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Area athletes on pace to make a statement
The Kadets’ McLaughlin sets school record, cruises to 3,200 title
LAKEWOOD - Air Academy's Allie McLaughlin started fast and finished faster, running away with the girls 3,200-meter title at the 5A state track meet Friday at Jefferson County Stadium.
The Doherty girls lead all Pikes Peak area teams with 13.5 points, putting them in sixth place after the opening day of the meet, which finishes up today. Arvada leads the girls team race with 18 points, followed by Rocky Mountain and Chaparral with 17 points.
The diminutive McLaughlin broke the Kadets school record that she set last week in the regional meet, finishing in 10 minutes, 49.46 seconds.
She sprinted to the front of the pack in the first 100 yards and didn't slow, running the opening 1,600 meters in 5:07 for a big lead.
"I wanted to pace myself with them but I got ahead fast so I kept going," McLaughlin said."
The cheers for McLaughlin grew with each lap, culminating in a standing ovation for the last 100 meters.
"Oh my gosh, it was great," she said.
The win gave Air Academy 10 points, good for ninth.
Summer Winters tied for fourth in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 3 inches for Doherty. Carly Allen placed fifth in the triple jump, and Lynnea Sjoerdsma finished seventh in the 800.
Allen advanced to today's finals in both hurdles and the long jump.
"We have a shot at top seven and our goal is top five," coach Rob Duensing said.
Palmer's Karen Wyatt placed third in the shot put. Wyatt, who will be a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in June for power lifting, is favored in the discus today, having won it last year.
In the boys team race, Palmer is in fifth with 11 points.
Maurice Blackledge placed fourth in the long jump, and Will Stauffer was fifth in the 800.
The Terrors hope to add more points today with Brendan Jackson in the finals of both hurdles, Antoine Borden in the triple jump and Morgan Thomas in the high jump.
Doherty's Jaden Terry finished third in the discus while Coronado's David Mueller advanced to the finals in the 200 and 400.
Rampart did not score any points but positioned itself for a top five finish today.
Devin Mohn advanced to the finals in the 100, 200, 400 and helped the 400 relay team advance as well. He ran his best time of the season, 10.82 seconds, in the 100 preliminaries.
Corey Clark also advanced to the 400 final for the Rams.
