Shayna Yon was a full throttle when she hit the straightaway of the 200. Photos by Alan Versaw.
You had the feeling when you saw the rosters of athletes going down to Great Southwest that this was shaping up to be Colorado's best showing at Great Southwest in years.
And it was.
The girls came back as meet champions, while the boys rose a few notches from recent years to finish fifth.
Individual titles cames in bundles for Colorado. Haley Showalter got things started off with the hammer throw title on Friday, and would come back on Saturday to claim the discus title. Also on Friday, Tabor Scholl and Marcus Quere would sweep the steeplechase crowns, and a 4x800 team of the sisters Mooney, Lauren Offerman, and Riley Cooney would dominate that event.
The titles continued on Saturday, though perhaps at a bit slower of a pace. Shayna Yon hit the gas hard enough to take the regular 200 meters title. A 4x400 team that included, I believe, Becca Schulte, Damajahnee Birch, Nicole Montgomery, and Julia Hall, ran 3:41.02 for a smashing win. Maya Evans, with a little assist from the wind, went 20-8.5 for the long jump title.
It was not, however, solely the event winners who led to the Colorado team crown. It was also very much the second, third, and fourth place finishes for the girls that helped push Colorado over the top. Riley Cooney and Tabor Scholl went 2-3 in the 800. Almost as nice, Nicole Montgomery and Becca Schulte earned a 2-4 in the 400. Shayna Yon added a fourth in the elite 100 (though that did not count toward team points).
Megan Mooney, whom we haven't seen run in a while, and Zoe Gilbertson added thirds in the mile and 300 hurdles, respectively. Andrea Willis couldn't crack the code of the Weeks twins, but still ended up a strong third in the pole vault.
The Colorado boys also picked up some nice places from Blake Yount in the 800 (second), the 4x800 (third), Ben Butler in the steeple (fourth), Caleb Ojennes in the 400 (fourth), Noah Riley in the mile (third, after earning back a couple places on the final lap), and a third for the 4x400.
A drought of points from field events pretty much ruled out the possibility of the Colorado boys rising any higher than their fifth-place finish. Perhaps next year a larger field events delegation will make the trip.
And, on a Colorado-ish note, former Cherry Creek standout Ashley Miller won the 100 hurdles in 14.03.