4A track and field: Mead’s Underwood secures first title in quest for four on day two

LAKEWOOD – Not many times that Tavon Underwood has taken the track this season is there a question who will win.

The Mead senior had the closest thing to doubt on Friday afternoon when he faced a slew of challengers in the Class 4A 800 meter run that threatened his quest to win four state individual state championships.

But Underwood kept himself in the right position for a lap and a half at Jefferson County Stadium and then put the hammer down on his way to a victory that puts him in great shape to reach his goals of four running crowns.

“This was the one that was kindof iffy, but it looks like I got it,” Underwood said with a smile after he crossed the finish line in 1 minute, 51.97 seconds, to finish in front of Grand Junction Central’s Shalom Trowbridge (1:52.12) and Coronado’s Xzavier Campos (1:52.99).

Underwood admitted the pace of the race was a little higher than he expected, but he stuck with it and then got into his element with the finish line in sight. By then, it was over.

“I just knew I had the speed for it, that’s the thing,” he said, “I knew I was faster than anybody when it came to a race down the stretch, so I just went about it the way I always do.”

Underwood has the 100 and 400 meter finals in the morning Saturday, followed by the 200 in the early afternoon.

That could move Mead up significantly in the team standings, which are led by Windsor with 31 points, followed by Grand Junction Central with 24 and Cheyenne Mountain with 23.5.

Northfield took the championship in the 4×200 meter relay, despite not running with its regular lineup.

Due an injury, senior Michael Doss was inserted into the race and the Nighthawks didn’t miss a beat as the team of Amarion Richardson, Karamoko Sacko, Doss and Zachary Ryan — all seniors — set a school record of 1 minute, 26.80 seconds, on their way to victory.

It achieved a goal that was set last season when Northfield finished second.

“Last year we got second, so this year we were always huddling up and talking with each other to see what we had to do to push each other and try to get first,” Richardson said.

Behind the Nighthawks came Montrose in 1:27.30, followed by Mesa Ridge in 1:27.76.

In the field, Canon City junior Wyatt Turner was the only high jumper to clear 6 feet, 5 inches, as he grabbed the state title.

The Niwot girls again have just overwhelmed the field with depth and own 79 points ahead of the final day for a large lead over Palmer Ridge (36) and Silver Creek (30).

The Cougars’ depth was particularly pronounced in the 800 meters, where the podium was filled with five placers in the top seven. The championship went to senior Madison Shults, who took the title in the event for a third straight season. She turned in a time of 2:08.90 to finish in front of junior teammate Olivia Alessandrini.

Junior Mia Prok, freshman Anna Prok and junior Julia Randolph finished 5-6-7 for a tidy sum of 30 points from the event alone.

Shults ran a much different race this year than she did last year.

“Last year, I went out very, very hard because I wanted to give myself a chance to win,” she said. “I didn’t intend to go out that hard, but it still worked out. This year, I took it out a little bit more conservatively so I could have something left for the last straightaway.”

Shults got the victory, but she would have been happy if one of her teammates had taken it.

“No matter what position I ended up in, I still would have been happy because I was out there racing with all my best friends,” the Stanford recruit said. “We were cheering each other on no matter what. It was refreshing.”

Shults still has the 400 meter dash individually as well as the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays.

Niwot got yet another championship in the shot put, where Jade West was a comfortable winner.

The sophomore launched a throw of 40 feet, 8 1/4 inches, that put her on the top of the medal podium with Greeley West’s Jamie Baghdadi (38-3 1/4) second and Palmer Ridge’s Geneva Gigi (36-11) in third.

Mesa Ridge’s tight-knit group of seniors Rimari Facey, Danaya Kinnard and Janise Everett and sophomore Olivia Clay got a coveted championship when they virtually cruised to the 4×200 meter crown.

The three seniors have run together for the last three years and the same group of four finished third last season, but they would not be denied this time.
Facey got the race started, Kinnard helped build a lead and Clay maintained it to Everett, who got to the finish line in a time of 1:41.21, more than a second ahead of Windsor (1:42.42).

“I know my team is all behind me and helped me get in front, so I just had to finish as hard as I could for the team,” Everett said.

The same group has its eyes on the 4×100 meter title Saturday.

Windsor opened the day by taking the first available state championship in the 800 meter sprint medley relay, as the team of freshman Kiana Cumings, sophomore Lindsey Hinson, freshman Maya Brasch and senior Zoe Bauer clocked a time of 1:48.66 to finish in front of Mountain View (1:49.14) and Cheyenne Mountain (1:49.30).

Green Mountain junior Eva Bellot became the 4A girls high jump champion with a top effort of 5 feet, 6 inches.