Last weekend the Coronado track team journeyed to Pueblo to take on teams from all around southern Colorado at the John Tate Challenge Cup. The Cougars excelled despite the absence of nearly all juniors on the second day of the competition, due to the ACT. In the end, the girls’ team took second and the boys’ team finished fifth.

The Coronado girls saw great success in their relays, and placed in the top three for each race they competed in, running to second place finishes in the sprint medley relay, the 4x200m relay, and the 4x800m relay, as well as 3rd in the 4x400m relay with a time of 4:31.02. Coronado’s sprinters also succeeded in their individual events, freshman Alison Ambuul edging out the competition for fourth in the 200, and fellow relay member senior Jeanine Smith placing fourth in the 400 after a personal record in the preliminary round. Although she did not compete due to the ACT, Taylor Dutton, 11, qualified for the finals in the 400 with a time of 1:03.51.

Adding on to the sprinters’ success, every distance runner entered for Coronado scored: sophomores Maddy Morland and Faith Roth placed 4th and 5th, respectively, in the 800m; in the 1600m, freshman Grace Abernethy and senior Kiara Mattern placed 4th and 5th, and in the 3200m, Layla Roebke, 10, placed third, and Hannah Besse, 11, placed sixth. Other strong performances came from sophomore Maddison Wilson who placed fourth in 110m hurdles and 8th in 300m hurdles.

The Cougars also saw success in a multitude of strong field performances, several of which coming from senior Celia Smith. Smith, who is currently ranked 4th in 5A in high jump standings, won not only the high jump, but also set the meet record with a height of 5 foot 2 inches. Smith also took fourth place in long jump and fifth in triple jump alongside junior Jaelyn Hershberger who placed second in long jump with a distance of 16 feet 4.5 inches. Juniors Alena Wroe and Mallory Brown rounded up several points for the team as well with good performances in discus and pole vault.

On the boys side of the track meet, field events were the Cougars’ strongest suit. Isaiah Outler, 12, had several breakthrough performances over the course of the meet, and had a two inch PR to place fourth in high jump and clear 6 feet for the first time, as well as take fourth in long jump with a distance of 20-0.5. Senior Joey Callan, who is currently in the top twenty in 5A for past triple and long jumps, took second in the triple jump competition with a distance of 43-04.5. Another 5A ranked athlete who made his mark at John Tate was junior Charles Broomfield, who placed fourth in shot put with a personal record of 46-3.5 and took second in discus with a 144-11 throw. Seniors Jaydon Lewis and Mark Zehner round out the field events with 6th and 4th place finishes in high jump and pole vault, respectively.

Back on the track, Raiden Mares had several standout performances, and took first in the 110m hurdles with a new personal best, as well as placing second in 300m hurdles after a PR in the prelims. Sophomore Ben Swanson also slashed four seconds off of his time to gain a new personal best in the 800m and place fourth with a time of 2:03.5. Fellow third placing 4x800m relay runner Conor Strizich, 11, also rounded up some points in the 3200m in his first time running the event.

The Cougars will be back on the track again for their next meet on Friday, 4/14, for their meet at Garry Berry Stadium at 2 P.M. Good luck Cougars!