That's what the four gentlemen pictured above did. Yesterday, they ran a new PR and school record 42.87, and bested that mark today in finals with a 42.59, earning the team 5 points. Ahead of them was the first place team of Fountain-Fort Carson, yet behind them were perennial strengths Cherokee Trail, Rangeview, and ThunderRidge. Great job Tanner. Great job Daniel. Great job Ryan. Great job Tanner. We are unfortunate to be losing one of these guys next year, but are lucky enough to keep the other three. Hopefully we'll find our way back to this place next year, but if I've learned anything from this year it is to not take anything for granted from one year to the next.
It is also worth great mentioning that Tanner Townsend had an awesome day prior to the 4x100 even taking the track. In a deluge of rain, Tanner improved his mark from prelims by .2 seconds, more than any other competitor. Tanner bursted out in the open 100m finals and took 3rd with a time of 10.76 seconds (wind: 1.3), a new PR for himself, and another school record. He then rounded that performance off with a 7th place finish in a very competitive 200m. All this came after having flu-like symptoms for a good part of the day yesterday. Very nice job Tanner. Hopefully Coach Heikes or Ms. Townsend has some pictures to share with me for the blog.
Congratulations also go to Nick Stalzer for his 3rd competition in as many days. Today he narrowly missed finals in the triple jump with a jump of 43-2.25 (they said 43-4 at the time of competition though...confusing) which is the 2nd or 3rd best jump he had all year. Over the three days Nick helped me realize what a grinder the state meet can be--get qualified in three events and think that you have all the opportunities in the world, but before you know it they're all gone. Everybody comes to play no matter the circumstance. The outcome of this one meet does not take away from a fantastic season. Thanks, and great job Nick.
With the final gun today come the end of our season. One with many positives to move forward with into next year. We officially scored in both the boys and girls sides, but I think we set our sites much higher for next year.
BTW, this years 1st place finishers were Ft Collins on the boys title, and Loveland on the girls. These are two awesome programs that deserve great credit for what they've done.
Well, here comes the minor depression due to track withdrawal. I'll miss it. Thank you, everybody. Keep checking back. Hopefully I'll be better about posting over the summer months than I have been in the past.
Coach Nack
