LAKEWOOD – During the 3,200-meter run on Friday, Battle Mountain’s Will Brunner heard breathing behind him. 

He knew immediately that it was teammate Porter Middaugh.

“I was not surprised and I know how he kind of breathes because we run together all the time,” Brunner said. “So I could tell without really looking back that it was him.”

On the second day of the state track and field championships at Jefferson County Stadium, Brunner held off Middaugh for the Class 4A title in the boys 3,200. Brunner successfully defended his title with a 4A state meet record time of 9 minutes, 1.22 seconds. Middaugh finished in 9:01.33.

“He was really close. He almost got me,” Brunner said. “It was a lean at the line.”

Also on Friday, Niwot sophomore Rocco Culpepper won the 800 meters, Dylan Jessop of Montrose won the long jump and Riverdale Ridge took the title in the 800-meter relay.

In the 3,200 meters, Brunner and Middaugh both broke the previous meet record of 9:03.83 by Longmont’s Connor McCormick in 2022.

“No, (Middaugh) didn’t make it easy at all,” Brunner said. “He might have been seeded 10th, but he is so fit; unbelievably fit and an unbelievable racer, so I knew he was not gonna make it easy. I knew that no one was gonna make it easy in that race.”

Brunner said he would have been happy for Middaugh had he won, but he admitted it felt pretty darn good to repeat as the champion. Brunner tore his ACL while skiing and missed his freshman season and then missed out on state by one qualifying spot in 2022 before taking back-to-back titles.

“The repeat is incredible,” said Brunner, who finished fifth in the 800m later in the day. “It’s really cool to repeat. I’m really fortunate to be able to do that, but then also like it’s my last 3,200m in Colorado. This has been kind of my event on the track, so just to come back and take the win was incredible.”

Culpepper, one of the top young stars in the state, claimed the first individual state title of his career in the 800m, posting a time of 1:55.23 to edge Xzavier Campos of Coronado (1:55.79).

“It feels really, really good,” Culpepper said of his first individual title. “The race was super fun. I got really excited. I felt really good. I’ve done lots to prepare and the last 200 meters, I felt awesome. It’s a pretty awesome feeling. To win it, it’s really awesome.”

Culpepper was a part of two state title relays last year, as well as Niwot’s victory in the 3,200-meter relay on Thursday.

Jessop, a senior at Montrose, got his first career state title with a leap of 22 feet, 8 inches in the long jump. He edged Mykah Clark of Mesa Ridge, who had a jump of 22-5.5.

Jessop had not placed in the long jump previously, but in the triple jump he was runner-up on Thursday and third place in 2023.

Riverdale Ridge won a tight battle for the 800-meter relay, posting a time of 1:28.25 to edge Montrose, who was second at 1:28.65. The foursome of D’Andrae Vermilye, Grayson Mommens, Tanner Lothrop and Izaiah Bustamante led the Ravens to the title.

Niwot is leading a tight team race through eight of 18 events. The Cougars have 38 points, followed by Coronado (36) and Montrose (34).