LAKEWOOD — Attention, Denver-area Class 5A track and field programs. The balance of power, especially in the sprints, appears to be shifting southward.
Each time spectators at Jefferson County Stadium looked up Saturday, another athlete from the Colorado Springs area, male or female, was crossing first at the finish line in the state championships.
“We have a lot of fast athletes down there and a lot of young ones coming up,” said Doherty senior sprinter Kenneth Chambers after winning the 5A boys 100 meters in 10.74 seconds.
Chambers talked about the rivalry that has developed between the track and field squads of Doherty and Fountain-Fort Carson and how “that’s pushing us to be better.”
In the 100, Chambers was pushed by two young Trojans. Fountain-Fort Carson sophomore Markesh Woodson was second in 10.84, and freshman Solyde Bankson (11.03) finished third.
“It was tough,” said Chambers, who edged Woodson in the 200 meters Friday. “I knew those guys would be there at the end. I just tried to go out hard.”
Fountain-Fort Carson, getting victories Saturday from juniors Brandon Parson in the 400 meters (49.09) and Jamarius Mathis in the shot put (59 feet, 0 3/4 inches), claimed the team title with 73 points. The Trojans overtook second-place Cherry Creek (67) on Saturday. Regis Jesuit (62) finished third.
Not to be outdone, sophomore GinAsia Hamilton provided some bragging rights for the Fountain-Fort Carson girls team with a victory in the 400 meters.
As impressive as they were, teams from the Colorado Springs area did not mono-polize all the fun. Denver-area schools fared well in the 5A endurance events. Arapahoe junior Connor Winter completed a 5A boys triple crown Saturday with a win in the 1,600, adding to his victories in the 3,200 on Thursday and 800 on Friday.
Regis Jesuit junior Casey Young finished strong and earned the 300-meter hurdles title in a time of 38.47, nipping runner-up Kumar Pinkney (38.90) of Littleton. Pinkney entered the final as the favorite, and Young posted only the third-best prelim time. But Young recorded a personal-best time when it counted most.
“I knew I had to get out hard,” Young said of the final. “Prior to this, I had trouble stuttering on the fifth and seventh hurdles. This was my first clean race this year. I’m excited.”
Loveland claimed the 5A girls team title with 68 points, ahead of runner-up Cherry Creek (53) and Heritage (46 1/2).
The once-dominant Denver Prep League was given a reason to celebrate Saturday when Montbello senior Kayla Fisher-Taylor never trailed in the 5A girls 100 meters.
Not meaning to sound like she was bragging, the University of New Mexico signee said she knew she was in control of the race “after 10 meters, because I didn’t see anybody on either side of me.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
