It’s spring break week for a very large portion of the state. The first thing that means for me is there won’t be a great deal to write about this week. But, for the moment, there exists way more than enough to write about. We had a bundle of meets this past weekend, and we need to spend some time combing through the results to see what they tell us. 

The sheer enormity of the task dictates splitting genders. For this week, I’ll cover the boys first. A summary of the girls’ action from Friday and Saturday will appear tomorrow. Set your browsers on speed dial, or something like that.

The meet with the most telling results from this past weekend was the Murray Kula Invitational, but I’m not going there first in the discussion that follows. The Murray Kula will wait its turn, but—once we get there—there will be plenty to say. Let’s take the meets in the order they came…

Rifle Invitational

The Rifle Invitational enjoys a lengthy history as an early-season meet that draws heavily from the I-70 corridor and points north in western Colorado. After a couple of years of COVID messing with the schedule, things seemed very much back to normal with this year’s edition of the Rifle Invitational.

It was a season-opening meet for most of the teams showing up, so there was plenty to be learned from this one. I’ll start with the boys this time around. Justin Blanton of Central Grand Junction served notice he’s taking on all comers from the Western Slope in the 100. So far, his record looks pretty good, as does a wind-legal 11.10. We can safely infer that Blanton had something to do with a 44.62 4×100 as well.

Keep an eye on Central GJ. There are more than a few arrows in the quiver.

Dominykas Remeikis of Summit may have been the marked man of the meet. After getting edged by .01 by Battle Mountain’s Sullivan Middaugh in the 1600, Remeikis came back in the 800 and won by .11 over Tyler Stogsdill of Central GJ. Both races yielded very nice times, but Remeikis is undoubtedly hoping he doesn’t have to dig that deep for all his races this spring. 

Speaking of Summit, I’ve heard rumors that Jay Peltier is coaching hurdles at SHS. If that is true, you can expect the guys in green to be developing some very strong hurdlers in the not-too-distant future. Who is Jay Peltier, you ask? Go back and cast a glance at the 4A Boys state meet results from 2017. The team you are looking for is Vista Ridge. Peltier coached that team and left a signature statement with that group of guys. He’s been missed ever since.

Beware of top-end coaches who’ve left a job at one location and resurface at another.

Anyhow, back to the Rifle Invitational… 

TJ Nixon of Battle Mountain went 6-5 in the high jump. If you check the 4A board, Mr. Nixon is now your classification leader. Daniel Baroumbaye of Central GJ had a nice pair of throws (44-5 in the shot and 139-10 in the discus. See you at state, Daniel!

And who is Jacob Doyle of Grand Valley? Holy cow, going 147-1 in the discus after a season-best mark of 121-8 in 2021! That, folks, is some serious year-to-year progression.

Brighton Mercury

In the big picture, performances may have been a little on the side of soft for this meet, but we will also allow that temperatures were a little on the side of chilly for this one. Maybe a bit breezy at times, too.

Chrisly Kelly-Cannon (CKC) got in his third meet of the week at this one. So far, no signs of burnout. CKC went 21.90 in the 200 and 21-5 in the long jump. Teammate Evan Mills also had a twofer, winning the 800 in 2:08 and the 3200 in 10:16. It was a good day for Jefferson Academy, though a bit of rest on the near horizon might be in order. For the coaches, if not for the athletes. I have some idea of how exhausting three meets in five days can be for the coaching staff.

Caleb Perruzza of Prospect Ridge won the 300 hurdles in 42.42. That’s not an earth-shattering time for the 300H, but it was, at the time, the top time in 3A. Perruzza figures to get some exposure in that event this spring. It’s worth a further note here that hurdles seem to be becoming a bit of a thing at Prospect Ridge. Keep an eye on this situation; it could rapidly become a big deal in 3A.

Bayfield Invitational

The highlight for the boys, and the indisputable mark of the meet, was a sizzling 9:46.54 for Land Lambert in the 3200. That one should garner some attention back at the team camps of Niwot and Cheyenne Mountain. Durango has long been a thorn in the side of 4A distance, and that tradition continues with this mark. Keep in mind, Lambert soloed this effort (there was only one other runner under 12 minutes) and did it at 7000 feet of elevation. We call that meaningful context.

Elsewhere, Zander Cruzan of Montezuma-Cortez was on fire, winning the 100 in 11.19 and the 200 in 22.82, both wind-legal. 3A folks, take note. 1A folks should take note that Dove Creek’s Chorbin Cressler was second in both of those events. Cressler takes up residence at the top of the 1A rankings in both events with those efforts.

Mason Goodwin of Mancos going 6-1 in the high jump figures for some small-school notice as well. If nobody else noticed, the top of the 2A leader board did.

William Knight of Durango logged an impressive double with a 150-11 in the discus and a 52-7 in the shot put. Among the small schools, Connor Showalter of Mancos—yes, there’s still a Showalter to factor into the 2A equation—threw 137-4 and 43-10 for a pair of seconds.

Delta Invitational

Did Paton Edwards of Ouray win the 400 in 52.20? Why, yes he did. Welcome to the top of the 2A leader board, Mr. Edwards. I had to check on that one, being unsure if Ouray was 1A or 2A. Now I know.

Matthew Kasper of North Fork wedged in a pair of wins, going 16.19 in the 110 hurdles and 23.80 in the 200. Those are good, solid marks that will keep him in the 3A hunt.

Montrose left a major imprint at the shot put ring with Jaxxon Tosi taking the win at 45-9 and Trevor Hill going second at 44-7. I seem to recall this isn’t the first time in recent history that Montrose has been very well represented in the shot put. A quick check reveals that Tosi was a significant part of the Montrose HS football success this past fall. But for some misfortune, they may have won a state title.

Montrose won the boys’ side of the meet going away, but they didn’t show the kind of depth yet that it’s going to take to be a major force in 4A. That’s not to say they won’t show it later this season, just that it didn’t show up here.

Murray Kula Invitational

You were wondering when I’d get to this meet. Its time has arrived, squarely in the middle of things. Go get yourself something to eat. This one’s going to take a while to work through.

Grayson Arnold of Holy Family is fast. Mark him down as your early favorite to win the 3A 100 and 200. 11.03 and 21.81, both wind-legal, will earn you that status.

Tavon Underwood of Mead became the first 4A guy under 50 seconds for the 400 this season with a 49.82. There will be more. Underwood, however, was first.

Tyler Ball of Lyons backed up his 9:48 3200 of last week with a 4:37 1600. Fortunately, there’s another horse or two in the 2A distance field, or this situation could get out of hand in a hurry. 

And, how about Connor McCormick of Longmont taking down Dalton Kaines in the 3200 with a 9:24? Wow. McCormick also had teammates Dominic Warner and Andreas O’Malley at 9:30 and 9:36. When did Longmont become a fully-fledged distance powerhouse? Maybe you saw it coming last fall….

Eric Walker of Niwot just missed the statewide lead in the 110 hurdles with a 15.19. Bennett Feldenkirchen won the 300 hurdles but didn’t quite crank it below 40 seconds. That time will come; it just hasn’t come yet.

Rhys Davis of Poudre wins the high jump with a statewide best of 6-6. Bonus points to anyone who knows the origins of the name of Poudre High School and the Cache la Poudre School District. That will take you into a deep dive into Colorado history if you don’t already know the answer. You might also come to realize something about Poudre’s school colors along the way.

Fort Collins HS always has great jumpers. There’s a reason for that. For now, though, we’ll confine our discussion of the Fort Collins jumps program to the fact that Dontay Johnson won the long jump at 21-9.25, wind-legal. Caleb Johnson of Longmont won the triple at an even 44, also wind legal. Rhys Davis was a half-inch behind him. That’s some good early-season triple jumping!

Quin Dukes of Mead wins the pole vault at 14-0. If that seems like a midseason kind of mark, well, there’s a club here in the state that keeps young men and women vaulting nearly year-round.

And Mohamed Ibrahim of Wiggins picks up where he left off last year with a 163-9 in the discus and a 48-0.5 in the shot put. The discus mark is a statewide best. The shot put is a classification best. If you paid even casual attention to rankings and results last year, none of this surprises you this year.

Holy Family’s 1:29.15 and Niwot’s 3:25.50 mark statewide bests in the 4×200 and 4×400, respectively. How does a 3A team climb to the top of the pile in the 4×200?

Harrison Panther Invitational

Meet director Al Melo told me there were 36 teams in attendance at this meet. But for transportation issues, there would have been more. If you took a tour of the parking lot at any time during the meet, you understand the full meaning bringing 36 schools to Harrison High School for a track meet. The announcer was busy reading license plates for people to move their cars before the towing company did it for them. Let’s just say that there may have been more cars parked illegally than legally and leave it at that. Hopefully, yours was not one of the cars towed.

Lawrence Walker of FFC won the 200 in 22.18, accompanied by a -3.1 wind. That figures to keep him in the same elite company he’s been rubbing shoulders with a for a while.

Cheyenne Mountain took over at middle distance (and also the entire meet on the boys’ side), with Enzo Knapp winning the 800 in 1:59.23 and Knox Exton with a 4:27.28 1600. I didn’t stick around long enough to see Knapp’s 800, but Exton had plenty left at the end of the 1600.

Jonathan Wiggins of Banning Lewis Prep ran a 4:36 in the same 1600 to assume control of the 2A leader board in the 1600.

It wasn’t an event winner, but Jay Wood of Thomas Maclaren made some nice 2A noise with a 10:15 in the 3200. 

Marcus Mills of Sierra bettered his 110 hurdles time of last week with a 15.62 winner. Of note there, the wind was -3.1. Clearly, there’s more in Mills’ tank. I have no idea what was up with the -3.1 winds, though.

Nate Early sent some shock waves through 2A with a 41.79 tour of the 300 hurdles. In addition to winning the meet title, that’s about a half second ahead of the field in 2A. Figuring out Early’s state meet events could prove to be a chore.

Air Academy did their part to keep Niwot’s 4×400 in sight with a 3:28.55.

Elijah Inama of Palmer Ridge won the long jump with an impressive 22-6.

Alec Falk of Palmer Ridge and Xavier Freeman of Pueblo East repeated their meet titles from the Banana Belt Classic of a week ago. Falk dialed back his effort a little to 149-even to win the discus (in fairness, the discus field at Dutch Clark undoubtedly favors longer throws than the corresponding field at Harrison), while Freeman went to the top of the statewide leader board in the shot put with a 54-11. Falk’s shot put spin was working better than last week, as evidenced by a 47-8 for second place.

Larry Pickering Invitational

It’s worth telling you a little bit about Larry Pickering before launching into the highlights of the meet. When I broke into coaching in 2000, Larry Pickering was still coaching track and cross country at Pueblo Centennial High School and still doing an excellent job of it. Looming largest among his claims to fame was a set of five state cross country titles dating back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. At that time, Pueblo was still the distance running capital of Colorado. It’s nice the folks at Centennial have named a meet in his honor. 

Pickering passed away four or five years ago now, but he would have been proud of several of the performances turned up at his namesake meet.

Dallen Booker of Widefield, fresh off some nice efforts at the Palmer Terror last week, won the 100 in 11.31. He was on his way to winning the 200 as well, but AJ Braeger of The Classical Academy got in the way of that. Braeger, running his first-ever open 200, took the win in 22.71.

Matthew Edwards of TCA captured the 1600 title in 4:36. This time, communications between the track and the timing booth were working properly and Edwards’ time sticks.

Jace Peters of Lake County and Isaac Higareda of Alamosa battled all the way to the finish line of the 3200 with Peters taking the win in 10:15. That sets Peters up nicely in the universe of 2A 3200s. Tyler Ball is way out in front for the moment, but the other places appear to be competitive.

Derek Allen of Widefield was as smooth as butter over a bald bunny, winning the 110 hurdles in a state-best time of 15.18. And, yes, the wind was cooperating. Rashaun McNeil of Crowley County stunned a few folks by winning the 300 hurdles in 42.13. If you’re wondering, that mark takes up residence as the #2 time of the season in 2A.

Among the relays, Alamosa’s 8:38 4×800 probably counts as the pick of the litter. Doherty was quick in the 4×100 and 4×200, but the Spartans have to wage their battles in the land of 5A. They’re going to have to get faster for those times to start sticking. That said, the 44.01 4×100 currently sits at #4 in 5A.

Jordan Wenger of TCA won the high jump at 6-1 and the long jump at 21-0. While neither mark floats to the top of the 3A rankings, both certify his presence as a contender in the jumps. Wenger figures to be jumping all over the place at state.

It was a very nice battle for meet supremacy in the triple jump. In the end, Elizabeth’s Cooper Connelley had a 43-5.5, which was 3.5 inches better than Dallen Booker’s best. 

Edward Bowman of Pine Creek won the shot with a very respectable 47-11. He got pushed, though, by Vladimir Dabovich of Pueblo West and Kyle Bigley of Pueblo Central. Bigley won the discus at 143-8.

And that’s a wrap from the City of Heroes.

ThunderRidge Invitational

I’m not sure how it happened, but ThunderRidge got to host at the Stutler Bowl. The Stutler Bowl, probably the best venue in Colorado from which to combine birding with watching a track meet. I’m reasonably certain TR hasn’t been annexed by the Cherry Creek School District, so this one undoubtedly required some special arrangements. But, since stadiums that can host a track meet are in short supply in the Douglas County School District, perhaps necessity was, once again, the mother of invention here. It’s likely that everyone was happy about the arrangement except the discus throwers.

Coleman Kapusta of Ponderosa vented his frustrations over the long trek across a massive parking lot by winning the discus with a throw of 134-even. Closer to home, Taylor Nichols of Douglas County won the shot put at 49-8.

PJ Robinson of Cherry Creek was certifiably quick in the 200, winning in 22.40. That was with a -2.3 wind. There’s no place like running at home.

Luke Dry of Highlands Ranch set a new season standard for the 400, winning in 49.10. 

Jack Wetterling of Valor Christian swept the hurdle events in 16.08 and 41.09. Like a few other hurdlers around the state, the rhythm over the hurdles isn’t 100% there yet for Wetterling. That would be one reason why the season is more than two weeks long. 

Rock Canyon enjoyed some nice sprint results, the nicest of which was arguably a 43.89 4×100. That has them at #3 in 5A right now. 

Grant Haskins of homestanding, sort of, Highlands Ranch won the long jump at just a fraction of an inch short of 22 feet. David Wardlaw of Cherry Creek was a little over 44 feet for the triple jump crown. 

And, finally, some breaking news from the land of small schools (which, generally speaking, was not well represented at this meet). Johnathan Mikita of Calhan won the pole vault at an even 12-0. That has him, at least for the moment, at the top of the 2A pile. And, Mr. Mikita, I apologize if I’ve misspelled your first name, but—if so—that’s how it appears in the meet entries.

Rangeview Raider Invitational

Ben Kirk of Denver East was busy kicking up dust, and particles of polyurethane, for his competition to inhale. I’m not sure how they felt about that, but Kirk’s 11.26 (100) and 22.34 (200) were good enough for the wins. When you win, you get to dictate the conditions for the rest of the field. Or, in the sprints, at least the rest of your heat.

Of all the meets in the state last weekend, you probably wouldn’t have picked this one for the top 800 times in the state so far this season, but you would have been wrong about that. How about a 1:56.48 for Connor Kennedy of Heritage, followed by a 1:56.85 by Reuben Holness of Cherokee Trail? Nicely done, gentlemen. My hunch is that Holness won’t accumulate a large number of second places this season.

Leland Smith of homestanding Rangeview made the highlight reel with a 43-5.75 winner in the triple jump. For extra satisfaction in a job well done, Smith won the long jump as well.

Charles LaFore of Chatfield dominated the throws. His 142-1 won the discus by almost nine feet. His 50-7.5 won the shot put by almost five feet. Though there are no bonus points for margin in track and field, those are hefty margins even so.

And, with that, we’ve completed our tour of the boys’ track and field highlights for the weekend just completed. Come back here tomorrow for a review of the girls’ highlights. There will, of course, be more content later in the week, but you’ll have to check back and see what that’s about.