(Photo courtesy of Jordan Burnett)

Jordan Burnett is fast. Any questioning of that fact would disappear faster than any hopes of catching as she blitzes her way to another win in the 100-meter dash. Or the 200. Or the 400.

The sprinter from South Park is looking to do something that she has come close to in her two previous state track meets, but never been able to complete.

Burnett has sprinting titles on her mind. In the 100, she finished seventh as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore. Now in her senior season, she came into the year tired of watching others finish ahead of her. So tired of it that no one has finished ahead of her in any race she has run this year.

What started as just something for her to do in sixth grade has turned into a passion that will proper her to the college ranks and leave a lasting impact at South Park for years to come.

“I joined track in sixth grade as another leisure activity to pass the time here in the mountains,” Burnett said. “It’s pretty secluded so I just joined and ended up loving it.”

Her running career started as a kid when she jumped into trail runs with her mom and grandpa. She didn’t take it too seriously and it was something to do for fun.

When she got into organized running, she fell in love. She began competing in the hurdles races, but quickly involved into just a dead sprinter where she has shined ever since.

“I never ran the long distances,” Burnett said. “In sixth grade, the coach made us do all the events from the 100 to the 1,600. After looking at all of my times, we decided that the short sprints were going to be better for me.”

(Photo courtesy of Jordan Burnett)

In that sixth grade year, she found herself hanging with the eighth grade runners which was her first indication that she might be pretty good at this. She qualified for state as a freshman and a sophomore and even got herself on the podium.

This year has been the next step in that evolution.

Burnett went to the CSU-Pueblo Early Bird track meet where she claimed gold in the 100, 200 and 400. She beat runners from Fountain-Fort Carson, Pueblo West and other big track programs.

Her results since then have been similar. She competed at the Max Marr Invitational in Berthoud, the Husky Invite at Battle Mountain, the Tiger Invitational in Del Norte and the Blossom Invitational in Canon City.

She has finished no worse than first place in any of those events.

Throughout her high school athletic career, Burnett has been more than just a really fast runner. She’s a three-sport athlete for the Burros. She totaled 85 kills in 37 sets for the volleyball team this year and before that, averaged 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game on the basketball court.

But when she begins classes at Colorado Mesa University next fall, she’ll be going as a sprinter.

“My junior year is when I decided to get more serious about it and make track my primary sport,” Burnett said. “I never thought it would be track that I pursued. It’s so thrilling to think about. I always wanted to pursue sports in college but I never knew which sport it was going to be or where I would end up. To know that I’ll be in Colorado still and running track, which I love, is really exciting.”

Rampart and Regis Jesuit were among schools that claimed gold medals at the Legend Titan Clash track and field meet.

Despite rainfall that moved through the Denver area, track teams were able to get to Jeffco Stadium for the Ralston Valley Invite.

Ralston Valley came away with a clean sweep as both the boys and girls won the Arvada city track and field championships.

ERIE — Track and field teams competed at the Erie Tiger Invite on Saturday with Erie and Niwot taking first place in several events.

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Girls track

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(Brent Murphy)

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Boys track

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(Brent Murphy)

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Girls field

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(Brent Murphy)

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Boys field

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(Brent Murphy)

The boys and girls track and field season is underway as teams competed at the B-Town Opener in Broomfield.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

Niwot junior Taylor James has been named the best girls track athlete in Colorado by Gatorade.

James, who was named the Class 4A track athlete of the year last season, is the first girl from Niwot to win the track award, and becomes the fifth Niwot student to be honored by Gatorade overall. Niwot’s most recent Gatorade winner was Elise Cranny for girls cross country in 2013-14.

At last year’s state meet, James won the 800, 200 and 400, and was part of Niwot’s championship 4×400 team. She set a meet record in the 800 (2:08.29). This year’s state meet, of course, was wiped out by the Coronavirus pandemic.

In April, Gatorade announced that it would continue to honor spring sport athletes despite the cancellation of the season nationwide.

This past fall, James was part of Niwot’s championship-winning girls cross country team, and she placed 10th individually in Class 4A.

“Taylor’s range and versatility are unmatched,” said Niwot coach Maurice Henriques. “Her athleticism shows clearly given her ability to run against the best from the 100 to the 1600, and on the cross country course.”

A senior this coming school year, James has a 4.0 GPA, and has volunteered locally on behalf of Lifeline Puppy Rescue.

(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

Emily Cavey’s high school career can be compared to what we have experienced this spring with Covid-19 restrictions. The optimism and excitement of a state tournament experience cut short by events outside our immediate control. A spring sports season to refresh our energy and enthusiasm that never got off the ground.

Emily began her athletic career at Berthoud High School with the prospect of multiple Division 1 scholarship opportunities because of her outstanding performance in youth summer basketball tournaments.

She received All-State recognition as a sophomore after the 2017-2018 season. In the track season that same year, Emily finished 2nd in the discus at the state track meet.

What a great way to end her athletic year and Emily was excited for another successful summer basketball season.

That is when Emily’s athletic career would hit its first obstacle. In the first quarter of the first game that summer, Emily landed “differently” on a layup drive and couldn’t continue playing despite her best effort to stay in the game.

She had torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and was facing a lengthy six-month rehabilitation process. This recovery was daunting and had her reflecting on her goals and outlook on school, sports, and interacting with others.

Emily realized that others could not see the pain she was in and the determination that was inside herself to make a complete recovery from her injury. She changed her outlook towards others by understanding that she could not know what others were going through and the struggles they faced on a daily basis. Her daily routine of school, rehab, and family kept her focused on the positive aspects of making a complete recovery for her junior year.

Emily became involved as a Peer Support Counselor, member of the Link Crew, One Love’s Teen Dating Violence program, and SafeTALK Suicide Prevention.

During her rehabilitation process, Emily shared her knowledge of ACL injuries and rehab by introducing exercises to her teammates to help prevent them from suffering an ACL injury. She stayed engaged with the team by becoming an ‘assistant coach’ and offering advice to her teammates on the bench.

The rehabilitation process was almost too much for her to handle, but Emily stayed focused on helping her teammates. She was determined to be in top shape when she finished her rehabilitation so she would be ready to compete at her best level.

Her best proved to be pretty good as Emily finished the 2018-2019 basketball season and then qualified for the 2019 state track meet in the discus before suffering a broken wrist the week before the state track meet. This was another obstacle that Emily would have to face, and it limited her ability to play basketball during the summer season.

A year removed from her ACL and hand injury Emily had the senior basketball season she had been hoping for. She led her Berthoud Spartan team to a final four appearance in the 2019-2020 state tournament before an overtime loss to Mullen cut short their run to a championship.

Her comeback from her injury was rewarded with a 1st Team All-State selection. Being selected to play in “The Show” basketball all-star game helped prove that Emily was back at the top of her game again.

(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

Emily reflected that her fight to come back from her injury gave her an idea of what struggles Freddie Steinmark must have experienced as he waged his fight against cancer. “He struggled with an awful injury that led to his death and even though I cannot relate to something so tragic I can relate to the loss and fight for the game.”

Emily made sure that her arduous rehabilitation did not cause her academics and community service activities to suffer. Emily maintained a top 25 class ranking, carried a weighted GPA over 4.0, and graduated with multiple college credits from AP courses. She served as committee chair as part of National Honor Society and in multiple leadership positions for Future Farmers of America (FFA). Her participation in 4-H got serious as she has held all executive leadership positions and been multiple time swine, sheep, and overall showman.

Emily was very appreciative when told of her selection as the 2020 Freddie Steinmark Award winner. She was traveling with her family for a trip to Yellowstone National Park. “Wow! This is awesome!” Emily exclaimed. “I can’t thank you enough for believing in me and appreciating my story. I have learned about perseverance and patience through all of this.”

Emily will take the lessons she has learned with her to Tarleton State University in Stephensville, Tex. this fall as she will help launch a new Division I women’s basketball program at the school.

The Steinmark Award was established in 1972 and honors Freddie Steinmark, who excelled in football, basketball, and baseball while attending Wheat Ridge High School in the 1960s. He was also an outstanding student and was active in several school and community-oriented endeavors before attending the University of Texas, where he helped the Longhorns to the national football title in 1969. Freddie died from cancer in 1971 at the age of 22. Students athletes nominated for the award must be seniors who have maintained a GPA of at least 3.0 and participated in at least two varsity sports, having earned at least All-Conference in one sport and All-State in another.

Emily is the 48th winner of the girls Steinmark Award since it was first presented to girls in 1974. The first girl to win the Steinmark Award was Anne Vento of Pueblo Centennial in 1974. There were two winners of the award in 1984. Cavey will be honored as part of the CHSCA All-State Games hosted by Colorado State University – Pueblo. The All-State football game is planned for July 17. Emily will be joined by Ralston Valley’s Caleb Rillos, who will receive the boys’ Steinmark Award.

Dave Logan of Wheat Ridge High School, and now the extremely well-known sports announcer for the Denver Broncos and other sports endeavors, was the first winner of the award in 1972.

In 2019, Kain Medrano of Pueblo East received the boys’ Steinmark and Tess Hornung of Kit Carson was the recipient for the girls.

Finalists for the 2020 Steinmark Award: Joslin Blair, Eagle Valley; Cali Clark, Cherry Creek; Makayla Middleton, Golden

Jeffco Stadium and North Area Athletic Complex turned on its lights last week to recognize the Colorado High Schools Activities Association’s state track meet and honor the Class of 2020 and student-athletes across the state.

Jeffco Stadium would have hosted all-classifications of the state track meet May 21-23. NAAC’s soccer and football fields would have hosted girls soccer, along with boys and girls lacrosse games this spring.