LOVELAND — Heather Waite, a fourth-place finisher at Class 5A state meet in the pole vault as a junior, was looking for a breakout performance to kick start her senior year.
Friday, she seized it. At the R2-J Invitational, a high-level midseason meet at Loveland High School, Waite won the pole vault by over a foot with a towering mark of 12 feet and half of an inch. The mark was a new personal best, a school record, and places her second in 5A.
“It was 11-8,” Waite said of her previous best. “I haven’t been able to clear anything higher than 11-6 yet this season, so I’m super excited for this.”
Waite, who won the prestigious Mullen Runners Roost Invitational last weekend over defending 5A state champion Megan McCabe of Cherry Creek, set the tone for the Loveland Indians Friday in their quest for another district title.
This year’s edition of the R2-J Meet featured 12 teams, including strong programs from Cheyenne Mountain, Eaton, The Classical Academy, and a portion of Valor Christian’s squad.
The overall meet was scored separately from the R2-J district meet, which is comprised of Loveland, Thompson Valley, Mountain View and Berthoud. The ultimate prize for the district teams is the overall team championship, decided by the total points for both boys and girls teams.
Loveland has won every district championship since the meet began in 1999 and was able to claim another on the strength of its girls program. Loveland’s girls finished first in both the overall and district meets and had a whopping 143 points, 60 ahead of their nearest competitor, The Classical Academy, in the overall meet.
“Our kids really competed well, which is what we ask for,” Loveland coach Paul Quere said about his team’s performance. “There’s a lot of pride on the Loveland side in the R2-J Meet and Thompson Valley, Mountain View and Berthoud all have great teams. We kind of separate that really from the bigger meet, because it means more to our kids and more to our coaches. Obviously, boys and girls, for what we had, had a really outstanding day and I’m just proud of the way they competed.”
Waite’s eye-opening pole vault was the headliner, but the Indians got contributions from Taylor Buschy (fourth in the 100 meters, second in the 200 meters, second in the 400 meters), Alex Koschel (second in the triple jump) and Ashley Krawczuk (second in the 100 meter hurdles, fourth in the high jump).
Loveland’s distance runners also made noise with two sizzling finishes. Ashlyn Brent had a 32-second personal best in the 3,200 with a time of 11:39. She ran a meter behind Thompson Valley’s Ellie Colpitts, who placed fourth in 11:45, the entire race and then turned on the jets the last lap to earn third place and a spot in the top 20 in 5A.
On the boys side, Loveland’s Kyle Brinkman used a similar tactic to win a district championship. Brinkman stayed within 10 feet of Thompson Valley’s Kaleb Simington in the 1,600. Simington boasts the fourth-best 3,200 meter time in 4A at 9:49 and has been the best distance runner in the town of Loveland this spring, but Brinkman had him in sight with 200 meters to go.
A crowded lead pack began their kick together, but Brinkman “found a little gap and got through,” he said. “The last 200 I shifted into gear and took off.”
The closing kick was enough to secure the district title with a time of 4:34.56, just over three seconds clear of Simington.
Mountain View’s boys, one of the top teams in 4A this season, ran away from the field with a commanding 132.5 points. The Classical Academy was second with 97 points.
The Mountain Lions displayed their talent with an 8:13 3,200 meter relay.
“The (4-by-800) went really well, because it was the first time we’ve run our ‘A’ team,” Nick Olson, one of Mountain View’s top sprinters, said afterward. “We ran the fastest time in the state so far for 4A.
“As a team, we’re definitely looking really strong,” Olson added. “Our (4-by-200) is one of the top five teams in the state for 4A, so is our (4-by-400) team, and just now with the (4-by-800), that sets us really high. The boys team is looking really strong and we’re competing really well.”
Thompson Valley also had several great performances. Andrew Bradberry won the 100 and 200 meters with a 10.80 and 22.49 double. His 100 time places him first in the classification. Jake Martinson won the pole vault with a mark of 14 feet, 3 inches — a new Thompson Valley record and the second best vault in 4A this year.
The story of the day was breakout performances. Waite hopes her top-shelf mark leads to greater heights.
“By the end of the season, a really ambitious goal I have is 13-0,” Waite said. “A more realistic one is 12-7.”
After Friday, several R2-J tracksters are leaning towards the ambitious side.
