Silver lining in condensed state meet

This should be interesting. In the wake of another infamous Colorado spring storm, the first two days of the state track and field meet were postponed, moving the event to a Saturday-Sunday schedule.

It’s believed to be the first time the state meet has ever been shortened to two days. That means there won’t be any preliminaries, with all timed finals in running events and four finals attempts for throwers, jumpers and vaulters.

Thus, there will be less room for error for all the prep competitors who have worked so hard to get to this point. And for runners especially, state championship aspirations will come down to one race, with no chance to scout out the competition.

It’s enough to make coaches, fans and this reporter nervous that shortening the meet and skipping all preliminaries is, in turn, shorting the athletes.

The most frustrating part is, there’s really nothing the CHSAA can do but try to adjust on the fly, because it’s just another year of Mother Nature making it clear that the Colorado spring prep sports season is at its mercy.

That fact, combined with the utter magnitude of the state meet — which is the CHSAA’s largest championship event and features all five classifications with more 250 schools and 5,000plus athletes — makes rescheduling for a different weekend cost and time prohibitive.

But let’s try to find a silver lining in the gray clouds above Jeffco Stadium.

With the increased pressure of no preliminaries, there will be no lulls in the action. After every single sprint, relay and shot put heave, there will be athletes celebrating. There will be athletes crying — with joy and with crushed disappointment.

The intensity of the team races will be heightened too.

With team points up for grabs throughout the weekend, the scoreboard will be constantly evolving.

It’ll be pressurized, nailbiting fun for all.