Colorado state track and field meet: Local athletes have won more than a dozen titles
LAKEWOOD — It's that time of the year.
The annual Colorado high school track and field championship meet is among the state's biggest and most chaotic prep events each spring, as schools from every corner of Colorado descend on Jeffco Stadium to decide state titles across all classifications.
The meet runs Thursday through Saturday (May 16-18). While champions are crowned each day, it all builds toward wall-to-wall title events on Championship Saturday.
There are more than 100 Fort Collins-area athletes competing this week from nine local schools, in four different classes.
Class 5A: Fort Collins, Fossil Ridge, Poudre, Rocky Mountain
Class 4A: Windsor
Class 3A: Liberty Common
Class 2A: Heritage Christian, Timnath, Wellington
Follow along here for live results and notable action throughout the meet (most recent updates will appear at the top).
A look back at the state meet
There was a lot that happened for local athletes and teams, including a team title, three teams runner-up and more than a dozen individual championships.
Read about it all here:
State track superlatives: Timnath team title, Fossil Ridge takes 2nd, more than a dozen champions
Top-5 relay finishes wrap up 2024 Colorado state track & field
Some rain tried to interfere but the final bunch of relays wrapped up this year's state meet right on time.
Beyond Liberty Common's title win (see below), four Fort Collins-area teams that took top-5 finishes in the 4x400-meter relays.
Timnath girls: 2nd (4:05.80)
Windsor girls: 4th (4:01.76)
Fossil Ridge girls: 5th (3:59.46)
Timnath boys: 5th (3:33.38)
Liberty Common relay team finishes with a title
The Liberty Common boys 4X400 relay team finished the meet with a title.
The group of Rhys Cushman, Cowyn Cushman, Pierce Richardson and Jack Friesen won in 3:22.81, more than 3 seconds ahead of second place.
The Liberty Common boys finished sixth as a team in 3A.
Mikey Munn finishes sprint sweep!
Windsor superstar sprinter Mikey Munn won the 4A 200-meter run in a time of 21.33 seconds to complete a sweep of the sprints (100, 200 and 400).
More: Windsor's Mikey Munn didn't run track until last year. Now he's a 3-time Colorado sprinting champ
Teammate Kiana Cumings was second in the 4A girls 200 in a time of 25.02 behind Golden's Abigail Trapp in 24.88.
Another Timnath champion!
What a race from Timnath's Addison Geraets, who won the 2A girls 300-meter hurdles in a time of 45.65 seconds, clearing the last hurdle and just pushing in front of Thomas MacLaren's Sara Christensen who finished in 45.75.
Timnath will win the girls 2A team title in dominant fashion.
More local podium finishes
Another batch of locals on the podium:
5A boys 200: Fossil Ridge's Marcus Mozer finished fourth in a time of 21.73.
5A girls triple jump: Fossil Ridge's Addison Hayes finished fourth with a top mark of 37-00.75, teammate Maggie Hoyer was sixth at 36-07.25 and other teammate Frankie McCoy was ninth at 35-10.5.
2A girls 200: Timnath's Emili Voelker finished fourth in 26.31. Heritage Christian's Kayla Cuckler in a time of 26.92 and Timnath's Alex McKnight was ninth in 27.20.
4A boys pole vault: Windsor's Danner Bakula finished fourth with a top mark of 14-feet, 1-inch.
2A boys high jump: Heritage Christian's Alec Lundy finished second with a top mark of 6-feet, 2-inches. The winning mark was 6-3.
2A boys 300 hurdles: Timnath's Vince Hochhalter finished seventh in 42.34.
Isabel Allori finishes the sweep!
What an epic state meet from Notre Dame signee Isabel Allori. The Liberty Common runner had a frustrating 2023, missing the state meet due to injury.
She finished her high school career with a flourish in 2024. Allori dominated the 3A 1,600-meter run Saturday, winning in a record time of 4:45.44 (breaking her own top mark set in 2022).
More: How Isabel Allori became one of the best runners in Fort Collins history
It was a four-for-four sweep. She won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 runs in addition to anchoring the 4X800 relay champion team for the Eagles.
Mikey Munn wins again
Add another title for Windsor star Mikey Munn. He won the 4A 400-meter run in a time of 47.96, well ahead of second-place Finnegan Beck (Standley Lake) at 48.44.
Munn goes for the sweep of the sprints in the 200 later Saturday.
Windsor's Kiana Cumings was second in the 4A girls 400 in a time of 55.70, with Golden's Abigail Trapp winning at 55.05.
Jack Friesen surges to title
What a run from Liberty Common's Jack Friesen! The Liberty Common runner was well back entering the final stretch of the 3A 400-meter run and he made a huge surge and just crossed the finish line first.
He won with a time of 49.34 with Eaton's Brody Niswender second at 49.54.
The fastest man in Windsor
Windsor's Mikey Munn won the Class 4A 100-meter run in a time of 10.58 seconds, with second-place Karamoko Sacko (Northfield) at 10.67. Munn's time was barely behind the 5A champion in Cherokee Trail's Peyton Sommers at 10.54.
Munn's Windsor teammate Kiana Cumings finished third in the 4A 100 in a time of 12.32, with Abigail Trapp (Golden) winning at 12.22.
Early Saturday podium finishes
Beyond the Windsor runners in the 100, here are some other local podiums by noon Saturday:
5A boys 1,600: Fort Collins' Cadel Ruthven finished third with a time of 4:15.30.
5A girls 1,600: Fossil Ridge's Tatum Berg finished third with a time of 4:53.26.
2A girls 100: Timnath trio of Emili Voelker second at 12.39 seconds, Alex McKnight third at 12.73 and Lily Eisbrener fourth at 12.78. Heritage Christian's Kayla Cuckler was sixth at 12.93 in the race.
2A girls 100 hurdles: Timnath's Lily Eisbrener was third at 16.24.
5A boys 100: Fossil Ridge's Marcus Mozer was sixth in 10.85.
5A girls 100: Rocky Mountain freshman Nevaeah Rura was ninth in 12.45.
5A boys triple jump: Fort Collins' Guy Curtis finished sixth with a top mark of 44-03.5. Fossil Ridge's Luke Garvin was eighth with a top mark of 43-06.5.
2A boys 100: Wellington's Anthony Gonzales finished seventh in 11.41.
5A boys 400: Poudre's Gery Lockman finished seventh in 48.82.
Team scores entering final day
Here's a look at the relevant team scores entering championship Saturday:
5A boys
Mountain Vista 36
Cherokee Trail 32
ThunderRidge 27
Valor Christian 24
Fort Collins 21
Other local 5A teams: Fossil Ridge (16 points) 9th; Rocky Mountain (14) 12th.
5A girls
Mountain Vista 41
Rock Canyon 40
Ralston Valley 38
Fossil Ridge 37.5
Other local 5A teams: Rocky Mountain (7 points) 21st; Fort Collins (6) 25th.
4A girls
Niwot 79
Windsor 5th at 21 points.
3A boys
Classical Academy 58
Resurrection Christian 41
University 36.5
Liberty Common 23
2A boys
Banning Lewis 48
Peyton 40
Cedaredge 27
Timnath 26
2A girls
Timnath 45
Heritage Christian 37
State track: Saturday storylines to follow
Friday is in the books and it's always a quieter day for finals before Saturday's furious sprints to the finish. There are some major achievements still on the table for Fort Collins-area athletes.
Here are some local stories to watch:
Sweeps watch? Liberty Common's Isabel Allori could go 4-for-4 at state and sweep all 3 distance events with a win in the 3A girls 1600 meters. Windsor's Mikey Munn has a similar opportunity in the sprints, as he's the top seed in the 4A boys 100, 200 and 400 dash events.
Timnath girls aiming for team title: The Cubs are growing up fast and already appear to be the top 2A girls squad, leading the team standings by 8 points. With eight more events featuring seeded Timnath runners, there's a chance to bring home the school's first-ever team trophy.
Can 5A schools get on the board? While there's been over a dozen top-5 finishes for the four city schools, we're still waiting on the first Fort Collins title since 2022 after a championship shutout last spring. The best chance to snap that streak? Fossil's Luke Garvin (2nd seed in 5A boys triple jump), the SaberCats' Tatum Berg (3rd in 5A girls one-mile) and Poudre's Gery Lockman in the 5A boys 300 hurdles.
City jumpers cap day with top-5 finishes
Fort Collins' Joe Cottingham (4th) and Fossil Ridge's Luke Garvin (2nd) each took top-5 finishes in the Class 5A boys high jump, both clearing 6 feet, 5 inches.
It's the third consecutive top-5 finish in the state high jump for the senior Cottingham. Horizon's Kaleb Kimaita won with a mark of 6-07.
Rocky Mountain's Lance Gilbertson finished sixth (6-03) and Fort Collins' Finn Conway-Reiser took eighth (6-03) to also make the podium.
Timnath relay team takes gold
The Cubs notched their fourth state championship of the meet with a dominant win in the 2A girls 4x200 meter relay.
The team of Alex McKnight, Hannah Bittner, Lily Eisbrener and Emili Voelker ran a time of 1:45:46 to beat runner-up Limon. This win vaulted Timnath ahead of Heritage Christian atop the 2A girls team standings.
Isabel Allori wins again!
The Liberty Common superstar did it again! Allori won the 3A 800-meter run Friday in a 3A state meet record time of 2:09.16. She continues to enchance her resume as one of the best runners in Fort Collins history.
It's her third title of the weekend so far after winning the 3,200 and 4X800 relay on Thursday. She goes for a 4-for-4 state meet Saturday in the 1,600.
Other local finishes in the 800 (beyond the two champions):
5A girls 800: Fossil Ridge's Mia Williams was fourth in 2:13.72. It was won by Rosie Mucharsky of Denver East in 2:10.37.
5A boys 800: Fort Collins' Cadel Ruthven finished third in 1:54.31 in the race won by ThunderRidge's Ben Lee in 1:52.76.
3A boys 800: Liberty Common teammates Jack Friesen placed sixth (1:57.47) and Rhys Cushman seventh (1:57.73).
2A girls 800: Beyond Washburn (Timnath) winning the event, Heritage Christian teammates Lilly Lukens (2:22.81) and Mikaela Kendall (2:23.83) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
2A boys 800: Heritage Christian's TJ Gantek finished fourth in 2:02.04, Timnath's Kyle Nelson placed sixth in 2:02.29 and Timnath's Sullivan Voronin took eighth in 2:02.71.
Timnath's Natalie Washburn wins gold
Timnath star Natalie Washburn won the 2A girls 800 in a time of 2:17.88, almost three full seconds ahead of the second place finisher for a repeat state title in the event.
It's the second Timnath title of the day, joining boys pole vaulter Cameron Glasgow. The Timnath girls are making a real push for the 2A team title.
Friday field events yield several podium finishes
It's been a busy day in the field events for Fort Collins-area athletes and there have already been a ton of top finishers in addition to Cameron Glasgow's pole vault title for Timnath.
Erin Herrmann (Fossil Ridge) took third in the 5A girls shot put with a throw of 37 feet, 11 inches. Ralston Valley's Mary Ella Brooks won the title at 40-08.5.
Heritage Christian's Olivia Kendall placed fourth in the 2A girls long jump with a distance of 15 feet, 8.5 inches. Swallows Charter Academy's Kaitlyn Pearson took gold at 16-9.
Timnath's Ryder Mock finished sixth in the 2A boys discus with a throw of 129 feet, 11 inches. Jackson Bevan (Plateau Valley) won with a mark of 151-02.
Nevaeh Rura (Rocky Mountain) finished 7th and Maggie Hoyer (Fossil) took 9th in the 5A girls high jump, each posting 5 feet, 3 inches. Rock Canyon's Petra McGowan cleared 5-06 to win.
Sprint medley relay podium finishes
A number of local squads found the podium in the girls 800 sprint medley relay:
5A girls sprint medley relay: Fossil Ridge (Ava Hurlbut, Katie Feldman, Addyson Smith, Lily Wale) finished sixth.
4A girls sprint medley relay: Windsor (Caidin Steele, Maya Brasch, Leena Ortiz, Kendal Bach) finished sixth.
2A girls sprint medley relay: Timnath finished third.
Timnath vaults to a title!
Timnath pole vaulter Cameron Glasgow launched to a state title Friday morning, winning the 2A pole vault competition with a top mark of 13-feet, 6-inches.
His mark was 3 inches ahead of second place to take the school's first-ever boys state title (in any sport).
Day 2 underway with more local podium finishes
Friday kicked off with the 2A girls 3200 meters and there were four podium finishes for local athletes.
Timnath's Izzy Schimmelpfennig had a runner-up while three Heritage Christian runners had podium finishes: Lilly Lukens (5th), Mikaela Kendall (6th) and Emma Lukens (8th).
Isabel Allori goes back-to-back
It's only Thursday evening and it's already a special meet for Liberty Common's Isabel Allori. Shortly after helping the Eagles win the Class 3A 4X800 relay, she won an individual title in the 3A 3200-meter run in a time of 10:39.03.
She finished more than 6 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Full story: Isabel Allori adds more state titles to resume as one of best runners in Fort Collins history
Liberty Common, Timnath nab first local titles
The first round of local champions is in!
The Liberty Common girls 4X800 relay team of Ella Howe, Grace Berkhausen, Ali Gomez and Isabel Allori won the 3A race in a time of 9:31.52, with Allori providing the winning kick to beat Classical Academy (9:35.52).
The Timnath girls 4X800 team followed shortly after with a 2A title in a time of 9:46.79 from Ayslee Stone, Izzy Schimmelpfennig, Jensen DeAngelis and Natalie Washburn. They finished ahead of Telluride at 9:53.71. Heritage Christian's 4X800 team (Faith Lee, Emma Lukens, Juliana Lundy and Lilly Lukens) was third at 10:00.40.
The Liberty Common boys 4X800 relay team (Pierce Richardson, Cowyn Cushman, Rhys Cushman and Jack Friesen) finished second in 3A with a time of 8:00.85, in a stunningly close finish just behind Berthoud at 8:00.17.
Likewise, the Heritage Christian boys 4X800 team (Noah Mayoral De Anza, Owen Molgaard, Ian Molgaard and TJ Gantek) was second in 2A. The finished at 8:09.71 as Peyton won at 8:08.42. Timnath (Ben Halloran, Ezra Bohn, Sullivan Voronin and Kyle Nelson) finished fourth at 8:13.75.
Justin Bate's record-setting pole vault day not enough
Liberty Common pole vaulter Justin Bate beat the old 3A boys record, but it didn't deliver gold.
The Eagles' senior set a new PR and state meet record at 15 feet, 2 inches but he couldn't match Eaton vaulter Ryan Martinez's 15-5 mark.
It's the second straight year Bate has finished runner-up after winning the event as a sophomore.
Fossil's Marcus Mozer comes oh-so-close in 5A long jump
It doesn't get much closer than this.
Fossil Ridge's Marcus Mozer nearly leaped his way to the 5A long jump championship, but his jump of 22-11 came up a literal quarter-inch short behind winner Wondame Davis (Overland).
The SaberCats' junior still has some opportunities for gold on the track, qualifying for the 100- and 200-meter dash finals.
Trio of throwers earn top-5 finishes
It was a strong day for local throwers, as there were three top five placers across Class 4A and 5A in the discus and shot put.
Rocky Mountain's Kaiden Major took fourth in the 5A boys competition with a throw of 157 feet, 8 inches. Overland's Jarrius Ward set a new state meet record at 203-04.
Fort Collins girls thrower Haylee Eacret jumped up a couple spots from her qualifying seed, also finishing fourth at 115-07. The junior was just over two feet off her personal record.
Windsor's took fifth in the 5A girls shot put with a throw of 34-05.25 for her first podium finish at state.
Fossil Ridge girls relay team takes silver
The SaberCats got the first top-3 finish for locals, rising up to take second (time of 9:11.37) in the 5A girls 4x800-meter relay on Thursday morning
Delaney Voronin and Mia Williams provided a big finishing kick for Fossil, which is looking to match (or better) its three top-5 girls relay placers last year.
Windsor prelims preview big Wizards' sprints weekend
Windsor's star sprinters started off strong in prelims, with Mikey Munn posting the top time (10.62) in the 4A boys 100-meter dash and Kiana Cumings earning second in 12.29.
Munn leads all classes with the best times this spring in the 100, 200 and 400 dashes, while Cumings entered first in the 100 and second in the 200/400.
First Fort Collins athletes on the podium
Tatum Berg from Fossil Ridge is the first local on the podium. She finished fourth in the Class 5A 3,200-meter run (the first final of the meet) in a time of 10:38.58. Bethany Michalak of Air Academy won in 10:27.24.
Rocky Mountain's Tyson Bhalla found the podium right after in the 5A boys 3,200, finishing eighth in a time of 9:22.23.
Pre-meet guide: Who are the likely local winners?
Fort Collins-area athletes are always among Colorado's elite at this event, usually scoring several first-place finishes.
The trend should continue this year, with major contenders from Windsor, Timnath, Fossil Ridge, Liberty Common, Fort Collins and Heritage Christian.
Who will be the newly-crowned champions? Who will add to their existing hardware? Check out the likely contenders in this story:
Title watch: The top Fort Collins-area athletes chasing gold at high school state meet
Thursday finals (Field)
Here are all the Thursday field finals that will feature Fort Collins-area competitors:
8:30 a.m: 5A boys pole vault/discus, 5A girls long jump, 4A boys high jump/shot put, 4A girls triple jump
11:30 a.m: 5A girls pole vault/discus, 5A boys long jump, 4A girls high jump/shot put, 4A boys triple jump
1:30 p.m: 2A girls high jump
2 p.m: 2A boys long jump
2:30 p.m: 3A boys pole vault, 3A girls triple jump
4 p.m: 3A girls high jump, 3A boys triple jump
Thursday finals (Track)
Here are all the Thursday track finals that will feature Fort Collins-area competitors:
8:45 to 9:15 a.m: 5A girls and boys 3200-meter runs
10:25 to 11:15 a.m: 5A/4A boys and girls 4x800 relays
4:30 to 5:30 p.m: 3A/2A boys and girls 4x800 relays
6:30 to 7 p.m: 3A girls and boys 3200
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado state track 2024: Live updates, results for Fort Collins athletes
