Cougar girls track wins northern league

Taking yet another step toward defending their three-time state championship, the Niwot High School girls track team won their division outright in the Northern League Championships last week, placing first out of the 27 teams that competed.

They didn’t just compete against their Northern League opponents, however, as the Mile Hi and Tri-Valley leagues also competed in the meet.

That didn’t stop the Cougars from taking home their fifth first-place finish on the season and carrying some much needed momentum into the Class 4A state championships which starts in a week and a half.

Niwot took home first place in five events during the meet. Senior Kela Fetters won the 300 meter hurdles and junior Alexis Carroll won the long jump. Carroll and Fetters also finished in second and third respectively in the 100 meter hurdles

The other first place overall finishes for the Cougars were in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x800 relay races.

Sophomore Mary Gillet had a great day on the track as well, finishing in first in the Northern League in the 400 meter and second overall in the 200 meter.

Long distance runners excelled in this meet as well. Freshman Maggie Smith placed third for the Northern League in the 800 meter and fourth in the 1600 meter. Junior Jenna McCaffrey placed second in the 3200 meter and third in the 1600 meter for the Northern League, and senior Emily Cranny finished third in the 3200.

The boys team didn’t have as good of a showing at the championships, finishing 19th out of the 27 teams that competed, but they did have some good individual performances.

Senior Isaac Flores finished fourth for the Northern League in the 800 meter and fifth in the 1600 meter, while fellow senior Nelson Menjivar took sixth in the 110 meter hurdles and fifth in the 300 meter hurdles.

The 4x400 relay team took third in the Northern League and the 4x800 relay team finished in fourth.

Junior Alex Oelsner had the best individual finish on the day for Niwot, taking home third place in the shot put, and senior Noah Woeste finished sixth in the long jump.

Niwot now has one more meet before the girls squad embarks on its final goal of defending its state championship as it competes in the St. Vrain Invitational at Longmont High School on Friday, May 13 starting at 1 p.m.