Broomfield Shootout

As fine as the assembled field for this meet was, Chyna Ries and Nolan Mayhew stole the show.

Chyna Ries won the 100 and 200 convincingly. We've already grown accustomed to seeing her name atop the 100 meter results, but the 200 is clearly within her range as well. Her 19-4 long jump got wiped off the board due to an aiding wind.

Nolan Mayhew only anchored a 3:23 1600 relay and blasted everyone off the track with a scorching second lap to win the 800 in 1:53.66. Has anyone called James Hatch to notify him of the potential demise of his state record?

But the entire meet was a kind of highlight show in spandex. Karina Ernst runs 2:15.25 in the 800. Trent Ireland throws down a 49.34 400 and then comes back with a 22-flat 200. Elisa Isakson vaults 11-0.

I don't know what they charged for admission to this meet, but it wasn't enough.

Burlington Invitational

To anyone who was anywhere around the state on Saturday, it's no surprise to hear that the wind blew. But nowhere did it blow more at a meet than in Burlington. Maybe that's why you can drive for miles in any direction from Burlington and count the trees on one hand.

Daniel Weirich broke his own state-wide season best mark in the shot put with a heave of 53-10.75. In a battle of small-school 1600 meter talent, Ariel Andrews of Yuma edged Melanie Burton of Bethune 5:54.25 to 5:54.84.

And, in a sneak preview of much that is yet to come, Burlington got the best of Wray, 93 - 86, in the boys' team score. Don't figure this one is anything like over yet.

Cedaredge Invitational

Cedaredge may have run a close second to Burlington in the wind category.

Sierra Williams of Cedaredge staked out some territory as the female sprinter to beat in 3A, winning the 100 in 12.55 (-0.3). She would have done much the same in the 200 but for a -7.0 wind. For good measure, she won the 400 in 59.21. I have no wind report to share for the 400, but it amounts to a nice day's work.

The Montrose Shellhorn siblings swept the 800-meter events, with brother Eric going on to win the 1600 in an impressive 4:30.44. Sister Dana didn't go for the 1600 double, but just missed a first-place in the 4x800.

And, in a repeat of last week's news, the Roaring Fork brothers Browning are tearing up the western slope competition at 200 and 400 meters. As of this moment, it looks as if the 3A schools east of the Continental Divide don't have any answers, either.

City of Littleton Championships

Like Broomfield, whatever they charged for admission here was not enough.

We've been talking for several years now about the life expectancy of Brent Vaughn's state 3200 record. Names like Kevin Williams and Evan Appel have been perilously close to toppling the record, but it still stands. Right now, it appears as if Will Kincaid is next in line to take a shot. Kincaid may have an advantage the others didn't have, however. That advantage would be Connor Winter--if only he can keep Connor Winter in his rear-view mirror. Stay tuned, as this one holds a lot of promise for getting interesting as the season develops.

Meanwhile, there's a certain Richie Martinez record from the early 80s that could be in jeopardy as well. 4:10 and change really isn't that far from 4:15.64. I wouldn't miss too many big distance showdowns this spring. You might miss more than you bargained for.

Check out Littleton's 4x400 mark and bear in mind Kaela Edwards had already run a 56.20 on the day. I sense another state mark that might not be long for this world.

Austin Roup continues to fling the discus unreasonable distances.

Wow, what a nice set of marks!

Foot of the Rockies Invitational

Another weekend, another meet in Fort Collins. These folks like to hang out close to home. Maybe the coaches wanted to watch March Madness or some such thing. In any case, this event was a good deal smaller than last weekend's shindig--which probably means it got over a lot earlier in the day.

Smaller, yes, but uneventful, no. I hope we get to see Mary Beth Sant line up with Chyna Ries for a 200 sometime this season (maybe this weekend?).

Jake Schneeberger is looking more and more like a great acquisition for CSU with each passing week.

Holy Family Tiger Tornado Invitational

This one served as a preview of many things 3A-ish in the Denver Metro area. Still looking for signs of Sam and Luke Yeager, plus a few more, from Faith Christian...

Taylor Sturms looks like a bona fide contender for the 2A girls high jump title. Sam Berggren continues to impress, but the 1600 hasn't quite come together according to her standards yet. There is, however, a lot of time left in the season. Meanwhile, Sydney Harris pounded out a nice 1600/800 double. Alexis Gerry uncorked her best discus toss of the season to position herself prohibitively in the lead of 3A girls at the moment.

The 3A boys high jump is heating up a bit early with Andrew Cirone of Estes Park throwing his hat into the ring with a 6-3 clearance for the meet title. Overall, though, highlights were a little more evident on the girls' side of this meet.

La Junta Open

Landry Cogburn was very busy young man, and 4-for-4 is a good meet. That would be 100 hurdles (15.31, -2.3), 300 hurdles (38.93, and that is not a typo), 200 (22.62, +0.5), and 4x200 (1:36.22). Teammate Laken Alley wins the 400 and almost the 100 as well. Another teammate, Weston Meardon, wins the triple jump. The best way to stop Walsh at the state meet may be to disable the bus before it leaves town. It's unreal for a tiny 1A school to have this much talent.

And, speaking of 1A, Sierra Grande's Tyler Barela had a nice first rankings meet of the season as well.

Mountain Range Mustang Invitational

Eleanor Fulton was running the 800. 2:15.46 seems like she could be warming up for something bigger this weekend. The girls 800 just might be something special this spring.

Rachel Hinker was very fast and very springy, winning the 100, 200, and long jump. Just a hunch, but I think Lyons is going to miss this girl when she graduates. A wind legal 17-4.75 long jump at this point in the season looks very good.

Northeast Colorado Classic

You need to stop and take some time to wrap your head around this: Courtney Mills of Berthoud went 38-0.25 in the triple jump into a -2.1 wind. Either Mills is head and shoulders better than we thought she was or the sand is dangerously low in the Sterling pits. Regardless, that's a nice jump and serious message. Like a lot of smaller schools with standout athletes, Berthoud has some decisions to make about event assignments at the end of the season.

Bobby Lebsock of Sterling had a nice 6-5 in the high jump. That should punch a ticket to state.

Pikes Peak Invitational

Notice to all 3A girls coaches--pay attention to the James Irwin sprint relays. We aren't used to thinking of JICS as a relay power, but it looks like we have seven weeks to make the transition.

Fountain-Fort Carson's boys looked awesome once again. In the  explosive events, the Trojans have more answers than the opposition has questions. Answers with names like Trey Talley, Markesh Woodson, Solyde Bankston, and Antonio Goode. Whether they have the pieces to put together another state title remains to be seen, but they definitely have the pieces to put up some big points.

Caleb Smith of Pikes Peak Christian continues to impress. He should definitely be trouble for the rest of the field in the 1A shot put.

While on the topic of throws, if you'd forgotten about Alexis Cooks, you can start remembering her again. The Doherty senior figures to be a key presence in the 5A throwing events this spring.

And, by the way, if you're at all into the triple jump, take a look at the triple jump sub-album under my meet photo album. The cover photo for this article is excerpted from that album. I, at least, found it very interesting to look as the phases of the triple jump as shown in the jump sequences. I understand a little better now why guys like Tony Carodine are such successful triple jumpers.

Pueblo County Hornet Invitational

They definitely know how to pack things into Dutch Clark Stadium. Four weeks into the season and there have already been three monster meets at the venue.

Since Will Kincaid and Connor Winter were doing their thing in Littleton on Friday, it seems only appropriate that Mike Cernoia and Spencer Wenck got to do their thing in Pueblo on Saturday. 4:14.68 is even closer to the magical 4:10-and-change 1600 record than Connor Winter's mark. Once again, be careful what big distance matchups you choose to miss this spring. You may miss more than you bargained for.

And, Colorado Track XC Athlete of the Week honoree Krystel Martinez validated our choice of her a couple weeks back with a couple more monster throws. Keep tabs on her progress as the state meet approaches.

It was nice to see Alamosa's Jenny DeSouchet back in the results. There appears to be some rust to work off the axle, but figure that the wheels can still roll.

And, finally, write down the name of Canon City's Christine Conley as one to watch in the 4A long jump.

Sand Creek Scorpion Invitational

It was about time someone got over 6-7 in the high jump and Javonte Walker-Reese was that someone. Collin Scheer helps keep the 3A high jump interesting by taking second at 6-4.

Kadeshia Rose sent everyone a reminder she's still around with a 12.30 (-0.7) 100 to win the first of her four titles on the evening. Teammate Rachael Jackson had a very big, and wind-legal, 17-7 in the long jump. That should shake up the 4A girls long jump world just a little. I certainly didn't see that one coming in advance. Tiffany Kenney of CSCS returned to action with a 100 hurdles and long jump title. Wind messed a bit with both, but we figure she'll be back with bigger marks in weeks to come.

Warrior Wild West Invitational

This one may have been the shortest event of the weekend. The results were delivered to my computer by early Saturday afternoon after a 9 AM start. An eight-team meet allows for some efficiency.

Take special note that the Telluride girls won this meet against generally much larger schools. They got my attention last week and backed it up this week. Lyons and Akron are two monstrous 2A powers that must be overcome en route to a 2A state title, but we'll keep watching the Miners.

Moffat County's Alfredo Lebron was impressive winning the 1600 in 4:26.13 and the 800 in 1:58.60 without serious competition in either event. Grand Junction's Stephanie Ryken is showing some impressive sprint speed. Here's hoping she gets to test herself against Front Range competition before long.