Eagle Valley sprinters give relay records a scare with scintillating performances at home invitational
Even though Eagle Valley graduated the Western Slope track athlete of the year and an all-state 300-meter hurdler, somehow this sprint crew seems better than last year’s.
“I would say we are,” senior Blake Anderson said after contributing to wins in the 4×100, 4×200 and mixed 4×400 relays at his team’s home invitational on Saturday in Gypsum. “We were kind of nervous going into the season, but now that we’re kind of here doing it, it’s looking awesome.”
Even without the aforementioned Kaden Kraft and Kevin Hasley, both key contributors to the three state-qualifying sprint relays the Devils sent to Jeffco Stadium last spring — Eagle Valley smoked a 42.93 in the 4×100 on Saturday. That’s 0.04 seconds faster than the best time the team put down all of last year. Oh, and it’s only April 5.
“We still kind of consider it early season,” Anderson continued. “So we’re hoping to get into that 42.5 or faster.”
Longtime coach Jeff Shroll — who has seen his fair share of spicy sprint squads over the years, including the one that clocked the current standard, 42.82, 20 years ago — was a little more reluctant to proclaim one group’s superiority but smiled nonetheless when asked.
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“You never want to compare them, but they are definitely toying with both the 4×100 and 4×200 records,” he said. “We are close last year, but I think this group is going to do it.”
Anderson joined Kingston Clous, Robert Sanders and Jackson McKibban on the one-lap relay while Tiago Horruitiner hopped in for Clous in the 4×200, which took the title over runner-up Steamboat Springs by 1.51 seconds and missed the 10-year-old school record by just 0.27 seconds. Clous (11.20) and Sanders (11.27) were first and third in the open 100 and Horruitiner (21-0) and Clous (20-6) went 1-2 in the long jump.
“It’s a great environment. Iron sharpens iron — it’s really true,” Sanders said of the fast-twitch friends. “I think (Kingston) pushes me and he’s a great mentor and Blake has crazy good top-end speed and is just an all-around freak athlete. It’s just awesome getting to run with him, too. He makes it fun. I love our team this year.”
Anderson said running cross-country this fall and competing in indoor track over the winter has increased his endurance. During the week, he bounces between mid-distance workouts and repeat 200s at practice. The cardiovascular cocktail seems to be working.
“I think it’s making me run the fastest 400s of my life,” Anderson said, referencing his primary event: the one-lap sprint. At the Mickey Dunn Invite a week ago in Grand Junction, the Colorado Mesa University hopeful sliced 0.75 seconds off his previous personal best with a 50.77 run. Anderson would like to make the state finals and perhaps even challenge Gino Giovagnoli’s 10-year-old school record of 49.66. Meanwhile, both Clous and Sanders are sniffing at sub-11 for the 100-meter dash.
“If you got a guy doing that, that’s how we did it way back in the day with (Sean) Matheson and those guys,” Shroll said. “They’re hand offs are just really tight (and) they’re working hard.”
Other notable results from the day included Cooper Hern (131-0), Patricio Morales (11:28.92) and Tyler Blair (1:56.28) taking silvers in the discus, 3200 and 800-meter runs, respectively. Hern and Zach Bourke also picked up top-5 finishes in the shot put.
Battle Mountain’s Nate Beuche won the 1600-meters by six seconds and came back to place sixth in the 800 later in the afternoon. His respective times of 4:40.37 and 2:08.05 were both personal bests.
“Everything has been good,” the sophomore said of his season thus far. “I ran all winter, so I think that helped a lot and every single race I’ve just been consisting PRing.”
The Huskies tallied 23 points to take 10th. Coal Ridge racked up 149.5 points to top the 15-team field, with Eagle Valley (128) and Steamboat Springs (89) coming second and third. The Devils, however, went a little lighter on the distance side, with Tyler Blair running just the 800 and his twin, Dylan, a national qualifier in the indoor 3200, getting a rest day entirely. Shroll said his team’s dedication throughout the winter track season and into early spring is a large reason they’re scoring points in every event.
“We’re staying deep across the board,” he said. “Hard work is contagious. We’re really proud of everybody and how hard they’re working.”
