Gillett and Carroll compete at New Balance Nationals

Niwot track stars Mary Gillett and Alexis Carroll traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina last weekend to complete in the New Balance Nationals Outdoor (NBNO), a prestigious invitation-only meet featuring top competitors from around the country. Unfortunately, neither left with results they were probably hoping for.

Gillett finished 28th out of 31 in the 400 meter dash, with a time of 57.01 seconds, nearly two seconds slower than her state championship time of 55.12, and more than four seconds slower than the winning time of 52.83.

Competing in the long jump, Carroll, who won this year’s state title with a distance of 18-5, fouled on her final attempt and did not place.

Other Colorado runners at NBNO included Silver Creek runners Brock Dykema and James Lee. Lee, who will be a senior in the fall, took second overall in the Boys 1 Mile Championship, with a time of 4:13.35.

OTHER TRACK NEWS AND NOTES

The week wasn’t a total loss for Gillett and Carroll. On June 14, both competed at the Valor Summer Twilight Series meet #2, and found themselves in more familiar positions on the scoreboard.

Running under the R.E.A.L. Training banner, Gillett took second overall in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 12.36, followed by Carroll (12.81), who finished 6th overall. Niwot teammates Erika Timbang (13.07) and Kayla Nowlin (13.20), took seventh and eighth respectively in the same event. Gillett also was first in the 400-meter hurdles, with a time of 1:05.04.

Also competing for R.E.A.L. Training at the Valor meet was Niwot’s Alex Herman, who finished third overall in the boys 200-meter dash, with a time of 22.54. He was also fourth overall in the 100-meter dash (11.30). Nolan Johan, who will be a Niwot junior next fall, came in sixth in the 200m (23.92) and 12th in the 100m (11.99).

Elsewhere, Niwot’s Jenna McCaffrey, who is headed to Northern Arizona in the fall, took first place in the Colorado High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) All-State Cross Country race, held in Alamosa on June 10. Finishing in 19 minutes 58 seconds, McCaffrey beat out nine other competitors, including Lyons’ CeeAnn Udovich.