1A girls track and field: Merino uses final event to clinch state title
LAKEWOOD – After finishing as runner-up in Class 1A the last two years, the Merino girls track and field team wasn’t going to be denied this time.
It took until the last event of the weekend to secure the team title, however, at the state track and field championships at Jefferson County Stadium.
The Rams finished with 88 points to narrowly beat second-place Idalia (83.5), while Prairie (60) came in third. It’s the third team title for Merino, which won back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.
Going into the last event, the 1,600-meter relay, Idalia led, 83.5 to 78. But, Merino won the race to score 10 points, while Idalia finished 10th and didn’t score. That completed a big weekend for Merino, which relied heavily on its distance runners to rack up points.
Freshman Kya Piel and sophomore Brooklyn Sutter, in particular, were spectacular for the Rams. Piel won the 1,600 meters on Saturday in 5 minutes, 33.05 seconds, while Sutter was second, just .21 seconds behind her teammate. Piel also won the 3,200 meters on Thursday.
Another freshman, Prairie’s Roxy Unruh, dominated the sprints. She won the 100 meters on Saturday in 12.38 seconds, just ahead of Idalia’s Krista Weiser (12.82), who was the defending the champion. In the 200, Unruh posted a winning time of 25.86 seconds, while Hanover’s Valeria Diaz was second (26.55).
Asked if she thought she would be a champion, Unruh said, “Honestly, no, but it’s exciting to be here. I’m really glad I competed at state.”
Unruh said that when she joined the track team this year, her main inspiration was her older sister, Reece Unruh, a 2021 Cheyenne Wells graduate.
“I was just trying to beat her times,” Unruh said. “Honestly, she’s been a really big inspiration for me, so just beating her is a huge thing for me.”
Unruh also helped the Mustangs win the 400-meter relay, edging Idalia, 51.82 seconds to 52.22. On Friday, Unruh was a part of Prairie’s third-place finish in the 800 relay.
While Unruh was surprised by her wins, there was little doubt that Nucla senior Lisa Sutherland would be a champ. The favorite in both hurdles races coming in, she finished on top, claiming the 100-meter hurdles in 15.96 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 46.98 seconds.
Sutherland won her second consecutive title in the 100 hurdles, nearly a second ahead of Sanford’s Holly McDaniel (16.93). In the 300 hurdles, Sutherland was second to Shaylee Scheler of Cheyenne Wells last year, but edged her out this time. Scheler was second, in 47.18 seconds.
Fleming’s Kally Kirkwood repeated as champion in the 400 meters, clocking in at 58.60 seconds to get past second-place Erica Miller of Sanford (59.50).
In the high jump, Eads senior Maggie Haase came in as the two-time defending champion, but finished second to sophomore Ava Vines from DeBeque. Vines, whose brother Scottie has won the last two 1A boys high jump titles, had a winning leap of 5 feet, 5 inches on Saturday. Haase finished second at 5-1.
Yet another freshman to claim a title was Lone Star’s Jade Kuntz, who won the pole vault with a leap of 9 feet. Kuntz was actually one of four girls to max out at 9 feet, but she won the tie-breaker with fewer missed attempts. Idalia’s Kyndal Richards and Akron’s Becky Drum tied for second, while Idalia’s Brigette Kite also vaulted 9 feet and finished fourth.
