The chase begins for Colorado high school state track and field championships

Boys
Class 5A
Team race: If Grandview (Aurora) is going to repeat as the team champion, it will have to do the bulk of the work on the track. The Wolves should score in a few field events like the pole vault and the high jump, but where they will amass the most points will be in the 100-meter dash and the hurdles. Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) was within 21.5 points of Grandview last year and will try to close that gap. Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) and Cherokee Trail (Aurora) also have the talent needed to run, jump and throw their way to a team championship.

Athlete to watch: Lawrence Walker, Fountain-Fort Carson - Walker should get to the podium in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and pace the Trojans' 4x200 relay team as it chases a gold medal.

Honorable mention: Carsen Bruns, Rampart (Colorado Springs); Tyler Downs, Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch); Ace Malone, Castle View (Castle Rock.)

Class 4A
Team race: Zane Bergen's outstanding performance last year powered Niwot to the team title, and he's back to do it again. He enters with top times in the 800 and 1600 and will be instrumental in the Cougars' relay races, as well. Niwot will see a considerable challenge from Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) and Longmont, as both of those teams will try and better their results from last season's state meet.



Athlete to watch: Derek Allen, Widefield (Colorado Springs) - Allen has top-two times in both hurdles races, will compete in the 100 and will also be on the Gladiators 4x200 relay team. Allen won the 300 hurdles last year and wants to repeat there as well as bring home a 110 hurdles title.

Honorable mention: Kyle Bigley, Pueblo Central; Eric Walker, Niwot; Simeon Whitaker, Air Academy (US Air Force Academy.)

Class 3A
Team race: Resurrection Christian (Loveland) squeaked by The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) last year and there should be a similar battle this season. The Titans have a tendency to shine in the distance races, and Chandler Wilburn could grab top-five finishes in all three. TCA also will get a huge boost in the jumps from Jordan Wenger, who could win both the long jump and the triple jump this week. The Titans have gone seven years without a 3A team title, and they will try to end that drought when action begins on Thursday.

Athlete to watch: Grayson Arnold, Holy Family (Broomfield) - Arnold has the speed to sweep the 100 and 200 and should factor into the three relay teams in which the Tigers are seeded first.

Honorable mention: Sonny Ciccarelli, Woodland Park; Tre Garcia, Resurrection Christian; Henry Ilyasova, Manitou Springs.

Class 2A
Team race: Yuma certainly has the diversity of talent to win another team championship, but Centauri (La Jara) is coming into Jeffco Stadium looking to connect on a knockout punch. Mason Claunch is seeded highly in two sprints for Centauri, and the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams have the fastest times in the classification. Clay Robinson will try to negate that advantage as he should fare well in the 200 and 400, as well as the long jump, to give Yuma a shot of winning a second straight title.

Athlete to watch: Clay Robinson, Yuma - Robinson is seeded first in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and has the best long jump distance in 2A. His success in each event could help Yuma to the team state title.



Honorable mention: Mohamed Ibrahim, Wiggins; Cole Thomas, Lyons; Jonathan Wiggins, Banning Lewis Academy (Colorado Springs.)

Class 1A
Team race: Heritage Christian (Fort Collins) has won every 1A team championship since 2016, and there is no reason to think that trend will not continue. The Eagles will pick up a ton of points in the distance races, while Samuel Lundy will add some from the hurdles. They also will get points from a few field events, like the triple jump and discuss. Sanford should see the most improvement in the team standings as it brings in enough sprinting depth to significantly improve on its 26th-place finish from last year.

Athlete to watch: Jacob Jefferson, Arickaree/Woodlin - The junior could come away with wins in the 400 meters and the 110 hurdles. He also will be in line for a top finish in the 300 hurdles, giving him a solid opportunity to impact the all-around meet.

Honorable mention: Kelton Gartrell, Sanford; Jack Nauman, Heritage Christian; Scottie Vines, De Beque.

Girls
Class 5A
Team race: Last year, Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) put plenty of distance between itself and the field, but that's going to be a tougher task in 2022. From a sprinting standpoint, Symone Adams could give Cherokee Trail (Aurora) a huge boost in the team standings. The Cherry Creek School District will likely dominate the top of the team leaderboard. Grandview (Aurora) is coming into the week gunning for the top spot, and Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) will get a massive boost in the distance races from Riley Stewart. It also wouldn't be much of a surprise to see Regis Jesuit (Aurora) make a leap from its 12th-place finish a year ago and put itself into contention.

Athlete to watch: Fabiola Belibi, Regis Jesuit - Belibi should come away with plenty of hardware this week. She has the top time in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and has the best long jump measure in 5A this season.



Honorable mention: Symone Adams, Cherokee Trail; Emily Johnson, Fort Collins; Riley Stewart, Cherry Creek.

Class 4A
Team race: Depth will be a major factor in Niwot seeking its third straight 4A team title. Look no further than the 800-meter run where the Cougars have the six best times heading into the state meet. They have eight participants in that race, seven in the 1600 and five in the 3200. Eva Klingbeil has the top time in both the 1600 and 3200. Mullen (Denver) should be strong enough through relays and jumps to stay close to the top of the leaderboard. The overall team standings could look very similar to 2021.

Athlete to watch: Avry Kennison, Thompson Valley (Loveland) - A sprinting sweep is definitely possible given how strong the Eagles senior has looked this season. She finished fifth in the 100 at state last year and is looking to get her hands on that gold medal, as well as another one in the 200.

Honorable mention: Agur Dwol, Mullen; Janise Everett, Mesa Ridge (Colorado Springs); Stella Vieth, Niwot.

Class 3A
Team race: The 3A championship will come down to a three-day slugfest between defending champion Coal Ridge (New Castle) and Liberty Common (Fort Collins). Both schools have plenty of competitors seeded very highly coming into the state meet. They also each have a ton of depth, filling up right around 20 spots each throughout the entire slate of events. Coal Ridge came away as last year's winner, scoring 111 points to Liberty Common's 80. This could very well turn into one of the tightest team races across all classifications.

Athlete to watch: Isabella Coscetti, Manitou Springs - The senior has looked strong all season and could finish in the top three in the pole vault, long jump and triple jump and also get a strong showing in the 300 hurdles.

Honorable mention: Peyton Garrison, Coal Ridge; Kourtney Rathke, Peak to Peak (Lafayette); Jaycee Williams, Berthoud (Berthoud.)



Class 2A
Team race: Cedaredge comes into the meet in a good position to defend its title but will have to fight off a few notable contenders. Dayspring Christian (Greeley) is among them, and the two schools will likely go head-to-head in several finals that could play a significant role in the outcome of the team race. After finishing second last year, Banning Lewis wants to make its way into the title picture but will need to pick up points in events where Dayspring Christian and Cedaredge aren't as strong, such as the 4x800 relay, long jump and triple jump.

Athlete to watch: Eowyn Dalbec, Peyton - The senior is seeded second in all three distance runs, and is certainly capable of turning on the jets to be the first to cross the finish line in any of the 800, 1600 or 3200.

Honorable mention: Lauren Herman, Holyoke; Odone Omofomaa, Dayspring Christian; Kylee Terry, Cedaredge.

Class 1A
Team race: No team was in a position to challenge Heritage Christian (Fort Collins) last year, but that might not be the case this season. Fleming enters the meet with enough bodies to compete and enough top times to contend for a title. Zoey Vandenbark has the top time in the 100-meter dash, and teammate Kally Kirkwood is the best in the 200 coming into the week. Heritage Christian certainly has much-needed depth for the distance races, but it will need solid performances across the board to fend off the Wildcats.

Athlete to watch: Taysa Conger, Merino - Conger could easily finish in the top three in all three sprints, win the triple jump or be a crucial piece for each Rams relay team that is hoping to bring its own hardware home.

Honorable mention: Zadie MacKey, Elbert; Ainsley Stanton, Heritage Christian; Krista Wieser, Idalia.