The Coronado men’s track team kicked off their season on Saturday, 3/11, with a second place finish at the Pikes Peak Invitational. Veteran talents, as well as valuable underclassmen, made their mark at Garry Berry Stadium as the Cougars competed against twelve teams from around the Springs.

One of the most memorable performances of the day was by senior Jaydon Lewis who won the men’s high jump with a height of 6’5”, the best mark across all of Colorado’s classifications this season. Not only that, but in doing so he improved his personal best in the event by three inches. Lewis has definitely emerged as a force to be reckoned within the event, and with his current height he would have earned a fourth place finish at last year’s 5A state championships.

The Cougars had great success in field events at the meet with strong performances by Mark Zehner, 12, who won the pole vault competition with a vault of 9’06”, and Joey Callan, 12, who won the long jump with a distance of 20’11”, and got third in triple jump with a jump of 42’01”. Charles Broomfield, 11, also started the season strong, placing fifth in discus with a throw of 125’8” and placing fifth in shot put with a throw of 40’6”.

Several underclassmen also made a statement at the meet. Isaiah Outler, 10, was one of those athletes: in his first varsity meet as a jumper he placed 5th in triple jump with a distance breaking 40 feet, and took second in long jump to Coronado’s Joey Callan, jumping 20’0.5”. Sophomore distance runners Ben Swanson and Noah Enoch also performed, Swanson placing fifth in the 800m with an eight second personal record, and Enoch placing eighth in the two mile.

Adding on to the Cougars’ success were their tremendous relay finishes in the 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x800m, and the sprint medley relay. Though the Cougars picked another up another first place finish with senior Raiden Mares’ win on 300m hurdles, Coronado narrowly lost the Pikes Peak Invitational by ten points.

The men’s track team will be back at it again this Saturday at the Harrison Panther Invitational hoping to build off of their outstanding performances at their first meet. Way to go at the Pikes Peak Invitational and good luck this Saturday Cougars!