the biggest names to look out for going into the new season in Class 4A for the boys!
Sprints and Hurdles
The top returner in the 100m is Gavin Reddick of Canon City High School, who ran 10.66 to win the 4A state title, which is his current PR. His personal best time is also quite a bit ahead of the rest of the returners in this classification. He also has set a new PR this winter in the 60m, running 6.93! In terms of the 200m, Reddick was 3rd at the state meet, behind Jor-den Cunningham of Pueblo East High School, who ran 21.77, and Reddick ran 22.09. Cunningham has not had as strong of an indoor season and his track record is not as consistent as some of the other names around him. However, he was only a sophomore when he won that state title, so with another season under his belt, Cunningham could be very dangerous in either sprint event.
For the 400m, Carter Sola of Lutheran High School has the best returning time and is the reigning state champion in the event. Sola's PR of 48.12 puts him just ahead of Jaidden Gibbs of Central Grand Junction High School. Sola has put together a strong winter season, running 48.67 in the indoor 400m and 22.23 in the indoor 200m as well. He also could make some noise in the 200m as he tries to defend his title in the one lap race. Gibbs, on the other hand, has a shot at taking the win from Sola considering he was only a freshman last season, running 49.11 at the state meet to finish 4thoverall. With another year of getting bigger and stronger, Gibbs could have a shot to win an individual state title!
In the hurdles, Owen Hays of Roosevelt High School will be the one to beat and maybe not just in the hurdles. Hays finished 4th overall at the state meet in the 110m hurdles and completed his season with a wind legal PR of 14.66. He also is the top returner from the state championship and has improved immensely on his speed. So far during this indoor season, Hayes has run consistently under 8 seconds in the 60m hurdles, with a personal best mark of 7.87, which is the fastest in all of Colorado and top 20 in the nation! He also ran 21.88 for the indoor 200m, which puts him very close to Cunningham's time from the outdoor state meet. With such an impressive indoor season, we have not even talked about his best time, which is in the 300m hurdles. He ran 37.81 to finish runner-up at the state meet. He is also the top returner in the event and one of the fastest in all of Colorado in the distance!
Distance
With Niwot High School competing in class 4A for track and field, the distance events get insanely competitive with the likes of Cheyenne Mountain High School, Eagle Valley High School, Coronado High School, and Summit High School. Starting with the 800m, Rocco Culpepper of Niwot High School is the name to beat. He has won state titles in both the 800m and 1600m in back-to-back state meets. He has a PR of 1:53.51, which is actually slightly behind his teammate in Quinn Sullivan, who has run 1:53.09. However, also running 1:53 is Xzavier Campos of Coronado High School. Though Culpepper is the favorite, all these names have potential to unseat him.
In the 1600m, it starts to get even more competitive with more names added to the mix to compete for the individual title. The 1600m is where speed and endurance meet in the middle, so all the names mentioned above will have a shot at winning the title, but names such as Oliver Horton of Coronado High School, Hunter Robbie of Niwot High School, Aiden Le Roux of Cheyenne Mountain High School, Dylan Blair and Tyler Blair of Eagle Valley, and Jay McDonald of Summit High School could have their shot at getting the title. In terms of PRs, Culpepper has the best with an astounding 4:02! Then Horton is next with a 4:08, followed by Robbie and Sullivan with a pair of 4:09s, and Campos with a 4:12. However, all the names mentioned above have personal best times of 4:20 or faster and many of the runners have had fantastic cross country seasons, so there is a lot of momentum for everyone on this list.
Finally, in the 3200m, the top returner is Ryder Keeton of Niwot High School with a 9:00, followed by Le Roux at 9:04. Le Roux has the edge considering his 9:04 was ran at altitude, but the reigning 4A state champion in the event is Keeton, where he did run 9:02 at altitude to get that title. Nevertheless, the longer the event the better Le Roux gets and so does Horton.
Considering the incredible season Horton had on the cross country course breaking many Colorado course records, Horton will also be a favorite. He finished his sophomore track season running 8:54 for the 3200m at RunningLane and 8:13 for the 3k at the Nike Outdoor National Championship. Finally, the reigning Colorado Cross Country Gatorade Player of the Year cannot be counted out. Robbie topped Horton at RunningLane in the 3200m where he ran 8:50 and he also placed 3rd overall at the Colorado state meet, just ahead of Horton, who placed 4th. All in all, this will be one of the most competitive seasons for the distance events in Class 4A and maybe in the whole state of Colorado!
Field Events
In the jumping events, Nathan Moller of Palmer Ridge High School has put on quite an indoor season showing. Going back to his outdoor season first, Moller finished on the podium at the state meet in the long jump, triple jump, and high jump. He is also the top returner in high jump for 4A. Fast forward to the winter season and Moller has marks in long jump and high jump that are ahead of the top returners in all of Colorado! So far Moller has made it over 6-9.5 in high jump and got out to 22-10.5 in long jump. Those kinds of marks so early in the track season puts Moller as an easy favorite for those events. Though he has yet to contest triple jump, it is safe to say he should be able to lay down a pretty good mark in that event considering his growth in the other jumping disciplines.
Moving on to pole vault, Quinn Pascual of Discovery Canyon High School has one of the best returning marks in all of Colorado with a PR of 16-4.75. He finished 2nd overall at the state meet after a couple freak attempts, with one attempt leading to his pole snapping. Knowing Pascual, who is incredibly competitive, he will return this season with a vengeance, and we could see him sore to some amazing heights!
Finally, for the throwing events, Owen Twesme of Palmer Ridge High School and Yadier Loya of Rifle High School are the top returners in their respective events and reigning state champions. First, Twesme won the state title in the shot put and has a PR of 55-7.25, putting him ahead of the next best returner by over a foot! For Loya, he won the discus and has a personal best mark of 161-0, which not only puts him at the top of the list for returners in 4A but #3 for returners in all of Colorado.