LAKEWOOD – The Merino girls track and field team is still the champion.

On Saturday at Jefferson County Stadium, the Rams scored 106 team points to claim the Class 1A team title and go back to back, in 2023 and 2024.

“It’s a great group of ladies, great parents, great community,” Merino coach Jason Webb said. “It all starts there. My job is really just to keep it going and I feel really humbled just to be the coach of this particular group of girls. We just peaked at the right time. It’s been a tough weather year for us, and for all of track. Good things happen when the weather cooperates too.”

Merino’s Brooklyn Sutter won the 1A girls 1,600-meter run with a time of 5 minutes, 27.71 seconds. Merino (Analise Bara, Kaya Piel, Hailey Foos and Veronica Baray) also won the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 4:21.82.

Sanford finished second in the team competition with 72 team points and McClave was third with 59 points.

There were a number of other exceptional individual performances on Saturday as well.

In the 1A girls 100-meter dash, Cheyenne Wells sophomore Roxy Unruh placed first with a time of 12.21 seconds, breaking her own 1A state meet record of 12.38.

“It’s really exciting because I set the record last year and I’m just trying to do better every year, hopefully breaking 11 next year,” said Unruh, who entered the event understandably confident she could top her time from last year. “You have to have a little confidence when running, otherwise it’s not going to work.”

Later in the day, Unruh added two more 1A meet records to her resume when she ran a 57.52 in the 1A girls 400 and 25.64 in the 200.

In the 1A girls shot put, Elbert’s Zadie Mackey set a 1A meet record with a throw of 44 feet, 11.5 inches.

“It was something that I’ve been chasing and it was the goal all year,” Mackey said. “It meant the world. Coming off of not having the greatest day on Thursday throwing disc, which is what people would say is my main event, doing this today and coming out with that fire and that fight, I was super grateful.”

Fleming’s Brooklyn Schaefer won the 1A girls long jump with a mark of 15-9.75.

In the 1A girls 100 hurdles, Sanford senior Holly McDaniel’s time of 20 seconds flat won the gold. She also took home gold with a time of 47.24 seconds in the 300 hurdles.

McClave – Avery Hemphill, Addison Vallejos, Kristen Marks and Ashlynn Steinbrunn – won the 400-meter relay in 52.14 seconds.

1A Boys Track and Field: Cheyenne Wells Wins Its First-Ever State Championship

LAKEWOOD – This year’s Colorado track and field state championships brought with it a special moment for the Cheyenne Wells track program.

At Jefferson County Stadium on Saturday, the Tigers boys team finished with 64 team points at the end of the three-day meet. That total was enough to win the Class 1A team championship and secure the first boys title in program history.

“It’s just so great because these boys come off a state basketball championship and they were second in the state football championship this year,” Cheyenne Wells coach Sammy Chadwick said. “This is just the cherry on top of the cake and shows what these boys can do. With only seven boys, I thought that was pretty great. The highest we’ve ever gotten for boys was third place, so this is quite an accomplishment today.”

Haxtun was second with 51 points and South Baca was third with 50.5 points.

There were a number of exceptional individual performances on Saturday as well.

Akron senior Ryan McCaffrey stole the show in a loaded 1A boys pole vault field, setting a 1A state meet record of 14 feet, 1 inch. In the same event, McCaffrey’s teammate Brandon Hellyer also broke the previous record, clearing 13 feet, 7 inches, as did Lone Star’s Anderson Weathers.

“I remember freshman year watching Brady Kuntz (Lone Star) break it,” McCaffrey said. “That was just awesome. I was always telling him, ‘I’m chasing you.’ My buddy Brandon and me, our goal this year was to break the meet record this year. And his dad holds our school record at 14 feet, so we were trying to break his school record too.”

In the high jump, De Beque’s Scottie Vines Jr., who already broke the state’s fifth-oldest record by clearing 7-4.25 earlier in the season and qualified for the US Olympic Trials, cleared 7 feet to break his own 1A state meet record.

“It means a lot,” Vines said. “I never thought I’d be in this position, but I’m glad I am. There’s not much to say, just thank you for all the support and everyone that stayed with me through the last four years.”

South Baca’s Callas Calzonetti won the 1A boys 110 hurdles with a time of 16.11 seconds.

Sanford’s Lincoln Reynolds won the 1A boys 100-meter dash with a time of 11.19 seconds. Later in the day, the senior claimed a second title with a 22.90-second victory in the 200.

Cheyenne Wells’ Perry Chadwick won the 1A boys 400-meter run with a time of 50.45 seconds.

In the 1A boys 1,600-meter run, Primero’s Anthony Pena won the 1A boys 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:37.04.

Cheyenne Wells’ Carson Noe won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.83 seconds.

Haxtun – Zach Statz, Ryland Wolff, Grant Statz and Joshua Wright – won the 400-meter relay in 44.36 seconds.

Kim – Acoya Bartlett, David Gamez, Kolter Cranson and Brock Doherty – won the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:35.45.

Full Results From State Championships