Both Grandview and Cherokee Trail can count the many ways that the Class 5A boys state track championship got away from them, but the Cougars and Wolves excelled at the season-ending meet.
Athletes from those two powerhouses that finished second and third, respectively, behind Fountain-Fountain Fort Carson at the May 15-17 meet at Jefferson County Stadium make up a large share of the 2014 Aurora Sentinel All-City Boys Track Team, which is based primarily on state results.
A dropped baton in the prelims of the 4×400 meter relay ultimately spelled doom to Cherokee Trail’s hopes of winning a second consecutive 5A crown, as the Cougars watched helplessly as Fountain-Fort Carson and Grandview battled in the final race with the title at stake.
Senior Brandon Singleton did his best to put Cherokee Trail in position to win. The Oklahoma State-bound speedster — running “angry” after getting edged at the finish line of the 4×200 meter relay a day earlier — claimed state titles in both the 200 and 400 meters and finished off the Cougars’ second place result in the 4×100 on the final day.
Seniors Mar’Keith Bailey and Evan White and sophomore Quincey Voss ran the first three legs of the 4×200, which ended when Fountain-Fort Carson’s anchor runner edge Singleton at the finish line before both runners’ momentum took them to the ground.
Junior Ivan Johnson led off the 4×100 relay for Cherokee Trail.
Individually, senior Harley Korte and junior Kyree Herron performed well for the Cougars, as Korte cleared 14 feet, 6 inches, to take fourth in the pole vault and a leap of 45 feet, 6 inches, landed Herron — who also ran on the 4×100 relay — third in the triple jump.
Grandview got big performances from senior JR Smith and junior Triston Sisneros, who combined to place in three events.
Sisneros led Aurora hurdlers in both the 110 (3rd) and 300 (2nd) events and ran with Nick Ferguson, Isaiah Lang and Beau Martinez on the Wolves’ sixth-place 4×400 relay, while Smith earned a podium spot in all three jumping events, topped by his runner-up result in the long jump.
Smoky Hill’s Blake Yount battled to the wire for a state championship in the 800 meters, but lost on a lean to Denver East star Cerake Geberkidane. Yount still finished the season with his name in the state recordbooks with the time of 1 minute, 51.63 seconds he ran at the Centennial League Championships.
Yount didn’t medal in the 1,600, but was the lone Aurora athletes to make state in the event, while seniors Ryan Parker and Jemal Ali, junior Cody Miller and sophomore Philipp Coen made up Aurora’s only qualifying team in the 4×800 meter relay. The Buffaloes finished 17th.
Aurora sprinters grabbed a total of seven medals in the 100 and 200 finals and Regis Jesuit senior John Schmidt was in the thick of both. He finished second behind Singleton in the 200 and led city runners with his third-place showing in the 100. Sophomore Austin Campbell placed second in the high jump.
Eaglecrest senior Deyon Sizer led Aurora throwers in the shot put (3rd) and was the city’s lone athlete to qualify in the discus, though he scratched all three of his state tries.
The 3,200 meter run was the only event in which no Aurora athlete qualified for the state meet, so the All-City slot goes to Miller of Smoky Hill, who ran the best time of any city athlete this season in the event with his 9:55.52 at the Centennial League Championships.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2014 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-CITY BOYS TRACK TEAM
100 meters: John Schmidt, Regis Jesuit, sr.; 200 meters and 400 meters: Brandon Singleton, Cherokee Trail, sr.**; 800 meters & 1,600 meters: Blake Yount, Smoky Hill, jr.; 3,200 meters: Cody Miller, Smoky Hill, jr. (non-state qualifier); 110 meter & 300 meter hurdles: Triston Sisneros, Grandview, jr.; 4×100 meter relay: Cherokee Trail (Ivan Johnson, Evan White, Kyree Herron, Brandon Singleton); 4×200 meter relay: Cherokee Trail (Mar’Keith Bailey, Evan White, Quincey Voss, Brandon Singleton); 4×400 meter relay: Grandview (Triston Sisneros, Nick Ferguson, Isaiah Lang, Beau Martinez); 4×800 meter relay: Smoky Hill (Ryan Parker, Philipp Coen, Cody Miller, Jemal Ali); High jump: Austin Campbell, Regis Jesuit, soph.; Long jump: JR Smith, Grandview, sr.; Triple jump: Kyree Herron, Cherokee Trail, jr.; Pole vault: Harley Korte, Cherokee Trail, sr.; Discus & Shot put: Deyon Sizer, sr., Eaglecrest
* — State champion
HONORABLE MENTION
Individuals: Mar’Keith Bailey, sr., Cherokee Trail (400 meters); Isaiah Brown, jr., Grandview (110 meter hurdles); Jordan Hatfield, sr., Regis Jesuit (pole vault); Tesfai Holt, sr., Smoky Hill (pole vault); Isaiah Kaiser, sr., Cherokee Trail (300 meter hurdles); Kevin Morales, sr., Vista PEAK (110 & 300 meter hurdles); Ayo Sanusi, sr., Vista PEAK (100 meters): John Schmidt, sr., Regis Jesuit (200 meters); Triston Sisneros, jr., Grandview (high jump); JR Smith, sr., Grandview (triple jump & high jump); Rayvon Solomon, soph., Regis Jesuit (triple jump); CJ Strauch, sr., Grandview (shot put); Isaiah Talbert, sr., Grandview (shot put); Kossi Tchenawou, sr., Grandview (100 meters & 200 meters); David Thornton, Cherokee Trail, soph. (high jump); Shayne Watson, Grandview, jr. (100 meters & 200 meters); Josh Wright, jr., Overland (300 meter hurdles); Relays: Grandview 4×200 meter relay, Overland 4×100 meter relay, Smoky Hill 4×200 and 4×400 meter relays