On Friday, 4/28, the Coronado track team hosted their very own Coronado Cougar Classic meet, Conor Strizich, 11, said about the event, “The Cougar Classic is a great addition to prom week and really brings the team together.” Thirty five teams gathered at Garry Berry Stadium for the event and encountered some of the best competition so far this season.

First in the order of events, the faster heats of the mile showcased some of the best talent in the state, including 4A State Cross Country Champion Maria Mettler from Air Academy, 3A State Champion and Runner Up Tanner Norman and Max Martinez from TCA and Widefield, respectively. In the end, the Cougars were helped greatly by such tough competition, and five out of the six Cougars in the 1600 gained new personal records (PR), including juniors Taylor Dutton, Conor Strizich, and Andrew Burton, as well as sophomore Ben Swanson and freshman Grace Abernethy. Conor Strizich went on to place sixth in the 800 later in the day. Distance runners were also successful in 4×800 relay, and the girls team blew away the competition with a time of 10:05.14 to win the event.

Senior Raiden Mares had a great performance in 110 meter hurdle finals, placing third, and securing the 15th best time in 5A this year for the event. Junior Justin Dwinell placed fifth in the 100 meter dash with a PR of 11.12, and helped lead the Cougars to a third place finish in the 4×100. As the day went on, the weather rapidly declined, and by the time the 300 hurdles began, snow began fall, much to the runners’ dismay. Either way, Raiden Mares scored more points for the Cougars with an eighth place finish in 300 hurdles. One of the best performances of the day came from sophomore Layla Roebke, who, even as snow continued to fall in the bitter cold, placed second in the 3200 with a seven second PR.

The Cougars’ strong jumpers had another good meet at the Cougar Classic. Junior Jaelyn Hershberger placed second in triple jump and third in long jump, which senior Celia Smith won with a jump of 17’03”. Boys also had a successful meet in long jump, senior Joey Callan and Elijah Clanton placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Rounding out the Cougars’ points was junior Charles Broomfield, who placed sixth in shot put.

In the end, the girls team placed third, behind only Air Academy and Liberty, and the boys team came out in 13th place. Coronado’s track team has a busy week ahead of them, and are set to compete at the Canon City Blossom Invitational on Friday and the Doherty Spartan Invitational on Saturday. Next week, the team will compete in the Colorado Springs Metro League Championships and several athletes will hope to solidify their spot in the top 18 places of the 5A event rankings to earn their spot at state. Good luck Cougars!