LAKEWOOD — It wouldn’t be state track without a little bit of anxiety.
In the Class 4A boys race for the team title, Lutheran, Northfield and Niwot took it all the way down to one last relay. With a sixth-place finish in the 4×400-meter relay — the last race of the day — the Lions pulled it out with 67 points, followed by Northfield at 66, then Niwot at 65.
Senior Kaleb Lathrop, who served as the first leg of the relay, knew his team was ready for the big moment.
“We felt pressure, but we’ve been training for moments like these. We knew we were ready for the moment. We felt up to the task,” Lathrop said. “It was amazing. I mean, it was a thrill for the whole team. We had faith in each other the whole season, had faith in the coaches and had faith in God to get us through.”
Trey Ciccio led the effort for the Lions with a state title in the 110-meter hurdles after clocking in at 14.21, and that performance was complemented by Joseph Ciccio, who earned his own crown in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.53 seconds. Joseph Ciccio added the bronze in the 200 at 21.66, whereas Trey Ciccio secured the silver in the 300 hurdles at 38.72.
The boys 400-meter relay punched in a second-place mark with a time of 42.07. Keaton Reimon won the silver in the shot put with a throw of 54 feet, 9.25 inches, and the 3,200-meter relay ended at fifth place with an 8:07.12 mark.
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Niwot girls claim fourth team title in a row
(Dan Mohrmann/ColoradoPreps.com)
In a shock to absolutely no one, Niwot’s girls team cruised to the 4A team state title for the fourth year in a row. The Cougars finished with 164 points to beat out second-place Mesa Ridge by 87.
The all-star performance included two titles from senior hurdler Kimora Northrup who, after only securing one crown in each of the last two seasons, finally broke through to take home both in a single season.
“I’ve never won both at the same time. Sophomore year, I won the threes, not the hundreds. Last year, I won the hundreds, not the threes. It’s super nice to go out winning both,” Northrup said. “This year, I just wanted to give it my all. I lost the threes last year, so there’s been a little fire under my butt the whole season. I just really did this one for me.”
She won the crowns with times of 14.43 seconds in the 100 hurdles and a 43.05 in the 300 hurdles, but she was far from the only Cougar lady to make her way to the top of the podium. Madison Shults impressed with gold in the 400 (55.76) and the 800 (2:08.90) as Addison Ritzenhein earned the crown in the 3,200 (10:30.05).
The girls 1,600 relay cleaned out with a 3:52.76, followed by a win in the 3,200 relay (9:22.60). Jade West earned Niwot’s one and only field gold in the shot put after launching the shot 40–8.25.
