LAKEWOOD — Many fans in attendance dropped the F-bomb multiple times while watching the Class 4A and 5A boys 4×800 relays compete on Thursday.
Few other words captured the quartets’ performances at Jefferson County Stadium.
Mountain Vista won the 5A race and set the meet record with a time of 7 minutes, 42.58 seconds while Niwot set a team-best mark of 7:53.31 to earn the state crown in 4A.
For Mountain Vista, they picked an ideal time to have a season-best run and set the state record, because they needed it.
Mountain Vista and Cherokee Trail alternated the lead on the first three legs of the race with the Cougars leading the Golden Eagles 5:50.45 to 5:50.80 after the final exchange.
However, Golden Eagles senior Tyler Downs took the baton and jettisoned Mountain Vista on the first lap.
“We had all the alumni, our parents and the whole community came out to support us,” Downs said. “To have everyone out to support us, that gave us the boost we needed.”
That included the necessary push on the final 400 for Downs to build a cushion between himself and Cherokee Trail’s anchor.
“Seeing and hearing everyone really gave me a rush that I needed to get ahead in the first 200,” Downs said. “It reminded me of why I wanted to run hard and that got me through to the end.”
In 4A, the Niwot boys held the lead nearly the entire race.
After the first and second legs, Niwot put a near four-second gap between them and second place.
Carlos Cheruiyot grabbed the baton third and took Niwot from a small lead to a sizable cushion.
“I was out there running for my teammates,” Cheruiyot said. “I love these boys and I had to run for them and give them a lead.
When Cheruiyot made the final exchange to Kye Toothaker, the sophomore ended anyone teams’ hopes of a comeback.
Toothaker helped his Cougars stave off Coronado’s Cougars to capture the crown.
“I run well when I feel like someone is going to pass me,” Toothaker said. “Coronado has a fantastic freshman who I knew would probably close on me. So I knew to go hard on the first lap but not too hard.”
Toothaker’s methodical approach allowed him to preserve stamina for the final 400 and he finished with enough juice to flex while he crossed the finish line first.
“The team built up to this final race,” Toothaker said. “State is a place to showcase all of the work that we’ve put in. It’s gratifying to see that come to fruition today.”
(Marcus Hill)
