5A boys track and field: Sommers paces Cherokee Trail to team title, first since 2013

Peyton Sommers did a lot of heavy lifting and the Cherokee Trail boys track team took care of business it had all season to win the Class 5A boys state championship Saturday at Jefferson County Stadium.

Coach Chris Faust’s Cougars earned the program’s third all-time boys crown with a total of 74 points, which put it comfortably ahead of a distance-heavy Valor Christian, Brandon Hills-led Vista Ridge and classification newcomer Erie after an outstanding three days of competition.

Sommers had a huge hand in the victory, as the sophomore speedster overcame the sting of a runner-up finish to Hills in the 100 meters by winning titles in the 200 and 400 meters,

“I can’t even describe it, all the hard work this team put in has paid off,” Sommers said.

Sommers anchored the Cougars’ 4×200 meter relay team of fellow sophomore Kaelan Kombo, junior Kahari Wilbon and senior Jaylon Moore to victory on Friday, then set about doing his individual thing on the final day.

He finished just 0.10 seconds behind Hills — who finished as a three-event champion — in the 100, then used it for fuel as he unseated defending champion Ace Malone of Castle View in the 400 and then denied Hills another title with a win by 0.02 of second in the 200, his favorite event.

“I left it all out there, I’ve got nothing left in the tank,” Sommers said after the 200 victory.

Sommers ran a full slate and couldn’t run a leg on the team’s 4×400 relay team, which had set the Colorado record at the Centennial League Championships.

Even without him, the Cougars’ team of Kombo, Wilbon and seniors Beck Gutjahr and Reuben Holness were in position to win the event, but ThunderRidge’s team of Jeffrey Franquemont, Christopher Savko, Kyler Pilgrim and Kenneth Carpenter vanquished them with a 5A meet-record time of 3 minutes, 15.29 seconds.

Kombo also scored in two events on the final day for Cherokee Trail with a fourth-place finish in the 400 and ninth in the 200 and Lavelle Kabeya-Kombo also garnered a point in the 110 meter hurdles as the Cougars collected precious points here and there.

Hills set the Colorado record of 24 feet, 8 inches, in the long jump on Friday and thought he might be able to win three titles on the final day to cap it off.
Two of those came to fruition as he raised his arms in the air in triumph as he took the 100 in 10.52 seconds and he also anchored the 4×100 meter relay team of Solomon Arnds, Kobe Dooley and Carson Tapia to a tight victory over Fossil Ridge and Brighton.

Valor Christian had small state contingent, but its prowess in the distance events helped the points come in bunches.

The Eagles got wins from Drew Costelow (800 meters) and Dane Eike (3,200 meters) on Friday, then the two went 1-2 (Costelow first, Eike second) in the 1,600 meters late Saturday to make sure they kept Vista Ridge and Erie (which tied for third with 51 points apiece).

Costelow won the 1,600 in nearly identical fashion, literally, as last season.

“Overall coming into it, I wanted to see if I could grab my fifth state title of my career,” he said. “I raced it just like I did last year, I didn’t change anything up. Same uniform, same spikes, raced the same way. I didn’t want to change anything. Racing with these guys is amazing, so it doesn’t get any better than wrapping the season up like that.”

Denver East finished sixth in the final team standings and got a big boost from the performance of Nigel James, who captured both hurdle events.

James edged Rangeview’s Jaheim Alexander — who had the top time in prelims — by 0.09 of a second in the 110 meter hurdles to open the day and later collected the 300 meter crown by topping Valor Christian’s Jack Wetterling with a time of 37.61 seconds to Wetterling’s 38.05.

Chatfield junior Charles Lafore and Overland sophomore Jarrius Ward are club teammates and it came down to the two of them in both of the throwing events, the shot put on Friday and the discus on Saturday.

Lafore came out on top in both, using his first throw of prelims to uncork a throw of 178 feet, 6 inches, that held up to the final finals throw for Ward, whose last attempt traveled 176-1.

“I saw it as it came out of his hand and I thought ‘oh boy,’” Lafore said of watching the final throw. “I saw the board and was able to relax and have fun with my last throw. I was nervous about the discus all week, but now I have a big weight lifted off my chest.”

The top five finishers in the 5A boys pole vault from last season graduated and Monarch’s Tyler Rowan rose to the top after not placing a year ago.
Rowan cleared 15 feet, 8 inches, to secure the championship and took three unsuccessful shots at 16-1.