From relays to delays.
Rain had consistently fallen on Jeffco Stadium throughout the day, but CHSAA officials kept the three-day state track and field championship moving forward as best as they could.
Still, there wasn’t anything they could do about the lightning.
Just after 2 p.m., the opening day of the meet was sent into a weather delay due to lightning. A solid rain was also falling. Officials placed the meet on a 15-minute delay, which grew to more than 20 minutes.
The stands emptied as crowds gathered beneath the stands, near bathrooms or the concession stands.
The meet will be delayed at least until 2:45 p.m.
— Michael Hicks, Special to The Denver Post
Fulton wins again.
Highlands Ranch Eleanor Fulton has another state championship under her already-decorated belt.
Fult blew away the field in the 3,200-meter girls race this afternoon, finishing in 10:50.98 — more than 15 seconds ahead of second place finisher Dominique Gerard of ThunderRidge.
It was her second-consecutive title in the 3,200 and sixth overall individual title. She’ll be shooting for her fourth-consecutive title in 1,600 tomorrow.
Wheat Ridge’s dynamic athlete Annie Kunz won the triple jump at 38-feet, 2-inches. Kunz is also a state-champion hurdler and high jumper, and she’s the leading scorer for the Farmers girls soccer team that plays in the 4A semifinals Saturday.
Cheyenne Mountain (9:32.12) narrowly edged Evergreen (9:33.35) in 4A girls’ 4-by-800 relay. Liberty (9:17.00) took the 5A 4-by-800, beating the Fulton-led Highlands Ranch squad.
— Paul Willis, Special to The Denver Post
It’s still Winter time.
Connor Winter bided his time on purpose and on the second turn of the final lap of the boys’ 3,200 meter today the Arapahoe senior showed why he is the defending state champion.
Winter blew past ThunderRidge’s Keifer Johnson and won his fourth state title — second straight in the 3,200 — to open the Class 5A state track and field championships at Jefferson County Stadium.
Winter finished in 9 minutes, 15.51 seconds. Johnson held off a hard-charging Woody Kincaid of Columbine for second place. Johnson finished in 9:18.24; Kincaid ran a time of 9:18.33.
— M.H.
Smell what he’s Cook-in’
Ryan Cook barely could jump in 2010 thanks to a nagging left ankle injury. And that’s his jumping foot. But not only could he jump, he set a personal best in the boys’ 5A high jump today.
Cook, a junior from Rampart, came into this week’s event with a best jump of 6-feet, 6-inches. He cleared that when he, along with Legacy’s Cameren Mcwee and Castle View’s Ryan Tomlinson, made 6-8. But then Cook hit 6-9 and 6-10 to win the state championship.
He just missed in his quest to make 6-11.
— M.H.
