Aurora’s present and future in girls track & field was on full display over three days of the Class 5A state meet at Jefferson County Stadium.
The 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Girls Track Team — which is based on performances from the 5A state track meet — is deep in its reach across the city as well as in grade levels.
Athletes from Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest and Grandview combined to claim six state championships and all three programs finished in the top eight in the final team standings.
The area’s biggest individual star — Grandview senior Gabriella Cunningham — ended her career in style with two individual gold medals and secured three All-Aurora first team slots in all. The Louisiana State-bound Cunningham defended last season’s state titles in both the 100 and 300 meter hurdles, while she was also the city’s highest finisher in the 100 meter dash as she grabbed fourth place.
Cunningham won every prelim or final race in the 100 meter hurdles save for a seventh-place at the loaded Arcadia Invitation in April and her state-leading time of 13.61 came in the prelims of the Centennial League Championship meet, while her 41.96 in the 300 meter hurdles at the Cherry Creek Invitational led the state. Cunningham only ran the 200 three times in the entire season, as she qualified with a runner-up finish at the Stutler Twilight meet at the end of April, then advanced through state prelims to run a season-best 12.01 in the championship final.
Cunningham’s dynamic performance helped coach Charles Moss’ team to fifth place, while the Wolves had Aurora’s best 400 meter runner in senior Anna Wehrenberg (who placed ninth in the finals). Wehrenberg also anchored the city’s highest-finishing 800 sprint medley relay team, which was rounded out by seniors Mikaya Singleton and Emerson Deferme plus junior Leaiva Holliman. The Wolves (All-Aurora first teamers last season as well with Deferme, Singleton and Wehrenberg) ran a time of 1:47.17 to finish fifth in the event to lead locals, taking over the event after top-seeded Cherokee Trail failed to make the finals.
Rounding out Grandview’s All-Aurora contingent in is junior Andrea Davis in the high jump and senior Julia Pace in the 800 meters. Davis cleared 5 feet, 3 inches, at the state competition, which put her in in sixth place, while Pace did not qualify for state in the 800, but ran the area’s best time of 2:23.24 at the Stutler Twilight meet.
While Cunningham’s career ended in a fantastic flurry, another got started in a major way for Eaglecrest freshman Zenobia Witt. Witt earned three All-Aurora first team nods herself, beginning with her state championship in the long jump on the meet’s opening day. She knocked off Cherokee Trail junior Kaeli Powe for top honors in the event (with an effort of 19 feet, 9 1/2 inches, that led 5A for the entire season), but also anchored two championship-winning relay teams for coach Chris Carhart’s Raptors.
Senior Anaya Ewing, junior Jaylynn Wilson and sophomore Tatum Gratrix combined with Witt to first win the 4×200 relay — which Eaglecrest has now won for three straight seasons — in a time of 1 minute, 40.42 seconds, that ended as the state’s best regardless of classification. Wilson has been a part of all three of those teams, though she shifted off the anchor leg with the arrival of Witt. The same group then collected the 4×100 crown on the final day (running a 47.88 that was the best of the season in 5A) to join the boys team in giving Eaglecrest a sweep of the championships in the event.
The last All-Aurora girls spot for the Eaglecrest program (which secured fourth in the team standings) went to senior McKenna George, a second-year thrower (and softball standout) who finished as the 5A runner-up in the shot put. George’s top throw of 37 feet, 11 1/2 inches, put her a half-inch in front of teammate Kaitlyn Hendrian for top city honors.
Cherokee Trail finished eighth with a big performance from Powe, a four-event placer who finally captured the state championship she had been in line for in the past two seasons.
Powe came into state as the top seed in the triple jump and kept her competition (namely Witt) at bay with a top leap of 40 feet, 6 1/4 inches, which was shy of her Colorado-best effort of 41-1 achieved in April. Powe’s second All-Aurora first team position came in the 200 meter dash in which she was ninth as the only local to make the finals. She ran 25.54 in the finals, while her best 200 time of the season of 25.07 came May 4 at the Cherry Creek Invitational.
Joining Powe on the All-Aurora team for coach Chris Faust’s Cougars is junior Raziah Hyslop, who topped locals in the discus with a seventh-place result, along with the 4×800 meter relay team of junior Dawn Armstrong, sophomore Joselyn Price and freshmen Clara Kapfer and Jade McDaniel (which did not make it to state, but had the area’s best effort in the event of 10:05.01 at the Stutler Twilight meet). It has been more than two seasons since a Aurora has had a state qualifier in the girls 4×800 relay.
Smoky Hill athletes had particular individual success in the hurdles events — though none could overtake Cunningham individually — but coach Augustine Agyei’s Buffaloes finished strong with the city’s best performance in the 4×400 meter relay.
Senior Danica Azumah, juniors Aniya Sigars and Darian Smith and sophomore Kiyah Enoch turned in a sixth-place result in a time of 3:59.51, which was roughly five seconds faster than their best time coming into the meet, when they were seeded 12th.
Regis Jesuit also had the All-Aurora representative in the pole vault in junior Abigail Frei, who set the school record of 10 feet, 3 inches, at the Rumble On The Divide, but did not make opening height at the state meet. She is joined by senior teammates Erika Danzer and Ashlyn Pallotta, who were the All-Aurora performers in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, respectively.
Neither of the distance runners qualified for the state meet, but Danzer earned her spot with a 5:26.18 showing at the Don Osse Invitational. Pallotta, meanwhile, clocked a time of 11:41.38 in the 3,200 meter final at the Liberty Bell Invitational that was easily the fastest by a local during the campaign.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
