Another outstanding season on the track for Aurora teams wrapped up with five total event state championships and a slew of other trips to various spots on the medal podium.
A trio of individual state champions and one record-setting relay team highlight the 2012 Aurora Sentinel All-City Boys & Girls Track teams, which is based on performance over the three days of the Class 5A state track meet at Jefferson County Stadium.
Rangeview senior Katie Pham, Eaglecrest senior Danielle Williams, Gateway junior Zack Golditch and the Rangeview boys 4×400 meter relay team of junior Jordan Medina and seniors Tyler Bloyer, Khalil Sellers and Steffen Johnson led the state in their events for most of the season and capped them off with state titles.
Pham — the 5A girls state discus champion in 2010 — was a double winner in both girls throwing events and also earned points for sportsmanship when she gave her first-place medal to Grandview’s Adaeze Obinnah, who was injured during the competition and might have challenged for the top spot. Pham posted winning throws of 141 feet, 3 inches in the discus and 39-5 1/2 in the shot put, which was contested in soggy conditions.
Golditch made history by become Gateway’s first thrower to win a state championship when he took the 5A discus with a top throw of 167 feet, 11 inches — short of his season-best throw of 171 feet — and the Missouri-bound Williams finally won the state title in the triple jump. Williams, who handily won the state title with an effort of 39-6, went on to place fifth at the U.S. Junior Track Championships
A challenge for Heritage twice spurred the Rangeview relay team to new heights, as the Raiders set a new state record of 3 minutes, 14.73 seconds to beat the Eagles at the Thomas Jefferson Twilight Meet.
At the state meet, Rangeview edged Heritage by 0.02 of a second.
Among other All-City Team highlights was Rangeview’s Rikki Gonzales topping Aurora girls in all three distance events, Grandview’s Glen Taylor and Smoky Hill’s Zainab Sanni winning the city sprint crowns and Cherokee Trail athletes (Devin Bell and Amanda Andrews) sweeping hurdles honors.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
2012 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-CITY BOYS & GIRLS TRACK TEAMS
BOYS — 100, 200 meters: Glen Taylor, Grandview, sr.; 400 meters: Jordan Medina, Rangeview, jr.; 800 meters: Tanner Ruhl, Smoky Hill, sr.; 1,600, 3,200 meters: Kyle Ames, Smoky Hill, sr.; 110, 300 meter hurdles: Devin Bell, Cherokee Trail, sr.; 4×100 meter relay: Grandview (Isaiah Jackson, Pedro Borunda, Kossi Tchenawou, Glen Taylor); 4×200 meter relay: Grandview (Isaiah Jackson, Pedro Borunda, Kossi Tchenawou, Glen Taylor); 4×400 meter relay: Rangeview (Jordan Medina, Tyler Bloyer, Khalil Sellers, Steffen Johnson)*; 4×800 meter relay: Smoky Hill (Zach McConnel, Tanner Ruhl, Clayton Adams, Dylan Adams); High jump: Avery Roberts, Eaglecrest, sr.; Long jump: Marcus Rhodes, Smoky Hill, sr.; Triple jump: Thomas Singleton, Cherokee Trail, sr.; Pole vault: Jordan Hatfield, Regis Jesuit, soph.; Discus: Zack Golditch, Gateway, jr.*; Shot put: Dillon Zacharias, Cherokee Trail, sr.
GIRLS — 100, 200 meters: Zainab Sanni, Smoky Hill, jr.; 400 meters: Brianna Pardner, Overland, jr.; 800, 1,600, 3,200 meters: Rikki Gonzales, Rangeview, sr.; 100-, 300-meter hurdles: Amanda Andrews, Cherokee Trail, fr.; 4×100 meter relay: Smoky Hill (Zainab Sanni, Melissa Klatt, Crystal Samuel, Rachel Hunt); 4×200 meter relay: Eaglecrest (Danielle Williams, Tashay Brown, Alicia Taurchini, Ashley Windom); 4×400 meter relay: Regis Jesuit (Emily Mauser, Sydney Rohlwing, Makenzie Burnett, Kellyn Toole); 4×800 meter relay: Smoky Hill (Brynell Yount, Alex Ryan, Chloe Andrie, Elysia Erickson); 800 sprint medley relay: Overland (Brianna Pardner, Tyler Allen, Lamija Spahic, Shekirah Marzett); High jump: Kelsey Cleere, Eaglecrest, jr.; Long jump, triple jump: Danielle Williams, Eaglecrest, sr.*; Pole vault: Anna Loken, Grandview, sr.; Discus, shot put: Katie Pham, Rangeview, sr.*
* — State champion
