Even minus Minor’s wings, Angels win
Helen Maley held a lead, but just barely, Friday afternoon in the final of her state championship relay for East High School.
“I could hear everyone screaming, ‘She’s coming! She’s coming,’ ” Maley said. “I was thinking, ‘Helen, you’ve got to do this.’ ”
Maley, a junior, crossed the finish line a step ahead, securing first place in the Colorado High School Activities Association Girls Class 5A 4×200 relay. Her teammates were Syanne Algee, a senior, who ran the lead-off leg; Michelle McDonald, a freshman, who ran the second leg; and Isabella Horton, a senior who ran the third leg. East’s best athlete wasn’t even on the track.
Two days into the state track and field championships, the East girls track team is turning heads. And not just because they have one of the fastest girls in the United States on their team.
Sure, Arria Minor, a junior sprinter, ran the country’s fastest time in the outdoor 400-meter sprint by a high school girl this season and set a state record in the 200-meter race, both on Thursday. But the rest of the team is fast, too. Really fast.
Earlier Friday, the East girls set a Colorado state record in the sprint medley — a race that blends 100-, 200- and 400-meter specialists — with Minor cheering in the stands.
“If we’d put Minor in it, … oh, man, there’s no telling where we would have taken it,” Coach Steven Kiper said.
But Kiper wants every girl on the team to realize she is capable of winning medals and setting records, too. It’s important for the rest of the team not to feel overshadowed by a superstar.
“They’re winning first and breaking records without her,” Kiper said. “It’s shows they’re capable. This validates them.”
He uses every girl in a role where she is most likely to succeed, including freshmen. Later Friday, he asked two freshmen — Abigail Howard and Julianna Garcia — to join Horton and Maley in a preliminary 4×400 relay. Kiper said he was confident in his “freshmen pups” and wants them to believe in themselves.
In track, coaches often substitute runners in earlier rounds so
Highlights from Day 2
their fastest athletes have fresher legs in championship races. Still, their roles are important. If they don’t give their all, the top runners won’t get their chance to score points toward the team standings.
Kiper thought the two freshmen would be capable of shaving a second or more off their personal best times because of the cheering crowds and the adrenaline high-stakes racing.
“It’s going to come down to how hard you’re willing to hurt,” he said. “Either way, I’m still going to love ’em. Win or lose.” The 2018 Colorado high school state track and field meet continued on Friday at Jeffco Stadium. Here are notable results and individual performances from the second day in Lakewood: Fitzsimmons asserts herself once again. Mountain Vista sophomore Jenna Fitzsimmons, Class 5A’s reigning cross-country champion and Gatorade state runner of the year, asserted her place as the state’s best distance runner once again with a time of 10:35.09 in the 3,200. That bested a quality effort from another sophomore, runnerup Brynn Siles of Legacy, who ran 10:39.30. Martin leaps into Oregon’s vision. While Fountain-Fort Carson senior Jequan Hogan successfully defended his Class 5A high jump title with a mark of 6-08.00, it was Standley Lake’s Garrett Martin who posted the best leap of any high jumper all day at 6-10 to win the 4A crown. The senior is already committed
Three storylines to watch
to wow the Jeffco crowd with a state championship in the Class 4A 400, finishing in 2:13.55. The performance capitalized on a strong leg kick down the stretch in the first of what may be many individual titles for the Cougar. Niwot is seeking its fourth team title in the last six years. Here are three storylines to watch entering the final day of competition at the 2018 Colorado high school state track and field meet at Jeffco Stadium. The action in Lakewood begins at 9:30 a.m. with the Class 4A girls 100m hurdle finals. 1. Sloan, Hall keep raising hurdling standard. In the 300m hurdle prelims on Friday, Rock Canyon senior Emily Sloan (40.60) and Valor Christian junior Anna Hall (40.76) both broke Sloan’s state record that she set earlier this season. Both are heavy favorites to win titles in both of their hurdling events on Saturday — Hall runs in Class 4A at 9:30 a.m. in the 100 and 2 p.m. in the 300, Sloan runs in Class 5A at 9:40 a.m. in the 100 and 2:10 in the 300. to play baseball at McLennan Community College (Waco, Texas) but is now drawing interested from Oregon following his title performance. Harr, Masten finish 1-2 in 5A high jump. As expected, the Class 5A girls high jump title came down to Grandview’s Kylee Harr and Rock Canyon’s Riley Masten, who finished 1-2 in the event in 2017. Harr and Masten were the final jumpers left at 5-7; Masten couldn’t clear the height, but Harr did, eventually posting a winning jump of 5-10 for a second straight title. Taylor James continues to wow. After taking third in the high jump (5-5½) on Thursday, Niwot freshman Taylor James continues 2. Eyes on the track at 10:15 a.m. There will be plenty of fireworks on the track on Saturday morning, including the crowning of the state’s fastest 5A girl in the 100m dash (likely Arria Minor at 10:50 a.m.) and the fastest 5A guy in the 100m dash (up for grabs at 10:53 a.m.), but be sure to also have your eyes on the track at 10:15 a.m. At that time, the Geoffrey Zaragoza Special Olympics 100M dash will go down, a race everyone is sure to enjoy and appreciate. of Weather an issue on Friday. Unlike the opening day of the meet which brought temperatures in the mid-70s and sunny skies, the second day of competition was interrupted by multiple weather delays starting at around 3 p.m. It also started hailing at the stadium at one point, complicating athletes’ ability to stay warm and on schedule for their respective events. 3. Minor goes for another threepeat. It’s nearly a guarantee are that 100m title will once again go to Denver East junior Arria Minor, who blazed her way to state records in the 200m and 400m already this state meet and has won the 100m, 200m and 400m titles each of her first two seasons. Her 200m race is at 1:34 p.m. and her 400m race is at 11 a.m. Catch a glimpse of the girl who just may go down as the greatest female sprinter in Colorado history.