Week in Review: League Meets

1A/2A Western Slope League Meet

There isn't much mystery about who the 2A girls powers are on the western slope. That roll call would include Dolores, Telluride, and Paonia. Next week, they face bigger challenges in Lyons and Akron. Possibly the biggest step forward for western slope small school girls was Lexi Atkinson moving her 100 time down to 12.67. That puts her in some very nice territory.

How many small school regions put their top three boys' 800s in under 2:03? Congratulations to Colten Rogers on winning this thing. And Jeff Williams is one very happy fellow that he didn't have to qualify for state on regional placement. The 1600 was pretty much the same story--top three at 4:36 or faster with Chris Zirkle taking a close one from Ty Williams. Watch for Ouray's Kaleb Sackman in the state triple jump.

3A Metro and Frontier League Meet

Quincey Pedersen has found her sweet spot in the high jump. After going 5-5.5 last week, this week she pushed her PR up to 5-6. That makes her a big favorite in the 3A high jump, though the high jump is still a fickle event. Holy Family's Alexis Gerry is looking like a considerable favorite in the 3A discus. Kent Denver's Jen Lehr moved her 3200 time way down. Turned out it was a good thing, too, as there was a surge in 3A Girls 3200 performances over the weekend.

Among the boys, Faith Christian pulled off a very nice 1-2-3 sweep of the 1600 with brothers Yeager and Evan Fortney all going under 4:40. Not to be outdone, Grayson Bundick and Derek McCartney laid down a double sweep of the throws. Also of note was the 43-2.25 triple jump by Kent Denver's John Reynolds.

3A Western Slope League Meet

It's a shame Sierra Williams scratched the 3A Girls 400 for the week ahead. That 57.84 was very impressive. As was the 57.94 by Jennifer Celis. On the plus side, Cedaredge looks to be bringing a mean set of girls sprint relays to state. Look for them to mix things up a little with Eaton and Berthoud.

For the boys, figure you're seeing a lot of the Browning brothers sprinting at state. Right now, Alex Mead and Andrew Proebstle look like the best bets to break up the act. Gunnison's Bryce Johnston is clearly warming up to the task of a likely 4x800, 800, 1600 combo at state. Gunnison has a 4x400 in the fight, too, but I'm not sure if Johnston is helping the cause of that one. Rifle is clearly bringing some loaded sprint relays to state to take on whatever the Front Range can dish out.

No question about it, this is a strong region this year.

4A Western Slope League Meet

Honestly, the highlights were a little thinner here than in the 3A Western Slope League. Moffat County's 8:09 in the 4x800 makes them a very credible entry in that event, however. Ethan Baier of Delta had a nice couple of days with the horizontal jumps at 21-8.25 and 43-3.5, both wind legal.

Centennial League Meet

When you stop to realize that most teams were likely laying off a little here, you begin to realize just how powerful this league is.

Christine Scott is going to be monstrously tough to beat in the 4A girls sprints. Mullen's boys figure to cause just as much trouble on their side. Stephanie Gerber goes into a very tough 5A 300 Hurdles event with some good momentum working.

Arapahoe's boys seem to have the pieces coming together. At all four distance events, pole vault, 300 hurdles, and 4x400 they are legitimate threats to win state titles.

Colorado Springs Metro League Meet

Big doings at Garry Berry. In case you'd forgotten about Jordan Rand in the long and triple jump, she gave you a refresher course this last weekend. 18-5 and 40-0 are big marks.

The boys 800 turned up some stunningly good times complements of Boris Berian and Nolan Mayhew. Throw in a couple of top 800 runners from elsewhere at state and we have the makings of some very good contests at state. The state all-classification record still stands, but it should come under a severe test this weekend. And Markesh Woodson seems to be peaking at just about the right time to lend a little El Paso County influence to the 5A sprint events.

Continental League Meet

Already having a good season, Ponderosa's Amanda Lark made it a little better by running a 56.77 400.

Castle View's Chris Ganem ran a big 1600. There are a great many of us looking for a big 1600 showdown at state on Saturday. The unfortunate piece of featuring the 1600 on Saturday, though, is that some legs could be a little worn down by then. Still, Ganem figures to be part of a great contest.

Denver Public Schools League Meet

It's been a couple of weeks since I mentioned Dior Hall's name. She's definitely in the picture in the 200 and, especially, the 100 hurdles going into state. Barring a mishap, the race at state should be for second. Jakoby Baker's 300 hurdles marked raised a few eyebrows and earned him athlete of the meet honors.

Front Range League Championships

If momentum going into the state meet means anything, Loveland is sitting in a very nice position. Right now, anything Loveland does seems to come up smelling like roses. If they can keep her off relays long enough, Kaylee Packham just might be the 300 hurdles favorite. Kailie Hartman's distance events are coming along nicely at this point in the season. It wasn't a big relay weekend for Loveland, but that just gives folks a little extra to think about until Thursday.

Although Raymond Bozmans ran the 400 at this meet, don't look for him there at the state meet. The 4x200 Fort Collins ran at the league meet might construed as an indicator of what Bozmans will be doing with a couple of "spare" events on his hands. Stephen Palmier has been having a good season in the jumps, but his triple jump mark takes that game to a new level. If Fort Collins is to make a big title run, this is a very nice piece to have.

And take due note of Jake Schneeberger's discus mark, below. Sure, on any given week, the speed and direction of the wind can add (or take away) a lot to the flight of a discus, but Schneeberger's marks have been remarkably consistent.

Intermountain League Meet

Pagosa Springs used to have a wealth of girls 800 runners. That wealth seems to have now spread to the boys as well. The Pirates just might be looking to play a spoiler role in the 3A 4x800. Both teams figure to be very competitive on Thursday. And their 4x400s might prove to be a case of double-dipping. Pagosa is solid at middle distance.

Jeffco 4A League Meet

Ready or not, Annie Kunz is coming to the state meet for the last time. It's entirely possible she wins four events. Catch the show or wonder what you missed.

Golden's Trevor Evanson is by no means a sure thing in the 4A high jump, but he does figure to still be jumping when most everyone else has taken their seats.

Jeffco 5A League Meet

As good of a team as the Lakewood girls have enjoyed this season, it will be very difficult for them to repeat their success at this meet at the same venue a week later. The Tigers' best hope for a state title may be Elle Brunsdale in the long jump, though that is a very tough field. Lakewood will score points, but there's some serious crowding of talent this year at their points of greatest strength.

Chatfield's Erik Gaytan pulled off a very nice sweep of the sprint events, but the Jeffco League, 2011 version, isn't remotely reflective of what he will face at state. State adrenaline will be a big necessity for the Chatfield junior.

And, if conditions cooperate on Thursday, look for William Kincaid to be looking to engage in a little friendly pursuit of a state 3200 record with somebody.

LPAA/YWKC League Championships

In case you hadn't heard and were still wondering, Akron's girls dominated this one. In a bit of a surprise, however, Yuma's boys took down Wray's boys for the boys' team title. It's difficult to read too much into that given that it's league week, but I may have been underestimating Yuma to this point in the season. And, also add into consideration the fact that the wind obscured the meaning of a whole bunch of results.

Northern League Meet

It's a powerhouse league but, honestly, the results from this one look a little subdued given the talent represented in these schools. And, of course, it is the week before the state meet, so that's not all that surprising.

Under the category of new old names, note that Thompson Valley's Katie Lindenmuth is back doing her long jump thing. I was beginning to think hers was a name we wouldn't see at the state meet.

Trent Ireland was back in the results after an absence of a couple of weeks, but in a limited role. Here's hoping that role is less limited at state.

Patriot League Meet

Take note of the damage done by Eaton at this meet. If they can replicate the scorched earth policy at state, it's not at all unthinkable that the Reds go home with two state trophies this coming weekend. The marks don't show up as "elite" marks, but the following marks will do some damage at state:

Brittany Pierce - 59.82 (400), Girls 4x200 - 1:44.53 (very nearly a new 3A record), Girls 4x400 - 4:05.71, Boys 4x100 - 43.68, Boys 4x200 - 1:30.80, and Eric Kler - 47-1 (shot put).

For good measure, Berthoud had a couple of nice marks of their own, including a new 3A record of 49.67 in the girls' 4x100. Tanya Bezanson suddenly finds herself atop the 3A girls shot put rankings with a throw of 39-9.5.

South Central League / Santa Fe League

It's not like it's new news when Megan Patterson smashes a record, but she advanced her 4A all-time best shot put mark by the better part of two feet and absolutely smashed her personal best in the discus. 144-5 makes her a bona fide threat to contend in a very tough 4A discus field.

Ty Van Oort just might have a stranglehold on the 2A discus if it weren't for a fellow by the name of Daniel Weirich. Word to any aspiring state champions, "There is always somebody..."

Southwestern League Meet

This is yet another league meet that seemed to suffer from some flat marks. The only thing is, however, these are programs that couldn't afford flat marks. Maybe most worth noting out of this meet was the 22-5.25 posted by Central's Alec Rupe in the long jump. I take it the absence of a seed mark means this was something he hadn't tried before in a meet. It's a tough contest, but that jump at least gets him in. Grand Junction's Colten Deters salvaged another week of season by moving his shot put mark out to 51-0.

Tri League Meet-Arkansas Valley-Hi-Plains-Southeastern

Landry Cogburn and Daniel Weirich have been putting on good shows wherever they've traveled this spring and this was no exception. Probably most noteworthy, however, is the fact that Springfield just upped the ante in the 1A boys title race by dethroning Walsh at this meet. That should serve as a wake-up call for Walsh; this one is definitely not over yet.

Tri-Peaks League Meet

TCA sweeps the team titles and Tiffany Kenney pretty much masters everything she tries. The 3A girls long jump should be a dandy between Kenney, Courtney Mills and anyone else who cares to join them at 18 feet and beyond. A lot of distance runners, most notably in the 3200s, take some serious time off their season-best marks to advance to state.

Tri-Valley League Meet

Ashlee Utley is a very good thrower. She just picked a lousy year to be competing in 4A girls. It's sort of like trying out for the steeplechase in Kenya--not for the faint of heart.

Union Pacific League Meet

Limon dominates the girls. And how many years in a row has that been true of this meet? Actually, though, it might be more truthful to say that the wind dominated things. Burlington continued their run of good showings on the boys' side of things.

What solid marks there were got wiped out by the wind. Thankfully, a lot of these athletes get one more shot this weekend.