When hundreds of athletes toe the line at the CHSAA Track and Field State Championships in Lakewood starting on Thursday, Southwest Colorado will be well-represented.
Mancos, Montezuma-Cortez and Dove Creek earned a number of bids and will carry the hopes of hauling in all-state performances at Jefferson County Stadium during the three-day event.
The Bluejays bring the largest contingent, led by a handful of seniors. Senior Connor Showalter, who broke a 46-year-old school record in the shot put with a toss of 52 feet, 11½ inches this year, is ranked third in the event.
He'll join Bluejays sophomore Cole Dainty-Guilfoyle and senior Mason Goodwin.
Showalter also qualified in the discus, as the No. 5 seed.
Goodwin will compete in multiple events, as well, ranked second in the high jump. Classmate Josh Lindner also aims to make the podium in the event.
On the track, senior Edgar Hernandez will run both the 800 and 1,600 meters, with a chance at an all-state finish.
The girls will have a strong presence in the distance events. Freshman Teagan Archer qualified in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs and will factor into the Bluejays 4x800 relay team, which will include individual 800-meter qualifier Adaline Kearns.
In the field events, sophomore Teya Yeomans also earned a ranking in the shot put and the high jump with ambitions of a top-nine, all-state finish.
M-CHS will send a handful of athletes, led by junior Zander Cruzan. Zander has blown away the competition all season in the sprints and will test his mettle against the best in the 3A classification this weekend.
Cruzan is ranked third in the 200 meters and in the top five in the 100. He’ll also team up on the 4x100 meter relay squad.
Junior Sawyer Smith looks for another all-state performance in the triple jump, where he is ranked eighth. Senior Anon Plemons will make his state debut in the pole vault to round out the Panthers qualifiers.
For Dove Creek, the Bulldogs will bring a strong group to battle for strong team finishes in the 1A meet.
On the boys side, senior Chorbin Cressler aims for a strong double in the 100 and 200 meters, ranked fourth and sixth, respectively. He also figures in the Bulldogs’ 4x100 and 4x200 relays, where the Bulldogs have title aspirations.
Junior Kade Hankins will run the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and ranks in the top three in the long jump. Classmate Quaden Huffaker will make his state debut in the triple jump.
For the girls, junior Tara Glover qualified in the shot put and discus, and has her eye on top three finishes.
Junior Trista Barnett qualified for the 300-meter hurdles, while freshman Ralynn Hickman earned a spot in the long jump. Rounding out the Bulldog qualifiers, the 4x800 meter relay enters the event with a top three seed.
Most of Thursday’s events center on preliminary races to determine who will vie for championships Friday and Saturday.
