Date: May 3 (this is important to cross-reference the #18 rankings shown below)
It’s time to start giving some thought to what it will take to find a place in the top 18 in each event. Qualifying for state, of course, isn’t necessarily the same as being in the top 18. But, unless you find yourself somewhere in the top 18, you have to rely on one or more scratches above you to advance into the state field. A lot of anxiety goes with that. And, by the way, you might as well figure that nobody ever scratches the 400, the 1600, the 100/110 hurdles, the pole vault, the shot put, or the discus.
What follows is an inexact science. Ultimately, all I’m doing is making educated guesses. But, for the coach and athlete who want a ballpark estimate on what it will take to land in the top 18 in a particular event, I can offer an opinion that’s reasonably well informed.
Below, you will see listed each 2A event. With each event, I’ve listed the current #18 mark. Clearly, if you’re currently outside the top 18 and want to be inside, you have to beat that mark. But, it stands to reason you’ll eventually have to beat other marks as well. I also score how “packed” the field is behind the current #18 on a 1-3 scale. A loosely-packed field scores a 1. A tightly-packed field scores a 3. Anything in between scores a 2. Finally, I lay down my own estimate of what it will take to have a top 18 mark on May 15 when coaches must designate their state meet entries (and hopefuls).
One of the things I worry about in producing a list like this is that it becomes a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy for a lot of athletes and we end up overshooting the top-18 cutoffs shown below. We’ll have to wait and see if that actually happens. Suffice it to say for now that there is real potential for it happening.
I will eventually complete this exercise for all five classifications.
That should be adequate explanation. The events follow.
2A Boys 100 Meter Dash
Current #18: Tell Wade, Wray, 11.67; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 11.55
2A Girls 200 Meter Dash
Current #18: Lexy Young, Ignacio, 13.56; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 13.46
2A Boys 200 Meter Dash
Current #18: Jackson Neppl, St. Mary’s, 23.89; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 23.62
2A Girls 200 Meter Dash
Current #18: Megan Jenkins, Cedaredge, 28.13; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 27.94
2A Boys 400 Meter Dash
Current #18: Richardson Tailleur, Centauri, 53.29; Packing: 1, Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 52.65
2A Girls 400 Meter Dash
Current #18: Cecilia Neuhardt, Golden View Classical/Mary Scoggins, Rangely, 1:03.65; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 1:03.15
2A Boys 800 Meter Run
Current #18: Cade Green, Wiggins, 2:08.69; Packing: 1, Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 2:05:50
2A Girls 800 Meter Run
Current #18: Keira King, Lake County, 2:40.64; Packing: 2, Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 2:33.80
2A Boys 1600 Meter Run
Current #18: Aaron Jenkins, Twin Peaks Charter, 4:51.20; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 4:44.00
2A Girls 1600 Meter Run
Current #18: Brighton Bair, Meeker, 6:08.21; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 5:50.00
2A Boys 3200 Meter Run
Current #18: Andrew Bel, CSCS, 10:50.81; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 10:32.00
2A Girls 3200 Meter Run
Current #18: Teagan Archer, Mancos, 13:29.03; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 13:06.00
2A Boys 110 Meter Hurdles
Current #18: Joshua Bishop, Twin Peaks Charter, 18.41; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 17.55
2A Girls 100 Meter Hurdles
Current #18: Lyndsey Mekelburg, Yuma, 18.39; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 17.70
2A Boys 300 Meter Hurdles
Current #18: Alex Marchand, Rocky Ford, 44.85; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 43.75
2A Girls 300 Meter Hurdles
Current #18: Ily Hardey, Platte Canyon, 53.29; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 51.95
2A Boys 4×100 Meter Relay
Current #18: Sedgwick County, 46.58; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 46.04
2A Girls 4×100 Meter Relay
Current #18: Centauri, 55.22; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 54.10
2A Boys 4×200 Meter Relay
Current #18: Lyons, 1:37.79; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 1:36.05
2A Girls 4×200 Meter Relay
Current #18: Banning Lewis, 1:55.84; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 1:54.00
2A Boys 4×400 Meter Relay
Current #18: Twin Peaks Charter, 3:45.24; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 3:38.00
2A Girls 4×400 Meter Relay
Current #18: Caprock Academy, 4:40.54; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 4:30.50
2A Boys 4×800 Meter Relay
Current #18: Burlington, 9:26.52; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 9:05.00
2A Girls 4×800 Meter Relay
Current #18: Caprock Academy, 11:37.99; Packing: 1; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 11:18.00
2A Girls 800 Meter Sprint Medley Relay
Current #18: Buena Vista, 2:01.82; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 1:59.20
2A Boys High Jump
Current #18: Massive tie at 5-8; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 5-10.5
2A Girls High Jump
Current #18: Massive tie at 4-7; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 4-9.5
2A Boys Pole Vault
Current #18: Massive tie at 10-1; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 10-6
2A Girls Pole Vault
Current #18: Three-way tie at 7-8; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 8-1
2A Boys Long Jump
Current #18: Nino Cisneros, John Mall/David Fouts, Platte Canyon, 19-6.25; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 20-1
Mary Scroggins leads the 2A Girls long jump with a mark of 17-2.5.
2A Girls Long Jump
Current #18: Hannah Grover, Platte Canyon, 15-3; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 15-9
2A Boys Triple Jump
Current #18: Nathaniel Juarez, Monte Vista, 38-9.75; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 39-10
2A Girls Triple Jump
Current #18: Madison Roth, Byers, 31-2; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 32-3
2A Boys Shot Put
Current #18: Brayden Harper, Grand Valley 41-2.25; Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 42-9
2A Girls Shot Put
Current #18: Caitlin Creel, Centauri, 32-1.5; Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 33-3
2A Boys Discus
Current #18: Trevor Peters, Swallows Charter, 119-11 (note that any fractions of inches shown on discus marks should be ruled irrelevant); Packing: 3; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 127-0
2A Girls Discus
Current #18: Charlotte Heberlie, Swink, 97-10 (note that any fractions of inches shown on discus marks should be ruled irrelevant); Packing: 2; Projected Top-18 Cutoff: 101-0
With that, I’ll part with my best wishes to all the athletes involved in the hunt for a state meet qualifier. May the journey be a profitable one for you, regardless of the outcome!
