CU's Balch Field House doesn't lend itself to great times. Whether it's the tighter turns or some other factor, the indoor track at the Air Force Academy tends to produce slightly faster times. That and the fact that there were some missing big names and some other big names running a reduced set of events meant fewer spectacular marks than we might otherwise have expected from a meet of this caliber.
The girls' 60 meter hurdles was a continuation of a season-long battle between Dior Hall and Kami Mendez. Once again, Dior Hall got the best of it. Once again, not by much, 8.67 to 8.75. Dior Hall would later finish second in the 200, showing some speed at longer distances as well (Note: I may need some help for the readership here. I would very much like to add Dior Hall to the MileSplit rankings, but I need a high school to associate her name with. I fully realize athletes do not represent a school in indoor track and field, but I need a school name--preferably the one she will run track with this spring--to get her record properly into the database). The boys' 60 hurdles final was even a shade closer with Jakoby Baker edging Alex Jordan, 8.57 to 8.62.
While MaryBeth Sant did not take down her season-best time of 7.50 in the 60 meters, she did win easily in 7.58. She doubled in the 200 with a time of 25.97 around two turns.
Marcus Harris continued his domination of the indoor 60 (6.88), but also noteworthy was the appearance of Trent Ireland in second. We haven't heard much from Ireland, track-wise, since his injury in last spring's outdoor state meet.
Chris Ganem smashed open what had been a season of lethargy in the boys' 800, clocking a well-under-2-flat time of 1:58.39. It was more or less a solo effort as second place was eight seconds back.
Going up one more distance, Connor Winter posted his best, and the state's best, indoor mile of the season at 4:27. Slowly, but steadily, Winter seems to be resuming the form he showed last spring. Like Ganem, Winter's effort was all his own, winning by 18 seconds.
GinAsia Hamilton and Chris Sterling won the 400s, but both have posted much faster times this season on the indoor track at the Air Force Academy.
In the field events, most of the excitement centered around the boys' jumps where both titles were decided by tie-breaking rules. Gunnar Haynes won the high jump with a leap of 6-4. Tony Carodine did the deed in the long jump with a leap of 20-4. Brittany Lewis dominated the girls' long jump at 17-7, but nobody in either of the long jump events was approaching PR territory.