5A Boys Track and Field: Cherokee Trail Breaks Record to Move Closer in Team Race

LAKEWOOD – Ben Lee saw a state championship get away by the slimmest of margins on the first day of the Class 5A boys state track meet, but he made one a reality for himself on the second day.

The ThunderRidge sophomore ran the opening leg of the Grizzlies’ 4×800 meter relay, which lost in a photo finish to Mountain Vista to kick off the competition at Jefferson County Stadium, so Friday’s open 800 meters allowed him a chance to gain some redemption.

Lee held off the pursuit of Valor Christian senior Dane Eike in the final stretch to secure the state title with a time of 1 minute, 52.76 seconds.

“Coming around the final bend, the crowd got loud and once I crossed the line, I was just joyful,” Lee said. “The feeling is awesome, I really wanted to win.”

Lee executed the race the way he wanted to, mainly staying out of the close-in physicality of the pack and then using his speed to pull away.

Eike — who won the 3,200 state championship on Thursday — posed the biggest challenge, but Lee’s late move kept him at bay and he finished in 1:53.43, while Fort Collins’ Cadel Ruthven and Cherry Creek’s William McDavid both came across in 1:54.31.

“I knew it was Dane and I could hear him right behind me, so I knew I had to go,” Lee said.

A day earlier, Lee ran the leadoff leg for the ThunderRidge 4×800 meter relay that waged an epic battle with Mountain Vista and Cherokee Trail for the title.

The Golden Eagles and Grizzlies eventually separated before the teams’ anchors stumbled at the finish line with Mountain Vista the victor by 0.03.

“It would have been sweet to win, but just the excitement of the race was enough,” Lee said. “It was incredible. It was definitely the most fun I’ve had at a track meet.”

The Cherokee Trail 4×200 meter relay team also had a ton of fun.

Senior Kahari Wilbon and junior Peyton Sommers were part of a championship-winning team for the Cougars last season in the same event and tasted victory again, this time with junior Nick Hoffsetz and senior Jayden Hughes.

Hughes led off and got the baton to Wilbon, who passed it to Hoffsetz and then they put it in the hands of Sommers — a three-event winner at last season’s state meet — and he finished in style.

The Cougars clocked a time of 1 minute, 24.93 seconds, to set an all-classification state record (besting Valor Christian’s 1:25.46 from 2013) and 5A state meet record (topping George Washington’s 1:25.59 from 2007) in the process.

“The first we got all these guys together, we ran 1:27, so we’ve come a long ways,” Sommers said. “It means everything to do this with these dudes, who I love as brothers, and to do it for my school and everything. It feels great.”

Just as important, the victory moved Cherokee Trail — the defending 5A team state champion — within four points of Mountain Vista going into the final day with a heavy slate of finals that include Sommers to come.

Only three championships were decided in the boys meet on Friday and the last one went to Horizon senior Kaleb Kimaita in the high jump.

Kimaita defended his 2023 title with another, as he won by clearing 6 feet, 7 inches, as he outlasted a trio of competitors who topped out at 6-5 (Fossil Ridge’s Luke Garvin, Eaglecrest’s Jayden Diggins and Fort Collins’ Joe Cottingham).

“It’s pretty cool, it means a lot,” said Kimaita, who bettered his winning jump from last season by an inch. “Our high school record was 6-8 and I remember coming into track, I only wanted to beat that; I never thought I would be a state champion. So, to be here and to win it back-to-back… it means everything, it’s nice.”