The first week of the 2026 track and field season is already in full swing! First official meets of the season are set for the first weekend in March! Check out the names to look out for in Class 3A for the boys!
Sprints and Hurdles
The race for the 100m title will be exciting once again as both Gulong Craft of Harrison High School and Dylan Khailer of Kent Denver School return this season. Craft does have the best time in 3A and is the returning state champion with a time of 10.62! Khailer finished runner-up with a personal best time of 10.72. Not too far behind is Colton Lucero of Pagosa Springs who has a PR of 10.75, so he could be one to look out for as well.
When hitting the longer sprints, Khailer starts to thrive, where he won state titles in both the 200m and the 400m. Khailer finished up last season with a personal best time of 21.45 as opposed to Craft's 21.78. They are currently the only two boys under 22 seconds returning in the 3A ranks. For the 400m, Khailer's PR just keeps improving, running 47.57! He ran that time to win the state title and is one of the top returners in all of Colorado in that event. He is almost a full two seconds ahead of the next best returner.
For the hurdles, Khailer's teammate returns as the fastest runner in the 110m hurdles. Solomon Morrell was able to take the title last year in a time of 14.75! Morrell also has a PR of 14.64, making him the top returner for 3A in the event. He will still have his hands full as many of the podium finishers from the state meet last year return this year, including runner-up Marcus May of The Classical Academy, Aiden Huey of Coal Ridge High School, and Tiden Silver-Colbert of Denver West High School. Though May is the only one without and sub-15 second PR in the event, he clearly knows how to compete well since he finished 2nd overall.
He is also the top returner in the 300m hurdles, with a PR of 39.16. May did place 3rd overall, however, at the state meet. The top returning athlete from the championship goes to Silver-Colbert, who finished 2nd overall in a time of 39.35. The 300m hurdles is becoming a more popular event as more and more strong 400m runners are learning how to hurdle, so this race really could be anyone's going into this new season.
Distance
Currently, at the top of the returner rankings for the 800m there is a tight battle. Lincoln Fagerlin of Resurrection Christian and his teammate Trevor Lim occupy the top and the 3rd spot on the list. Fagerlin has a PR of 1:54 and Lim with 1:56. For Fagerlin, however, he was only a freshman last season, so considering how quick he was able to run in his first season and finished runner-up at the state meet, he seems like the early favorite to win the title. For Lim, he did finish 3rd overall in that state meet race, barely behind Fagerlin. He also was only a sophomore last year, so it could be close between these two. In the second spot for returning athletes, we have Aidan Malherbe of Berthoud High School. Malherbe ran 1:55 last season, though he did not place as well at the state meet, finishing in 6th, albeit in a very close race.
For the 1600m, the top returning runner is actually Fagerlin once again, who placed 3rd overall in the race running a time of 4:29 in the process. Considering his top end speed, any kind of tactical race for the 1600m will always play in Fagerlin's hand, so he could definitely be a dark horse to take both titles. Fagerlin is also the top returner based on time with a PR of 4:25. A couple other names that are up there on that list including both Grant Fleenor of The Classical Academy and Matthew Hayden of Frontier Academy, who have both ran 4:27 from last season. For Fleenor, he had another tough cross country season riddled with injury. If he can stay healthy, then he may be one of the favorites to take either the 1600m or the 3200m title. For Hayden, he is mentally strong, but may be better suited for the 3200m. He has the toughness though to grind out a fast effort when necessary, but he might not have the same turnover as some of the others on this list.
For the 3200m, Ethan Merrick of Alamosa High School took the victory at the state meet in a time of 9:41 and just as a freshman! He had a very strong fall campaign, just falling short of the individual 3A state title, though the majority of the year, he was one of the favorites, putting on a good showing race after race. He still returns as the favorite especially since he is the reigning 3A champion, but he will still have his hands full with any a number of Classical Academy runners, such as Ryan Whitcomb, Braden Yarmer, and Nathan Decoste. Hayden, Towler Scott of Basalt High School, or Joel Davis of Lamar High School, who he has battled many a time during the fall season, also could challenge for the title.
Field Events
There are only a handful of returners going into the 2026 season that have thrown 160 feet or better in the discus and Samuel Whitaker of Berthoud High School is one of them. He is the top returner in 3A and #4 for the whole state of Colorado, with a PR of 160-4! He is the returning state champion in the event as well.
For the jumping events, Jayce Newbill of Berthoud High School is the top returner in the whole state from the outdoor season, jumping 6-8. He ended up 3rd overall at the state meet in a tight battle with some of the better jumpers in Colorado. Tanner Vyborny of Bayfield High School is the top returner from the state meet, placing 2nd overall with a jump of 6-7.
For long and triple jump, Marcus Munoz of Coal Ridge High School is one of the top performers in both events, finishing 2nd at state in the long jump and the reigning state champion in the triple jump. Naturally, Munoz is the second best returner in the long jump, but the top returner in the triple jump with a mark of 44-5! For the long jump, that goes to reigning state champion Creede Dozier of Pagosa Springs, who finished the season with a mark of 22-2.75 - close to a foot ahead of Munoz's PR!
Finally, in pole vault, Ethan Rathke of Peak to Peak Charter School is one of the best pole vaulters in the whole state, returning this season with a mark of 15-9. He is also finished runner-up at the state meet, but will look to win the state title going into this season!