Mark Mahan
There are quality teams that are consistently good, then there are powerhouses; and in the sport of track and field, The Classical Academy is an absolute powerhouse.
For the second straight year the boys, and, incredibly, for the fifth consecutive year, the girls come in to the season as the Class 3A defending state champions.
When one has a team like the Titans, rather than rebuild, TCA is able to reload each season with quality athletes who will step up and perform just as well as those who came before them.
“We had a fantastic senior class last year,” said Titan head coach Tim Daggett. “However, we don’t make expectations. We talk about team goals. The kids know what teams have done in the past (here), but we focus on being a team, being the best runner you can be, mental toughness, and physical toughness.”
The girls, who have had their fair share of amazing athletes, must replace a few from last season as long distance specialists Kaitlin Hanenburg and Emily LaValley — who are currently running at Colorado State and Oregon State respectively — have graduated as have fellow collegiate runners Sam Reid and Shannon Harrell.
Junior Shelby Stableford (1600, 3200) will pace the girl’s long distance team while Nicole Sassaman (200, 400) and Meredith Sloan (400, 800) shore up the shorter sprints. Elena Roy (hurdles, relays) will aid in the other events.
For the boys, state runner-up Josh Simkins (1600, 3200) is the leader for TCA in the distance events with Clark Mourning (400, 800) and Eric Wermuth (100, 200) helping in the sprints. Collin Scheer will jump his way to points in the high and triple jump.
The boys lose state-champions Ben Hinckfoot, Eric Versaw, and Kevin Schwindt as well as John Metzger and E.J. Nelson, but similar to the girls have a hungry group of talented athletes ready to step up and keep TCA’s tradition alive.
“These are the kind of kids that get excited for a hard practice,” Daggett said. “They love to compete, they love to push each other. They will be bouncing off the walls by next weekend.”
The Titans open their title defenses March 12 in Pueblo at the Banana Belt Classic.
Palmer Ridge
It’s an exciting year for a Palmer Ridge squad who, for the first time, boasts seniors and makes the move to the Colorado Springs Metro League after a successful run in the Pioneer League.
Obviously, the name everyone thinks about when one says Palmer Ridge running is Spencer Wenck — one of the top runners in the state, if not the country. The senior distance specialist will be looking to add to his state champion collection that he started this past fall by winning the cross country title.
However, there are a few more boys donning Bears’ uniforms who will likely be making a name for themselves as the year goes on. One of those, Hunter Warwick, will look to improve on third-place finishes in both the 110 and 300 hurdles at state in 2010.
Multi-event sophomore Winn Howard (hurdles, high and triple jump) is also hoping to make some noise for Palmer Ridge this season.
On the girls side, head coach Josh Trahan didn’t actually mention one specific girl as he believes the depth of his girls is really where the Bears are strongest.
“I would expect our guys team to be a lot more competitive than last year,” Trahan said. “We’re deeper, older, stronger, and better than last year. How much better depends on how hard they work. The girls team is a lot deeper than last year. Adding that extra class made a big difference, I expect the same thing out of the girls team, just better than last year.”
The Bears start the year March 12 at Elizabeth in the Cardinal Classic.
Discovery Canyon
Following a great run in Class 3A, the Thunder find themselves in a couple new positions by moving up to 4A and into the Metro League against some of the top competition in the state.
Now a year older the state veterans on DCC, hope that their success in 3A translates itself to the 4A field.
The boys should come into the season with a lot of confidence as they pulled in a fourth-place finish at the 3A state meet last season without any seniors.
State qualifiers Christian Fournier, fifth in 100 meter dash and second in the triple jump; Michael Ellsworth, third in the 110 hurdles; and pole vaulters Robbie Tye and Kyle Nachbar should lead the Thunder this spring.
For the DCC girls, the long distance team, a squad which placed 11th at the state meet in cross country, will be led by junior Allie Morgan, sixth in the 1600 and fourth in the 3200 at state in 2010.
Emily Husted (long distance) joins the Thunder this season as does transfer Heather Bates, who transfers from Class 5A Pine Creek, bringing her second-place state finishes in the 1600 and 3200 with her .
“I think people thought since we were a newer school we wouldn’t compete (so soon), but we really have,” said head coach Jason Miner. “The biggest difference moving up from 3A to 4A is there’s obviously more competition… The kids have been talking (about track) since cross country and football ended so we have good attitudes and we’re hungry.”
DCC kicks off its season March 12 at District 20 Stadium, competing in the Lancer Invite.
Lewis-Palmer
The biggest change the Lewis-Palmer track team might be facing this season is a new — actually returning — head coach.
After taking time off for 10 years, Rich Stewart is back at the helm for the Rangers as he looks to bring the L-P track team back to prominence in Class 4A. Stewart takes over for Kurt Clark, who retired this past spring, while long-time coach Suzanne Kuehl will stay on as an assistant for the Rangers.
“I coached here for 29 years,” Stewart said. “I retired in 2001 and they asked me to come back this year and I decided to come back. Loyalty to the school is one (main reason) and I missed it. I went to all the track meets and once you’re a coach you’re always a coach.”
The girls team took a hit this past offseason as 2010 pole vaulting state champion Morgan Griffin graduated and turned in her orange and black for the green and yellow of Colorado State. Griffin was not the only pole vaulter to leave though, as 2010 second-place finisher Chandler Marshall has decided not to come out this season to instead focus on diving.
Focusing on what the team has, Katie Kimball, Alaina Hanson, and Jill Bellandi will all lead the hurdling team. Rachel Bachler will run the 400 and 4×400 relay while state qualifiers Loryn Kassie high jumps and Amanda Belzer pole vaults.
The Ranger boys will also be rebuilding as they graduated nearly everyone who were a big contributors.
All-around athlete Kobi Rex is now at Harvard while speedster Phil DeCoud has also graduated.
The cupboard is not totally bare, however, as state qualifier Josh Davis leads a strong long distance team and Ben Shaum (high jump, hurdles) and Alex Inzer (sprinter, shot put) look to aid elsewhere.
L-P hits the track on March 12 at the Lancer Invite at D-20 Stadium.
Pine Creek
Following an offseason that saw the Eagles lose a total of 10 seniors, the 2011 campaign will be more of a youth movement as head coach Max Oliver welcomes 25 new freshmen runners into his program.
“So far I like what I see,” Oliver said. “We’re very young. You don’t know about the freshmen talent until you get into a meet…. We want to get as many relays to state as we can. We only have one boy and one girl who have proven they can qualify individually (at this point).”
That one boy, T.J. Denis, was ninth in the 400 at state last season and he will b looked upon to lead a young boys program which lost the only other Eagle who placed at state in Joel Melendez, who was fourth in shot put.
The girls will be led by Laura Yarrow (hurdles, middle distance), who was fifth at the cross country state finals. Thrower Beth McCarthy also returns to try and replicate her state qualifications in the shot put and discus.
Gone are pole vaulters Ava Hildenbrandt and Libby Westfall, third and fourth at state respectively, as is the aforementioned Heather Bates who is at DCC.
Pine Creek begins its season March 12 at the Lancer Invite at D-20 Stadium.