Windsor came into the state meet with a reputation for being strong in the sprint relays. They lived up to that reputation but only managed to win one relay--the 4x200. Photo by Alan Versaw.
A lot of teams bled a lot of points in 4A girls. And, while Windsor left more than a few points on the table, they left fewer than their main competitors. In the war of attrition that is state track and field, that's generally a pretty successful strategy for coming home with the big trophy.
Windsor scored 27 of their 59 points via relays, with the remainder of their points coming from sprints and field events. And, it was a big final-day surge for the Wizards that made it all happen. Going into Saturday, the Wizards held down sixth spot, in arrears to primary contenders Thompson Valley, Mullen, and Alamosa.
But Saturday was a different day than Thursday and Friday.
On Saturday, Windsor claimed a sixth in the 400, a seventh in the 4x100, a second in the 4x400, a fifth in the pole vault, plus a second and a sixth in the discus. While that doesn't seem, at first glance, like a whole lot of points, it was quite a few more than Thompson Valley, Alamosa, and Mullen were able to assemble, and so the state title went to Windsor.
Runner-up Thompson Valley lost a little traction in the 1600. The Eagles needed to score big in that event, but only got a second and a sixth in a race that went out in 84 seconds for the first lap but finished in a remarkable 5:10.69 by Alamosa's Jenny DeSouchet.
Kita Alvares of Cheyenne Mountain tied a 4A state meet record in the 300 hurdles with her time of 43.59 in prelims. Alvares went on the win the event, but failed to match the mark she set in prelims.
Elizabeth Jefferson and Samantha Kee both took down Liz Tremblay's 400 meter record set just last year. Kee's winning time of 55.05 in finals will go down as the new state record.
The classification's multiple event winners were Kadeshia Rose (Mesa Ridge - 100, 200), Kita Alvares (Cheyenne Mountain - 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Kiah Hicks (Falcon - shot put, discus), and Amy Medina (Mountain View - high jump, triple jump).