Student-Athlete of the Week: Nicholas Stade

Having never touched a pole in his life, Niwot senior Nicholas Stade needed just three weeks to learn the pole vault and place ninth in the Class 4A state track and field championships on May 22.

Stade said that after he was unable to qualify for state in the 110-meter hurdles, it was his head coach Maurice Henriques who challenged the team player to help Niwot gain an extra point or two. His vault of 12 feet, 9 inches was a pleasant result.

"I really surprised myself with being able to do that," Stade said. "I went to Above the Bar (Track Club) and I trained a few days a week after our regular practice. I would drive over and do my pole vault training and I actually got it, which was kind of a surprise to me and my coach and everyone. It was really, really rewarding."

The one point Stade earned from his ninth-place finish turned out to be critical, as the Niwot boys tied Cheyenne Mountain with 60 points for second place in state.

He added seven more points to Niwot's total with a third-place finish (39.27 seconds) in the 300-meter hurdles on the same day. Stade also shaved over two seconds off his eighth-place finish at state last season.

The versatile athlete picked up track and field just two years ago, but he credited a busy beginning to his career for helping him excel in multiple events.

"I would get entered into eight or 10 events anyway, so I learned how to have the bandwidth to do a lot of different things and kind of switch my mindset in the middle of that meet and really just focus on whatever's next," Stade said. "If you can focus on whatever's coming up next and if you can toe the line in an event, you can perform to your best as long as you're not scared or you don't get in your head."

But his performance in Niwot's 4A state-winning 4X400 relay left him most proud. Stade, along with senior Zane Bergen and juniors Ben Classen and Eric Walker, closed the race with a time of 3 minutes, 20.84 seconds, nearly three seconds ahead of second-place Pueblo West.

"It's just really great when you have a squad of four people who can put in the work year-round to be the best they can, and then when we get to state and we put together the win, it's such a rewarding feeling," Stade said. "It was a really big moment for Niwot as a school and for us because we've been training all year for that. We really take pride in our 400 running ability."

Soon after the conclusion of state, Niwot tracksters traveled down to Albuquerque, New Mexico to compete in the Great Southwest Track & Field Classic from June 2-4. Stade secured first place in the boys decathlon 400 dash (50.28 seconds) and the 110 hurdles (15.30 seconds). His senior season wraps up with the Nike Outdoor Nationals beginning June 14.

In the fall, Stade will continue his track and field journey at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., with plans to study computer science.

"I never envisioned myself doing track freshman year (at Niwot) or really doing any athletic endeavor," Stade said. "I'd be really surprised if I looked at who I am now from a freshman perspective, because it's really not what I could have expected. I'm really pretty happy with what I've done."