4A Boys Track and Field: State Pole Vault Record Falls on Day 1

LAKEWOOD – Cooper VanMaurer doesn’t remember much from his state record vault on Thursday, but he will remember how it felt.

During the first day of the state track and field meet at Jefferson County Stadium, the Grand Junction Central senior won the Class 4A pole vault for the second year in a row with a 4A state meet record of 16 feet, 4.75 inches.

“I started, and I don’t remember much after that, but I felt good when I was falling down,” VanMaurer said. “It was awesome. I looked at the bar and it was still up and I was like, ‘Oh, I finally made it.’”

VanMaurer beat the previous 4A meet record of 16-0 by Thompson Valley’s Becker Ell in 2021. Discovery Canyon’s Quinn Pascual was second, at 15-7.

Although he won the title a year ago, VanMaurer came into Thursday expecting Pascual to win. Pascual was the top seed, at 16-4.75, while VanMaurer has been battling a bone bruise on his ankle all year. He came in with a season-best of 15-10 and he was in some pain during warmups.

“All season (Pascual) was above me,” he said. “I was like, ‘Ah, I wish I was healthy.’ But then we got here, and I was not expecting to do so good. I was expecting to say good job to Quinn and give him the state title, but I guess I didn’t feel that bad. … At the beginning it was (painful) and then I took some ibuprofen and got the adrenaline going, and it didn’t bother me much.”

VanMaurer won the title by clearing 16-1, while Pascual missed all three attempts, including one in which his pole snapped. After setting the record at 16-4.75, VanMaurer went for 16-8, but just missed.

Still, he leaves as a two-time champ before heading off to compete for Colorado Mesa.

“I’m so happy,” he said. “It’s just overwhelming.”

Roosevelt’s Jayden Nohr got some redemption for last year when an injury prevented him from going for a state title in the long jump. On Thursday, the senior won the 4A title with a leap of 23 feet, 2.5 inches. Green Mountain’s Jake Swanson – seeded 10th coming in – was the second, at 22-5.5.

It was the second career title for Nohr, who won the 3A championship in 2022 while at Berthoud.

“It means a lot,” said Nohr, who has battled back from a hamstring injury during the 2024 state meet. “It was really hard to get my hamstring back up to where it needed to be. Most of the season’s been a struggle to make sure I’m healthy, making sure I’m stepping up. I had a few zingers a few times, a lot of (physical therapy). I was lucky enough to be healthy today.”

After transferring to Roosevelt and placing second in 4A in 2023, Nohr was one of the favorites for the title last year. About 30 minutes before he could jump, however, he tore his hamstring while running in the 400-meter relay.

“I felt it pop, and I hobbled through the finish line,” he said.

Thursday’s jump didn’t top his personal best of 23-9, but Nohr, who is headed to UCCS, was all smiles.

“(Jumping) 23-2 is super solid for this season, just because it’s been a struggle,” he said. “I jumped my PR in junior season before I ended up getting hurt. To be able to get back to almost where I was at is a great feeling.”

In the 3,200 meters, Niwot’s Ryder Keeton wasn’t the favorite, but he stood atop the podium at the end, surging past the field in the last 200 meters.

A junior, Keeton finished in 9:02.44, which was 13.41 seconds faster than his seed time. Cheyenne Mountain’s Brogan Collins, the top seed, was second, in 9:03.22, while Niwot’s Hunter Robbie was third, in 9:03.40.

“I definitely thought I had a shot,” said Keeton, who was seeded fifth. “I felt very fit in workouts and races going in, and I knew I had some leg speed, some 800 speed that other guys maybe didn’t have. So, I knew when it came to the end, I would be able to have a shot at it.”

Cheyenne Mountain’s Aiden Le Roux, who finished sixth, led for most of the race, but with 600 meters to go, Robbie took the lead. Keeton kept an eye on his teammate.

“I thought I need to at least go with him to get as much points for our team as I could,” he said. “I definitely tried to get with him. Some other guys kind of blew past me and I ended up working my way around that, but overall, I think I did well going with them and responding.

“It was hard because Aiden kind of took it out for us, which I’m glad he did so that we could get a good time. It led me to have good positioning and have a lot going into the end. I felt good with 400 to go. Then about 300 to go and 200 to go, I got good positioning, and I saw my teammate, Hunter, in front of me, and I just knew that I had it to kick to the end.”

Niwot also won the 3,200-meter relay for the third year in a row. The Cougars posted a time of 7 minutes, 51.53 seconds in a race that had two false starts. Thompson Valley was second, at 7:56.81. Quinn Sullivan, Cole Mazurana, Gavin Engtrakul and Rocco Culpepper teamed up for Niwot in the relay.

In the discus, Rifle junior Yadier Loya won the title with a throw of 160 feet, 7 inches, outlasting Lutheran’s Alex Zakhem, who was second at 159-5.

Loya, who was 16th in Class 3A last year, was the top seed coming in with a season-best of 161-0. He hit 146-5 on his first throw and wasn’t able to top that until his sixth and final attempt. Zakhem, the ninth seed, hit a PR of 159-5 on his second throw.

Through five events, Niwot has the lead in the team standings, with 30 points. Cheyenne Mountain is second at 19 points, with seven other teams with at least 10 points.