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Kennedy leaps, lands big one at state

Long jump record threatened at Jeffco

The far end of the pit seemed suddenly closer than usual.

And Bayfield's Conner Kennedy extended his feet for all he was worth towards it, in the process wowing not only his fellow long-jump competitors, but Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood as a whole last Thursday.

His 23-foot leap-well over 3.5 times his own 6'3" stature-fell just 1-1/4 inches short of the Colorado State Track-and-Field championships' meet record, set in 2003 by La Junta's Josiah Baker.

The old BHS record, a 21'9.25" by Donald Kalbacker in 1984-the school's second-oldest boys' standard prior to this season-had already been battered and bettered by the now-graduated senior. It's now emphatically eradicated in a first-place moment that set the proverbial bar incredibly high for the Wolverines in the Metro Area.

Not only for the boys' and girls' qualifiers wearing purple-and-gold, but himself; it was his first attempt.

Second-place Gallian Roberts of Salida wasn't even close with a longest leap of 22'3.5".

Pressured by the rest of the classification as well as the weather, BHS' boys finished an outstanding sixth out of 40 scoring teams, amassing 33 points when all was said and done. Top billing went to Parker Lutheran (82.5), with Kersey Platte Valley (63) taking second and Alamosa (46) third. Sterling followed with 45 points, and Bennett was fifth with 37.

On the girls' side, Eaton prevailed with 95.5 points after three days' worth of work. Lamar was second with 80 and PV took third with 77.5. Craig Moffat County (58) and Salida (52) rounded out the top five of 34 scoring squads, with Bayfield ending up 14th with 27 points.

Senior Jessica Cusick's third-place 2:20.03 in last Friday's 800-meter run and seventh-place 1:00.11 in last Saturday's 400 led the Wolverine girls' attack. Junior Katie Hawkins took fourth in the pole vault (8'9") on Day 2, with senior Morgan Allred tying for fifth (8'3").

Senior Jessie Roukema took fifth in the high jump on Day 1, clearing 5'2.5".

Boys' discus titan Aubry Brown, a senior, placed third with a 155-foot best on Day 2, while Eaton's Garrett Coalson launched a winning 163'2", something like what Brown had been firing the previous couple weekends. Brown had already placed sixth in the shot put on Day 1 with a best of 47'11". Senior teammate Blane Barnes took ninth in shot at 45'4.5".

Senior pole vaulter Michael Voss managed to clear the bar set at a height of 12 feet, three inches, but finished fourth in the Day 2 discipline.

Sophomore Brian Mashak brought back seventh place in the 100-meter dash on Day 3 with an 11.59-second pass, and was ninth in the 200m finals in 24.16, while soph Emily Bauer finished 12th in the girls' long jump on Day 2 with a 15'4" best. Senior Brady Fields was 12th (16.70) in the boys' 110m hurdles' preliminaries and 11th (42.31) in the 300m hurdles.

The boys' 4x100-meter relay finished 15th in the prelims in 45.16 seconds, and the 4x2 was tenth (1:32.84). Kennedy took ninth and placed in the high jump on Day 2 with a best of 5'10", and senior Zane Westbrook was 13th in the shot (42'3").

In addition to taking seventh in the pole vault (7'9"), sophomore Maddi Foutz was 16th in the girls' 200m prelims with a 27.95. The girls' 4x1 was 11th in the prelims with a collective 52.22 and the 4x2 was 14th (1:51.93) as was the 800m medley (1:57.00). Sophomore Miranda Talbot was 18th in the pole vault (7'3").

The Wolverines had their track and field banquet on Monday. The outstanding girl athlete was Cusick, while Fields won the prize for outstanding boy in track. In recognition of both his state championship and prowess on relays, Kennedy was named outstanding boy in track and field.