LAKEWOOD – The final day of the state track and field meet is underway at Jeffco Stadium. Throughout the course of Day 3, Colorado Preps will provide quick-hitting stories about various athletes and champions. They can all be found below.
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Estes Parks’ Tice gets late surge to win the 3A boys mile
(Dan Mohrmann/ColoradoPreps.com)
Coming into the final straightaway, Austin Tice knew he had a little more left in the tank. The Estes Park senior powered his way past Resurrection Christian’s Jackson Fagerlin to claim the Class 3A boys 1600-meter run.
“My coach told me to stick right on him so that’s what I was trying to do,” Tice said. “Throughout that entire race I was trying to be in that front two and make my move toward the end.”
His time of 4 minutes, 16.16 seconds was over a full second better than Fagerlin.
The win in the mile adds to Tice’s sold meet where he had already claimed gold in the 800.
-Dan Mohrmann
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1A sprinters great back-to-back records
Runners continue to take advantage of warm weather to start the state track and field meet.
The 1A 100 sprinters broke the boys and girls record in back to back races.
Denver Academy’s DJ Harris ran an 11.15 to break Simla’s Darias Harms’ record of 11.18 set in 2019.
Then, Prairie’s Roxy Unruh clocked in at 12.38 to finish first and beat Kim’s Zariah Mason’s record, 12.52, set in 2016.
-Marcus Hill
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Grand Junction Central’s Miller climbs national ranks in triple jump
Before Miller Jones left the triple jump area to compete in the 110 hurdle finals, he said “felt something special” with about his second triple jump in the prelims.
That feeling blossomed into a 50 feet, 5 inch jump for the state title, catapulted the Grand Junction Central senior from 15th in the nation to sixth.
Jones’ jump also Widefield’s Tony Carodine’s 11-year-old record of 49-8.75 set in 2012.
“I felt my jump was about to be big,” Jones said. “Then I went into my first jump and I heard my coach cheering and yelling “Yeah!” before I get to my second jump. The second I went off the board he gave me fuel to hit that jump.”
Jones has won all but three triple jump event he’s competed in since 2021.
Jones finished fourth at state in 2021 and second in 2022.
Jones placed fifth in the 110 hurdles at 15.07.
-Marcus Hill
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Jefferson Academy’s Kelly-Cannon captures 3A boys 100 title
Officials needed a moment before declaring a champion for the 3A boys 100 title.
Jefferson Academy’s Chrisly Kelly-Cannon and Montezuma-Cortez’s Zander Cruzan both had 10.61 appear on the board.
But event staff checked the official time which declared Kelly-Cannon the champ at 10.604 – one one-thousandth of a second faster than Cruzan’s 10.605.
Both Kelly-Cannon and Cruzan’s time beat the previous 3A state record of 10.61 set by Plate Valley’s Devyn Lauer-Duarte in 2022.
-Marcus Hill
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Underwood moves to No.1 in the nation, scorches state, Colorado prep 400 record
(Marcus Hill)
The audible “whoa” from the audience after Mead’s Tavon Underwood crossed the finish line for the 4A boys 400 highlighted his speed in the race.
Underwood clocked in at 45.36 to move to No. 1 in the nation in the 400. Underwood also set the state and Colorado preps record.
The previous state record, set by Palmer Ridge’s Caleb Ojennes in 2016, was 46.71.
The old Colorado preps record was set in 2006 by Littleton’s J.T. Scheuerman at 46.23.
Underwood flirted with breaking the national record held by Mansfield Timberland’s Aldrich Bailey 45.19 set in 2012.
After grabbing the 800 crown on Friday, Underwood will attempt to go two for three in sprints with a 200 title.
-Marcus Hill
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The 2A boys 400 record falls
Holyoke’s Maximillian Kleve entered the 2A boys 400 seeded fifth.
It didn’t matter. Kleve clocked in at 49.03 to earn the title and set the state record.
Kleve broke the meet record of 49.08 set by Yuma’s Clay Robinson in 2022.
Kleve finished first in all but one 400 dash this season. At last year’s state meet, did not record a time in the 400.
-Marcus Hill
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Summit sophomore adds to her mantle
Ella Hagen knew the 1,600 meter title would come down to the final 800.
Hagen ran her fastest splits in the final two laps of the race to finish in 4:54.35 and earn the 4A state title.
“I knew on those last two laps I’d have to dig in,” Hagen said. “In the last 200, I felt Grace [Moroney] on my shoulders and I told myself that I wasn’t going to yield. Coming into the final 20 meters, I realized I was alone. I’m alone and now I’m here.”
Hagen also won the state cross country title in the fall and finished her sophomore campaign with her fastest time of the season.
-Marcus Hill
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Montezuma-Cortez’s Cruzan finds redemption in 3A 200
(Dan Mohrmann/ColoradoPreps.com)
After getting edged out by Jefferson Academy’s Chrisly Kelly-Cannon in the 100, Montezuma-Cortez’s Zander Cruzan found the motivation needed to get his gold medal.
He finished the race in 21.47 seconds to win the boys 200, edging Kelly-Cannon to avenge his second-place finish in the in the 100.
“I love Chris, he’s such a great competitor,” Cruzan said. “I wish I could race against him every weekend. I had something to prove in the 200 after that 100. I wasn’t satisfied after that 100. That 200 really bettered me because I knew from my time in prelims that I had an easy shot to win this. A lot of it had to do with my coaching.”
Cruzan had also claimed the 400 title earlier in the day.
-Dan Mohrmann
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Mead’s Underwood breaks his own 200 record
Tavon Underwood’s run in the 200 once again wowed the audience after his finish.
Underwood’s 200 record last just over 48 hours before the Mead senior broke it again with a time of 20.95.
His finish means he earned the 200, 400 and 800 titles.
The Mead senior remains atop the Colorado 200 dash charts and is tied for 34th in national ranks.
-Marcus Hill
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Mesa Ridge’s Janice Everett earns back-to-back 200 titles
Mesa Ridge’s Janice Everett leaves her prep career as a back-to-back champ in the 4A girls 200.
The Grizzlies senior ran a 24.87 to claim her second consecutive title and cracked sub-24 for the first time in her career.
In 2022, Everett finished with a time of 25.03 at state to win her first title.
Since Everett’s finish at the 2022 state meet 200, she’s placed no worse than second in the event.
-Marcus Hill
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Lake County’s King takes 2A girls mile crown as No. 7 seed
Keira King entered the 2A seeded seventh with a 16-second difference between her and Heritage Christian’s Mikaela Kendall.
The Lake County junior shaved 17.61 seconds from her previous PR and ran a career-best 5:20.36 to win the mile run.
Last season, King finished 10th in the mile and ran a 5:49.12 for her best time of the 2022 season.
From King’s first outdoor race this year where she clocked in at 5:58.73 in the 1,600, the junior cut more than 38 seconds from her time.
-Marcus Hill
