Many track athletes who set state records feel accomplished, but for Smoky Hill’s Blake Yount, there wasn’t a whole lot of satisfaction Saturday for the ultra-fierce competitor.
Yount set the Colorado state record in the 800 meter run of 1 minute, 51.20 seconds in the Cherry Creek/Grandview Invitational at Stutler Bowl — breaking his own state record in the process — though it didn’t meet his goals quite yet.
“It’s not exactly what I wanted; I wanted to go in the 1:50s,” Yount said. “It’s still the record, but I’m not happy with it. I want to go faster.”
The University of Oklahoma signee ran the race exactly as he wanted to, as he got out in front early in the opening lap, with Cherry Creek’s Daniel Book settled in right behind him, then pulled away with about a half lap remaining. He powered across the finish line in 1:51.20, bettering the 1:51.63 that gave him the state record on the same track in 2014 at the Centennial League Championships.
“I think I’m just not fit enough to run that fast yet,” Yount said. “I just ran my race. Looking back, I think I ran really well and I can’t think of any immediate area where I could take off more time. I think it just comes down to fitness and how much harder I can work in practice.”
Yount finished his day by teaming up with Tahir Hopkins, Dominique Carrasco and Kevin Del Mazo Apablaza on a dynamic 4×400 meter relay that won comfortably.
The Cherry Creek/Grandview Invitational proved beneficial for a lot of other Aurora athletes, particularly those on the Cherokee Trail girls team.
The Cougars piled up 166 points to win the competition by more than 100 over runner-up Valor Christian, boosted by big showings from a variety of athletes.
Senior sprinter Shayna Yon won the 100 meters and the long jump, while junior Amazing Ashby outdueled teammate Sydney Larkin in the triple jump with a school-record leap of 39 feet, 3 1/4 inches, and also took second in the long jump behind Yon.
On the boys side, Grandview’s Triston Sisneros ran a smoking time of 37.62 seconds in the 300 meter hurdles and was second in the high jump behind winning teammate Uche Obinnah. Overland’s Josh Wright prevented a hurdles sweep by Sisneros by winning the 110 hurdles.
• Cesar Estrada pitched three solid innings and drove in three runs to help the Rangeview baseball team post a 16-6 win over rival Grandview on May 2. Senior Evan Kennedy knocked in three runs —including a two-run double with the bases loaded and a game-ending sacrifice fly — as the Raiders secured the fourth automatically qualifying spot from the EMAC for the Class 5A postseason.
• The Vista PEAK girls cleaned up at the Colorado 7 Championship track meet May 2 at Weld Central High School, as the Bison had nine eight event championships and finished second as a team. Maya Evans (100 and 200 meters) and Imelda Chavez (1,600 and 3,200 meters) won double championships for Vista PEAK, while Aaliyah Carter, Erica Paul, Kamryn Scott and Alexandra Johnson were among others who had big days. Noah Butler placed in the top three in all three jumping events for the Vista PEAK boys, which also got a win in the 400 meters from Alan Almieda as they finished third as a team.
• The EMAC Championship track meet yielded much success for athletes from four Aurora schools on April 30 and May 2. Rangeview’s Morgan Bloyer won the 800 meters and was named the track athlete of the meet on the girls side, while Gateway’s Mike Ware swept the 200 and 400 meters and received track MVP on the boys side.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
