NHS Girls run to 3-Peat

Niwot track and field coach Maurice Henriques celebrated a third straight Class 4A state championship with his girls, which for the first time included his daughter, freshman Eliana Henriques, who ran the first leg (100m) of the winning sprint medley relay(1:48.80).

The Cougars scored a dominating 170 points. Mullen, which finished second, scored 61.

Senior Eva Klingbeil led the way with victories in the 1600m (4:49.66) and 3200m (10:29.62), and also ran the anchor leg on the winning 4 X 800 relay. “She had great times,” Henriques said. “Her first win ever came at state cross country last fall. She’s definitely figured it out.” Klingbeil, whose winning time in the 3200m was more than five seconds ahead of the runner-up, has committed to run cross country and track at North Carolina next year.

Niwot’s dominance came through in the distance events with seven Cougars placing in the top 18 runners in the 1600m. Bella Nelson (4:53.50) took third, and Mia Prok (4:56.20) took fifth. Sierra Parks (5:10.99) finished tenth, Olivia Alessandrini (5:13.83) was 12th, Sarah Perkins (5:16.17) was 15th and Cayden Justice (5:26.56) was 18th.

In the 3200m, Perkins (11:08.23) was fifth, Alessandrini (11:09.32) was sixth, and Tessa Everett (11:16.93) was 11th.

Junior Kimora Northrup was another exceptional contributor to the Cougar victory, winning the 100 hurdles (14.66) and taking second in the 300 hurdles (43.31). She also anchored the winning sprint medley relay.

For many events, the toughest competition Niwot runners faced came from teammates. Senior Stella Veith entered the meet as the favorite in the 400m but finished second at 56.26, two-tenths of a second behind the winner. Speaking of Veith, Henriques said, “She had a great meet, running the 400, the 800 and the sprint relays. She was seeded first, but ended up getting beat by her teammate.”

That teammate was Madison Shults, a junior, who won the 400m (56.05) and 800m (2:08.33). Her victory in the 800m was no surprise, as she was the top seed coming into the state championship. She also ran a leg of the winning 4 X 400 relay, and was part of the 4 X 200 relay, which took second (1:44.46) which also included Veith, senior Katie Carroll and freshman Simo Esquibel.

In the 400m, Esquibel (58.86) took seventh, sophomore Julia Rudolph (59.78) finished eighth, and junior Lex Bullen (1:06.84) was ninth.

The 800m also showed Niwot’s dominance with Cougar runners taking second (Vieth at 2:11.40), third (Nelson at 2:13.53), fourth (Klingbeil at 2:15.09), seventh (Prok at 2:15.69), tenth (Esquibel at 2:19.19), eleventh (Rudolph 2:19.55), and thirteenth (Alessandrini at 2:19.75). That’s eight of the top 13 runners if you’re counting.

Henriques is a master at creating a team culture in what most view as an individual sport. “We tell our kids, ‘the best competition is your teammates,’ and they buy into that. Our goal is to score points for the team. We didn’t run Taylor James [2001 NHS grad] in the 800 last year, and that was her best event.”

“That’s why we wear the team hoodie,” Henriques said of putting the team mentality ahead of what might be considered best for a particular individual. “Being a good teammate is what we emphasize. Coming out of Covid, we lost it a little bit,” Henriques recalled. If the 2022 team’s performance is any indication, it’s back.

“I’m old school,” Henriques said. He skipped out on a victory celebration with parents in Niwot at a local brew pub in favor of a get together with the students at Pasta Jay’s. “The kids know I love ‘em.”

So dominant were the Cougar girls that victory was assured before the last day of the meet. Though several seniors had outstanding performances, Henriques is not at all worried about the future of track at Niwot. “We return almost everybody,” he said. “This could be the best freshman class we’ve ever had.”

That class includes his daughter and Esquibel, as well as thrower Jade West, daughter of former NHS football and track star Lamar West, now a campus supervisor at Niwot High. West took 11th in the shot put with a throw of 33’1”. Another freshman standout is Nelson, who took third in both the 800m and the 1600m. Nelson was ranked in three events coming into the state meet. “She’s running good,” Henriques said.

There was talk among other coaches of moving Niwot up to Class 5A, but Henriques said Athletic Director Joe Brown assured him the Cougars are staying put in 4A.

The Cougar girls team will be without a Carroll next year for the first time in nine years. Katie Carroll, who finished seventh in the long jump (16’10.5”) and eighth in the triple jump (34’9”), took fourth in the 300 hurdles with a personal record time of 45.92 in addition to running a leg of the 4 X 200 relay. Her older sisters, Alexis and Erin, started the stretch of Carrolls on the Cougar squad, and their parents have served as team parents for all nine years. Henriques was very appreciative of their support, and noted that they will be hard to replace.

Others who scored points for Niwot included sophomores Caden Justine and Audrey Robinson, both of whom ran on the winning 4 X 800 relay (9:24.75), eight seconds ahead of the runner-up squad.

Arabella Chen took 16th in the pole vault (9’3”). Chloe Mitchell took 11th in the discus, advancing from 15th place on her final throw of 104’11”.

Niwot’s 4 X 100 relay team of Gillett, Northrup, Rudolph and Vieth finished fifth (49.62). All but Vieth will return.

Senior Margaret Gillett ran a leg of the winning sprint medley relay. Henriques noted that she had a tough year, having lost her mother last year. “She had a good year and was able to contribute,” he said.

Freshman Esquibel and sophomore Julia Rudolph scored in both the 400m and the 800m, with Rudolph also scoring in the 4 X 400 relay. “She’s going to be really good,” Henriques said of Rudolph. “All the kids know that the 4 by 4 is my favorite event. I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve lost it.”

This year was no exception as Niwot won the 4 X 400 by almost five seconds at 3:55.18, with a relay team composed entirely of underclassmen: Rudolph, a sophomore, Nelson, a freshman, Prok, a sophomore, and Shults a junior. Their time was better than any other squad in the state, in any class, except a senior-dominated Class 5A Cherry Creek squad.

Look for the Cougars to continue their winning ways in 2023.