More records fall for Niwot girls

It was another record-setting weekend for the Niwot girls track team, as they competed in back-to-back meets at Roosevelt and Longmont on May 21 and 22. Along the way, the Cougars posted a slew of personal bests, three top Class 4A marks, and one of the fastest 800-meter times in state history. Now heading into the second half of the 2021 season, longtime Niwot track coach Maurice Henriques has just one goal for his team.

"It's just to keep working hard and stay healthy," he said following the St. Vrain RE-1J District Meet 2021 at Longmont High on May 22. "Coach Christensen and I talked, and we said, 'Hey, this will be a good practice for the state meet. Let's do two hard days in a row, we'll see where we're at and how the kids respond.'"

It's hard to pick just one highlight from the Niwot girls impressive weekend, but senior Taylor James' performance over the two days stands out. On Friday, at Roosevelt's Randall Hess Invitational, the Stanford-bound mid-distance specialist won the girls 800m with a time of 2 minutes 7.75 seconds, her fastest-ever in Colorado, and the fourth fastest in Colorado high school history. It is also currently the ninth fastest time nationwide, and the fastest in the state by five seconds.

James also won the 100m dash with a personal-best time of 12.37 seconds, good for second overall in Class 4A, and she led Niwot in two relay wins.

As if that weren't enough, the next day in Longmont, James set a new best-in-Class 4A time for the 400m (56.90 seconds), that also set a new meet record. She also took first in the 200m with another meet record time (25.53), and anchored Niwot's record-breaking effort in the 4x400 relay (3:58.48).

Also impressive for Niwot was speedy newcomer Kimora Northrup, who has consistently led Class 4A in both 100m and 300m hurdles in 2021. At Roosevelt, the sophomore won the latter event with a personal best time of 14.58, which was also a new school record. Northrup also took first in the 400m with a time of 57.22, second only to James in Class 4A. At the St. Vrain RE-1J, Northrup set a new meet record in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.67.

Other Cougar record-breakers at the St. Vrain RE-1J include distance runners Stella Vieth (5:18.63), Sarah Perkins (5:21.29), and Sierra Parks (5:21.99) in the 1600m, and Eva Klingbeil (11:32.35), Lucca Fulkerson (11:36.15), and Olivia Alessandrini (11:39.58) in the 3200m.

Over on the boys side, there weren't quite as many record-breakers, but Henriques was impressed with the team's resilience after two full days of competing. In the final event of the weekend, the 4x400 relay at the St. Vrain RE-1J, the Niwot team of Craig Wright, Grayden Rauba, Zane Bergen, and Curtis Volf took first overall with a season-best time of 3:28.94, which is also the current fastest time in Class 4A.

"Those boys running 3:28 at the end of the two hard days was a shock," he said. "And three of our distance kids were just getting in some extra work. That was awesome."

Distance races remain Niwot boys strong suit, as cross country standouts Bergen, Rauba, and Simon Saia have topped the Class 4A rankings in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m. But the Cougars' sprinters, including Wright and other "new faces", are inching their way up the standings.

"He's a football player and a basketball player, and he just came out to help us," Henriques said of the junior, who is running sprints and competing in jumps for Niwot. "That was just his fourth time running the 400 ever, and he split 52, which is great."

The Cougars will be back in action at the Pomona Invitational on May 28-29, though graduating seniors will get Saturday off. On June 5, the Cougars will defend their dual titles in the Boulder County Championships.