Notes and observations from the first day of the 2017 CHSAA girls state track and field championships at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood:
Oakley, Gregory put on a show
Grandview senior Brie Oakley and Fort Collins senior Lauren Gregory put on a show in the Class 5A 3,200-meter run. Oakley, the 2016 Gatorade national girls cross-country runner of the year, added to her prep legacy with a state-record time of 10 minutes, 09.26 seconds, while runner-up Gregory also broke the previous state-record time with her 10:16.43 mark.
High-jump newbie Harr wins 5A title
Grandview junior Kylee Harr captured the 5A high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 8 inches as the Wolves, with strong performances across the board, sat in first place in the team standings after day one. Harr only started competing in the event this year, and overcame an injury that forced her to change her jumping foot at midseason.
McDonald continues her shot put domination
Rocky Mountain junior Gabby McDonald defended her Class 5A shot put title with a 42-3 heave, which was short of her season best (44-9) but still gave her the comfortable win over runner-up Sierra Suazo of Castle View (41-6.75). The CSU commit competes for the discus title Sunday afternoon, where she is a two-time runner-up in the event.
Evans jumps into the record book, wins 3A title
Lutheran’s Maya Evans further cemented herself as the state’s best long jumper, regardless of classification, with her 19-5.25 leap that earned her the 3A title as well as a new classification state meet record. Evans — who held the state’s best overall mark in the long jump heading into the weekend — is also a standout on the track, as she won the 200 in 24.35 and has 3A’s best time heading into Sunday morning’s 100 final.
Yocum captures sixth individual state title
Faith Christian’s Sarah Yocum, a Baylor University pledge, won the 3A 300 hurdles comfortably with a time of 43.95, besting the second-place finisher by nearly three seconds. The win marks the sixth individual state title for Yocum, who also took runner-up in the 200 and will compete Sunday for titles in the 100 hurdles and 400.
Minor delivers as expected in 200-meter dash
Denver East’s Arria Minor continues to live up to the hype, as the sophomore phenom blew the doors off everyone in the 5A 200 with a time of 23.57 en route to her fourth career individual state title. Minor is set to defend her championships in the 100 on Sunday morning and 400 on Sunday afternoon.
