Lakewood – Niwot’s Griffin Matthew and Widefield’s Nyeisha Wright have kept an eye on each other all year.
But even with Wright breathing down her neck in the 100-meter dash at the girls Class 4A state track and field championships Saturday, all Matthew thought about was the tape.
Matthew edged Wright by six-hundredths of a second, finishing in 11.68 seconds in a successful bid to retain the state title. The senior notched back-to-back titles in the 200 as well, recording a 24.40 performance to beat Latraia Scott, an impressive freshman from Sand Creek, by a tenth of a second.
“I couldn’t feel anything,” Matthew said of Wright’s presence on her heels. “I don’t worry about anybody but myself. She’s an excellent competitor, but the only time I worry about her is when I try to get in front of her.”
But Wright exacted her revenge in one of Matthew’s best events. Wright already had the state title sewn up in the long jump, when she broke the 4A state-meet record – set by Matthew in 2003 – with a 19-foot, 3 1/2-inch effort. Wright took home three titles, dominating the triple jump Friday and adding a blistering 55.25 time in the 400 meters Saturday, another meet record.
“Before, I was, like, ‘I cannot compete with her. She runs track year-round,”‘ Wright said. “But I just want to run my best. If I don’t win, but I run my best, you can’t really be mad.”
Pueblo Central junior Bobby Aragon successfully defended his title in the boys 400, and added a crown by winning the 200 after Skyline’s Marcus Padilla, who won the event last year, stumbled and fell early in the race.
Cheyenne Mountain high jumper Steve Johnson rebounded from a disappointing performance in last year’s state championships to take the title with a 6-8 leap, and classmate Storm Allen took second (6-7).
“Last year at the state meet, I just didn’t jump well at all,” said Johnson, who finished third then with a jump of 6-4. “I don’t know what it was last year. It just wasn’t my day.”
Senior Ben Yeh helped Mountain View claim the boys crown. Yeh took home championships in the 110 and 300 hurdles as the Mountain Lions easily outpointed second-place Longmont 81-53 and snapped Mullen’s run of five consecutive titles.
Mullen’s girls won the 1,600 relay and took home the team crown, the Mustangs’ ninth since 1997.
Perhaps the most impressive performance of the day was by Ralston Valley’s Kaitie Vanatta. The diminutive freshman won the 3,200, posting a time of 10:40.66 for a 33-second victory and the meet record.
