The 2021 Sentinel Colorado All-Aurora Boys Track team — based on results from the Class 5A, 4A and 2A state track meets — is rife with state champions, including a trio of state championship-winning relay teams as well as individuals in sprinters Sterling Brassfield of Eaglecrest and D’Andre Barnes of Regis Jesuit.
Brassfield finished with the state championship he had always wanted when he ruled the 100 meter dash and nearly got a second in the 200, but he was edged by Barnes, who made the most of his first state meet. He placed top three in both of his individual events and anchored the Raiders’ fourth-place 4×200 meter relay team.
Senior Luke Ming played a state semifinal match with the Eaglecrest boys volleyball team in the morning, then made his way over for the 400 meters, in which he had enough left to finish fourth. It put the Raptors on the podium, where they thought they would be with Langston Williams, the 2019 state champion who was unable to participate because he had to attend a football camp at Colorado State.
Grandview junior Moosah Alsaffar got the ball (in this case the shot put) rolling for Grandview with his second-place finish in the event, which he led until the second-to-last throw from Fossil Ridge’s Braidon Dishman.
Junior Malique Singleton played a large role in the Wolves’ championship as he earned All-Aurora positions in three events, both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles as well as part of the 4×200 meter relay. Singleton finished as the runner-up in the 110s and his fourth place finish in the 300s — combined with the sixth of Sonny Thompkins — gave the Wolves the points they needed.
Juniors Evan Johnson and Charlie Dick and sophomore David Maldonado each ran on the winning 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams. Senior distance runner Peter Fox did his job as well, scoring for Grandview in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. He was top-eight in both.
Cherokee Trail senior Caden Smith finished third in the 800 meter run and also anchored the Cougars’ 4×800 meter relay team, which challenged Mountain Vista before settling for second place. Gavyn Welsh, Reuben Holness and Beck Gutjahr also ran on the relay, which set a school record in the process.
Junior Michael Hemingway grabbed points for Cherokee Trail as well in the high jump, where he cleared 6 feet, 3 inches, to finish in third place, while junior Nate Gaye Jr. kept the jump points coming for the Cougars when he grabbed fourth in the long jump.
Senior Ismael Dembele had a great state meet for Rangeview, earning third place in the triple jump — which he would compete in a week later at the University of Oregon – while he also teamed up with sophomore James Holland and juniors Daryn Ofori-Kuragu and Bryce McCutcheon as the Raiders blindsided the state field by coming in as the ninth-seeded and finishing first.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2021 SENTINEL COLORADO ALL-AURORA BOYS TRACK & FIELD TEAM
4×800 meter relay — Cherokee Trail (Gavyn Welsh, Reuben Holness, Beck Gutjahr, Caden Smith); 110 meter hurdles — Malique Singleton, jr., Grandview; 100 meter dash — Sterling Brassfield, sr., Eaglecrest*; 4×200 meter relay — Grandview (Charlie Dick, Malique Singleton, Evan Johnson, David Maldonado)*; 1,600 meter run — Peter Fox, sr., Grandview; 4×100 meter relay — Grandview (Conrad Casebolt, David Maldonado, Charlie Dick, Evan Johnson)*; 400 meter dash — Luke Ming, sr., Eaglecrest; 300 meter hurdles — Malique Singleton, jr., Grandview; 800 meter run — Caden Smith, sr., Cherokee Trail; 200 meter dash — D’Andre Barnes, soph., Regis Jesuit*; 3,200 meter run — Peter Fox, sr., Grandview; 4×400 meter relay — Rangeview (Ismael Dembele, James Holland, Daryn Ofori-Kuragu, Bryce McCutcheon)*; Long jump — Nate Gaye Jr., Cherokee Trail; High jump — Michael Hemingway, jr., Cherokee Trail; Pole vault — Rylen Lippelt, sop., Grandview; Triple jump — Ismael Dembele, sr., Rangeview; Discus — Nunie Tuitele, jr., Regis Jesuit; Shot put — Moosah Alsaffar, jr., Grandview
* — Class 5A state champion
HONORABLE MENTION: D’Andre Barnes, soph., Regis Jesuit (100 meter dash); Sterling Brassfield, sr., Eaglecrest (200 meter dash); Aaron Briar, jr., Grandview (high jump); Ismael Cisse, soph., Overland (long jump); Zane Cole, soph., Grandview (high jump); Nate Gaye Jr., jr., Cherokee Trail (triple jump); Nabil Hassan, jr., Lotus School For Excellence (3,200 meter run); Donovan Jarmon, sr., Vista PEAK (shot put); Evan Johnson, jr., Grandview (200 meter dash); David Maldonado, soph., Grandview (100 meter dash/200 meter dash); Jordan Mayfield, jr., Vista PEAK (400 meter dash); Mateo Munoz, jr., Grandview (high jump/long jump); Zakary Nfaoui, sr., Rangeview (110 meter hurdles); Sonny Thompkins, sr., Grandview (110 meter hurdles/300 meter hurdles/triple jump); Nunie Tuitele, jr., Regis Jesuit (shot put).
Relays: Cherokee Trail (Jack Pierce, Corey Ratliffe Johnson, Ciaran Hyslop, Ben Reichert), 4×200 meter relay; Regis Jesuit (Josiah Harris, Dylan McCullough, Alonzo Paul, D’Andre Barnes), 4×200 meter relay; Vista PEAK (Cortlen Johnson Jr., Ja’Derris Carr, Kyvae Stuart, Jordan Mayfield), 4×200 meter relay; Grandview (Sonny Thompkins, Malique Singleton, Tanner Lippold, Conrad Casebolt), 4×400 meter relay; Smoky Hill (Nyasha Mpondi, Elijah Hatcher, Andrew Naylor, Terrence Marfo), 4×400 meter relay