3A Girls Track & Field: The Classical Academy Wins Two of Three Finals on Friday
By Marcus Hill
Photo: Wallace Photography
LAKEWOOD — The Classical Academy’s pursuit of a third-consecutive 3A girls title remains alive after strong performances Friday.
TCA secured victories in two of the three girls’ finals at Jeffco Stadium and have 59 points ahead of the final day of the Colorado State High School Track Championships.
Vivian Jack started the Titans’ romp and outshined Eaton’s top seed Delaney Reuter in the open 800 to win the event with a time of 2 minutes, 15.22 seconds. Jack and Reuter held shares of the lead throughout the final 300 meters of the race, but Jack surged past Reuter on the final straightaway.
“I’ve wanted to win this for a while and my work is finally paying off,” Jack said. “Going into the race, I knew there was a chance I could win and my dad told me, ‘If you don’t shoot, you’ll never score.’ I decided I had to give it a shot. If I didn’t get it, at least I went for it. I decided not to back down during the race and fought as hard as I could.”
Jack’s teammate, Yana Yuschalk, placed fourth at 2:18.91 and the Titans had four runners in the top eight. Yuschalk managed fourth despite having to ward off a swarm of competitors within range of her on the first lap.
“Before the race, my coach told me no more of this scared Jana,” Yuschalk said. “Be the old Jana. And I thought about that and that helped me go out boldly and confidently.”
The Titans 4×200 relay had a bold performance and TCA clocked in at 1:43.19 to best Coal Ridge, which placed second at 1:44.32. The Titans’ time in the 4×200 marked their best of the season and earned The Classical Academy a vital 10 points for the team race.
Eaton’s Isabella Ramsey earned 10 points for her school with a first-place 38 foot, 3-inch toss in the shot put and won by more than two feet. It didn’t matter that her final two throws were scratches, Ramsey’s first heave of finals gave her the distance necessary to separate from her opposition.
