COLORADO STATE MEET

Addison Ritzenhein Takes Distance Double; Niwot Boys Break 4x800 All-Time Best

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Niwot swept the 4A titles for the second straight year at the Colorado track and field state meet with 111.5 points on the boys side and 95 points for the girls.

In her final state meet, senior Addison Ritzenhein won the 1,600 and the 3,200, setting a meet record in the former with a time of 4:44.47. She also anchored Niwot’s 4x800 relay squad to a win and took third in the 800.

Unsurprisingly, Niwot’s distance attack ran deep. Elise Hagen took third in the 1,600 and the 3,200 and eighth in the 800, and three others picked up points as well — Tereza Koudelka in the 800, Siona Kelly in the 1,600 and Scarlett Parks in the 3,200.

Windsor’s Kiana Cumings was also a standout performer, winning the 200 and 400 and leading the 4x200 and 4x400 relay squads to victory.

Roosevelt’s Braelyn Bailey cleared 5-10 in the high jump to break the meet record, and Pueblo East’s Reagan Falletta swept the 100-and 300-meter hurdles.

For the boys, Niwot’s 4x800 relay squad put up perhaps the best performance of the meet in the distance events, running a US#2 7:37.24 to break the all-class Colorado state record — at over 5,000 feet of altitude, no less. 

Senior Rocco Culpepper anchored that squad, and he also picked up wins in the 1,600 and 4x400 relay and a third-place finish in the 800. 

Freshman Jude Ritzenhein, meanwhile, ran 4:12.83 to take seventh in the 1,600. That mark converts roughly to a 4:07 mile at sea level; the current freshman class record remains 4:09.11 by Josiah Tostenson.

Including last fall’s cross country state meet, Niwot has now swept three consecutive state championships.

Three other state records went down in boys events. Summit’s Jay McDonald broke the 4A meet record in the 800, running 1:48.64; Roosevelt’s Owen Hays ran 36.54 to break the 300 hurdles record; and Palmer Ridge’s Owen Twesme threw 60-11 to break the shot put record.

5A

Cadel Ruthven, the winner of the boys invitational mile at the Arcadia Invitational, led Fort Collins to a blowout win in the 5A division with 99 points.

Ruthven won the 1,600 meters in 4:09.80, took second in the 800 and fourth in the 3,200, and led the 4x800 relay squad to a third place finish and a time of 7:51.32.

DJ Ruff and Preston Mozer picked up points in the sprints, too. Mozer finished second in the 400, and Ruff took third in the 200. Both of them were also on the 4x200 relay squad that ran 1:24.57 to break the Colorado state record.

Elsewhere, Mountain Vista’s Ben Adams won the 3,200 and took second to Ruthven in the 1,600, and he anchored his 4x800 relay team to a win and a time of 7:50.88.

Mountain Vista won the girls title with 66 points thanks in large part to a sweep of the sprint relays. 

The Golden Eagles ran 47.11 to win the 4x100, 1:37.97 to win the 4x200 and 3:46.65 to win the 4x400.

Junior Payton Mathelier also won the 400 in a personal best time of 53.80 seconds.

Cherokee Trail freshman Madison Lange and Heritage senior Emry Schwalm had a back-and-forth battle in the distance events; Lange won the 1,600 in 4:52.32 and Schwalm won the 3,200 in 10:26.19.

Cherry Creek’s Renata Bergstrom jumped 37-11.75 to win the triple jump and cleared 12-7 to win the pole vault.

3A

The Classical Academy won its third straight title in the girls 3A division by a convincing margin, putting up 119 points to beat Berthoud by 47.

Reese Blackwood won the 100 and anchored her team’s winning 4x200 relay squad, and she took third in the 200.

The Academy also picked up a win in the 4x800, anchored by Vivian Jack, who also won the 800.

The Titans almost made it a sweep for a third straight year, but the boys took second to Coal Ridge, who scored 86 points thanks to some dominant performances in the field events. Aiden Huey, Marcus Munoz and Clayton Terrell went 1-2-3 in the triple jump, and all three scored in the long jump, too. Munoz broke the state record in the latter, jumping 23-2.75.

Huey also finished third in the 110-meter hurdles and sixth in the pole vault. 

The Harrison High 4x100 and 4x200 relay squads broke meet records, clocking times of 41.72 seconds and 1:26.56, although the former was a prelims record.

Manitou Springs’ Mackinzy Wall broke the meet record in the discus, throwing 147-9.

2A

The Peyton boys and Lyons girls won with 70.5 points and 55 points, respectively.

Peyton’s Caleb Kearse won the 400 in 48.86, took third in the 100 (11.09) and was fourth in the 200 (22.50). Last year, Kearse broke the 2A state record in the 400, with 48.76, to lead his team to a runner-up finish.

The Peyton boys also picked up points in the relays. They ran 44.22 to take third in the 4x100, 1:32.28 to take fifth in the 4x200 and 3:25.89 to take second in the 4x400.

North Fork, meanwhile, swept the sprint relays, and they broke the meet record in the 4x100, running 43.10.

On the girls side, Telluride’s Austin Cook had a tremendous weekend, winning the 800 (2:11.45) and 1,600 (5:05.99) and anchoring her 4x800 relay squad to a win (9:44.46). Still, it wasn’t enough to put Telluride on the podium. 

The Lyons girls took the team victory despite winning only one event — the 4x200, in which they ran 1:46.64.

The Lions had a balanced attack across the board, taking fourth in the 4x100 and third in the 4x400. Carmen Dumbauld was on all three of those relays, and she took third in the open 100, running 12.55.

1A

Haxtun’s Zach Statz broke meet records in the 100 and the 200, running 10.88 and 21.91. He also led Haxtun to wins in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays with times of 44.18 and 1:32.64.

Otis’s Jayce Ballah broke the pole vault record, clearing 14-6, and Swink’s Javin Summers jumped 45-3.75 to break the  record in the triple jump.

For the girls, McClave broke class records in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays, running 50.80 and 1:47.05. McClave’s Addison Vallejos also claimed a record in the triple jump, leaping 35-4.50. Still, it wasn’t enough to beat Merino, who scored 76.5 points to take the team victory.

The McClave boys won, though, scoring 104 points.

Team Champions - RESULTS

5A: Fort Collins 99 points, Mountain Vista 66 points

4A: Niwot boys 111.5 points, Niwot girls 95 points

3A: Coal Ridge points 86 points, Classical Academy girls 119 points

2A: Peyton boys 70.5 points, Lyons girls 55 points

1A: McClave boys 104 points, Merino girls 76.5 points