Berian's Run: Boris Berian staked a huge early lead in last year's 4A 800 and then hung on to win by the narrowest of margins. Photo by Paul Jaeger.
It isn't easy being Widefield High School. You could get a complex being next-door to Fountain-Fort Carson, who won last year's 5A title. But Widefield gets along just fine.
Widefield boasts a pretty nice history of excellence in track and field of their own. If you've forgotten (or never knew of) Widefield's track and field legacy, start by googling the names of Darryl Clack and Paul Hubbard. There have been others, but these two will serve as an introduction.
This year, the Gladiators' lineup looks a little bit like Boris Berian and the Jumpers. Help will probably arrive in other events, but we can be pretty sure at this point that middle distance and the jumps are nicely taken care of.
Berian owns the unusual, and remarkable, distinction of winning both the 4A 400 and 800 last spring. And, since he's mentioned in this article, that must mean he's back this year. It's beyond impressive to have a junior win both of those races, even if his win in the 800 was a bit unorthodox. You know Berian will be a huge part of Widefield's plans this spring as well. The 400 and 800 are no-brainers. Beyond that, though, it's a little bit of a mystery. Berian showed good, but not great, speed in the 200 last spring. The 4x400 and 4x800 always are suggestions when you have someone with Berian's kind of ability.
We'll have to do a little waiting and seeing on this one.
Almost as remarkable as Berian's state feat, however, is the proficiency Widefield displays in the jumps. Dauante Delaney (44-4.75) and Tony Carodine (44-10) are likely the best pair of triple jumpers on any one team in the entire state, not just in 4A. Delaney has dabbled in some others events, but none with the kind of success he has enjoyed in the triple jump. Still, the athleticism is clearly there so you should not be surprised to see him making contributions this spring in other events as well. Carodine, on the other hand, is a capable long jumper and high jumper as well. Carodine hasn't quite climbed onto the 4A leader board in either of the other jumps yet, but he is definitely knocking on those doors.
LaQuan Johnson handles long jumping duties for the Glads. Johnson went 21-5.5 to take third at the state meet last spring and has the kind of 400 speed that makes you think Widefield may be putting a pretty competitive 4x400 on the track this spring.
Chris Ashe is another intriguing possibility. His name disappears from the results from last spring after early April, but he was showing some serious long jump talent up to that point. There could be any number of explanations for his disappearance from the scene, but if the absence was due to an injury and we can expect Ashe back this spring, he should definitely be someone who can park a long jump landing out beyond 21 feet.
Somebody is clearly doing a nice job of coaching jumps at Widefield HS. In fact, it would appear to be a problem across the district--Mesa Ridge has also had more than its share of recent success in the horizontal jumps. As the saying goes, it's a nice problem to have.