After the meet was delayed two days due to the May snowstorm that hit Lakewood, on Saturday and Sunday Coronado’s track team competed at the shortened state track meet. Finishing off the team’s fantastic season, the Cougars competed in eleven events over the course of the weekend, and had medal winning efforts in eight. The competition, which was supposed to begin on Thursday and run through Saturday, ended up taking place on Saturday and Sunday with no prelims in any event.

Kicking off the Cougars run at state were juniors Jaelyn Hershberger and Charles Broomfield, competing in triple jump and shot put, respectively. Hershberger, who finished off her season with an 8th place finish at state last year, placed 6th this year after another great performance. Charles, who also placed 12th in discus later in the weekend, rose to the challenge at state to throw further than ever before, and his 49-2.75 earned a 7th place finish on the podium. Next up, four sport athlete Joey Callan competed in triple jump finals, and although he did not PR, he did place ninth with a jump of 43 feet. One of Coronado’s two relays to qualify for state, the girls 4×800, also competed on Saturday, and, although they were seeded eleventh, competed well against the tough competition to bring back to Coronado an 8th place finish. Chloe Cassens, 11, Maddy Morland, 10, Grace Abernethy, 9, and Taylor Dutton, 11, advanced their time by a second to earn their podium- worthy finish. Morland said about her state experience, “Although some of us had a rough start to our season, we overcame our original difficulties and had a great finish to our season and I am really proud of how we did.”

Sunday, Joey Callan was back to compete in long jump alongside fellow senior Elijah Clanton. The pair placed 15th and 16th in the event, and although neither set a personal record, it was a great performance for both considering that it was both of their first time qualifying individually for state. The pair also competed on the 4x100m relay later in the day, where the Cougars would notch an eighth place finish despite competing from the slower heat of the relay. The other two runners in the relay were junior Justin Dwinell, who, despite his #15 seed, came out of his individual 100 meter race with a new personal best and a ninth place finish for another state medal, and senior Raiden Mares, who narrowly missed a spot at state in 110m hurdles by .02 second. Mares helped get back that .02 second as the boys became the only group to break a school record with their 42.99, besting the previous record by that same .02 margin.

Celia Smith, who also made it to state last year, placed eighth in both long and high jump.
All in all, the Cougars had a great season full of excitement, achievement, and success, and will hope to continue to represent Coronado at state in the following years. Although the Cougars will feel a hit from the retirement of girls head coach Mr. Hugill and many talented seniors, the fantastic track team is set up to succeed the next few years with talented sophomore and junior classes. Nice season, Cougars!