Returning Champions Highlight State Qualifiers for 2025 Track and Field Championships
AURORA – The finalized state qualifiers for the 2025 CHSAA Track & Field state championships have been released, and across the five classifications there are 52 former individual champions who are seeking a second title, or more, in 61 events. A total of 43 schools are represented by the returning individual champions.
The tournament is Thursday through Saturday at Jeffco Stadium. Parking is $10 per day per car. Tickets are available, for admission — no cash sales will be made at the venue.
Among returning champions, Class 1A sprint star Roxy Unruh of Cheynne Wells leads the way – the junior is already a two-time champion in both the 100 and 200 meters and also won the 400 last year. After setting the 1A state-meet record time in all three events last year, she’s the top-seeded sprinter in all three events this weekend as she seeks titles six, seven and eight.
Also in 1A, junior Jade Kuntz of Lone Star will be seeking a third straight pole vault title, however she’s seeded just ninth heading into the state meet. Other returning champions among 1A girls include Delaney Bond of Cheraw and Brooklyn Sutter of Merino – Bond won the 800 last year but is seeded second behind Sutter, while Sutter won the 1600 last year but is seeded second behind Bond. Sutter is also the top seed in the 3200, while Bond is the top seed in the 300 hurdles and is seeded fourth in the 100 hurdles. Other returning 1A girls champions include Jaylyn Kechter of Idalia, who set the state-meet record in the discus and is seeded first in the event (as well as fifth in the shot put), Hannah Kugler of Prairie in the high jump (tied for the best seeding mark) and Brooklyn Schaefer of Fleming in the long jump (seeded second in the event, as well as fifth in the triple jump).
For the 1A boys, there are two returning champions in Austin Wright of Arickaree in the discus (seeded fourth, as well as 10th in the 800) and Dallas Calzonetti of South Baca in the 110 hurdles (seeded third in that event, and fourth in the 300 hurdles). And, after winning the 2A discus title last year, Jackson Bevan and Plateau Valley are now in 1A (Bevan is seeded first in the discus and second in the shot put).
In 2A, Taiya Carl of Buena Vista will be seeking a third straight girls pole vault title and is seeded first in that event and the long jump while also ranking fifth in the 100 and eighth in the 200. For the boys, Peyton has a pair of returning champions in Gabe Gatti in the 3200 (he’s seeded seventh in that event, as well as fourth in the 1600 and fifth in the 800) and Matthew Peery in the 800 (he’s seeded 11th). Returning 1600 champion James Talbot of Rangely is seeded fifth in that event (as well as second in the 800), and Joe Probst of West Grand is back to defend his title as the top seed in the 110 hurdles (he’s also seeded second in the 300 hurdles).
In 3A, Peighton Marrero of Strasburg will be seeking a third straight championship in the 400 after winning back-to-back crowns in the event in 2A. She’s seeded third in that event as well as second in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the 200. And Heidi Nielsen of The Classical Academy is seeking to defend her titles in both the 100 and 200 (she set the meet record in last year’s 200 at 24.04), where she is seeded first and second, respectively. Returning high jump co-champions Kyla Wolitzky of Elizabeth and Sophie McNitt of Weld Central are among those tied for sixth in the seeding in the event this year.
For 3A boys, Resurrection Christian’s Jackson Fagerlin is looking to repeat as champion in both the 800 and 1600 and is seeded first in both events – ahead of freshman Lincoln Fagerlin of Resurrection Christian. Troy Sowards of Centauri won the high jump at 6 feet, 9 inches last year and he’s the top seed this year with a mark of 6-11 and he’s also seeded fourth in the long jump. Ryan Martinez of Eaton won the pole vault last year with a meet record 15-5 and is seeded fourth this year – he’s also in the long jump and triple jump. Jack Friesen of Liberty Common was last year’s 400 champion and is seeded sixth in both that event and the 800. Ayden Dodge of Strasburg, the 2A champion last year in the high jump, is tied for 11th in seeding. Brevon Doss of University is the returning 200 champion but is seeded just 17th.
In 4A, the Niwot girls have three individuals who have won a total of six state championships: Addison Ritzenhein of Niwot won both the 1600 and 3200 last year as a sophomore and is seeded first in both events – as well as third in the 800; Jade West won both the shot put and discus last year after winning the shot in 2023 and is seeded first in the shot and fourth in the discus; and Reese Kasper won the 300 hurdles last year and is seeded first in both hurdles events this year.
Meanwhile, Natalie Washburn of Timnath has won back-to-back 800 titles in 2A but will have to win a third at the 4A level. She’s seeded first in the event, as well as fifth in the 400. Roosevelt has a pair of returning champions who are the top seed in their events: Braelyn Bailey in the high jump and Taegan Olson in the pole vault. Reagan Falletta of Pueblo East, who won the 100 hurdles as a freshman last year, is seeded second behind Niwot’s Kasper in both hurdles events, and Falletta is also the top-seeded long jumper. Addison Geraets of Timnath is another making the two-level jump after winning the 2A title in the 300 hurdles last year – she’s seeded third in the event (behind Kasper and Falletta). Lilly Weisbrod and Rifle have moved up from 3A – she shared the high jump title last year and is 17th in seeding this year.
Niwot has another multiple-event champion on the boys side as Rocco Culpepper won both the 800 and 1600 last year and is the top seed in the 1600, and the second seed in the 800. Teagan Malcom of Longmont, who was the 300 hurdles champion in 2024, is seeded first in that event, second in the 110 hurdles, third in the 400 and seventh in the 200. Benson White of Conifer and Asher Serlen of Standley Lake, who shared the high jump crown last year, are seeded first and tied for third, respectively. Cooper VanMaurer of Grand Junction Central, the returning pole vault champion, is seeded second this year, where the competition includes returning 2A champion and fifth-seeded Cameron Glasgow of Timnath, who moves up two classes and is seeded 14th.
Among 5A girls, Rosie Mucharsky of Denver East is seeking a third straight championship in the 800 and is seeded first in that event, as well as first in the 1600. Abigail Trapp of Golden won the 100, 200 and 400 as a freshman in 4A last year, but the Demons have moved up to 5A – she’s seeded seventh in the 100 and 13th in the 200. Likewise, Bradie Menegatti of Pueblo West won 4A championships last year in both the long jump and triple jump and will test her mettle at the 5A level this weekend, but in addition to the long jump (where she’s seeded second) she’s competing instead in the high jump (where she is tied for the best seeing mark).
Kaeli Powe of Cherokee Trail won the triple jump last year and this time around is seeded first in both that event and the long jump as well as second in the 100 hurdles and ninth in the 200. Zenobia Witt of Eaglecrest will attempt to defend the long jump title she won as a freshman (she’s seeded third behind Powe and Menegatti) and Witt is also seeded second in the triple jump and fourth in the 100 hurdles. Another freshman champion in 2024 was Zona Welling of Heritage in the 200, and she’s seeded second in that event as well as third in the 100. And Ellie Londo of Valor Christian, a sophomore champ in the 100, is seeded second in that event and fourth in the 200.
For 5A boys, five-time sprint champion (including all three short distances last year) Peyton Sommers of Cherokee Trail is seeded in only one event – he’s ranked second in the 400. But Jarrius Ward of Overland, who set a state-meet record in winning the discus last year, is the top seed in that event and is ranked fourth in the shot put. Ben Lee of ThunderRidge is top-seeded in the 800 after winning the event last year, and he’s also ranked fourth in the 1600. Another returning champion is Matthew Kwong of Northfield, who won the triple jump title in 4A last year and is seeded 17th in the event. That field includes defending champion Elijah Roy of Pine Creek, seeded ninth.
