First home meet a success for Niwot track and field

Scoring a meet-best 220 overall points was an added bonus for a Niwot High School track and field program hosting its first-ever home meet in school history on April 1.

Aided by first-place finishes in six different events, the Cougar girls topped 23 other programs with 149 points. On the boys side, Lutheran High led the NoCo Series #1 meet with 76 points, just ahead of second-place Niwot with 71 points.

It was a long day - and a busy week of preparation - for Niwot head coach Maurice Henriques, but he was grateful for the warm weather and a near-spotless sky.

"It was no April Fool's, we got some sun," Henriques said. "It's been a dream of mine to have a meet at Niwot. It's been 14 years and this has been always a goal on the list to do it. I've got to thank all the coaches and parents and athletic director Joe Brown and our principal Mr. (Eric) Rauschkolb. It's been great."

Looking at Niwot's first-place finishers on the girls side, Olivia Alessandrini won the 800-meter (2 minutes, 19.07 seconds), Addison Ritzenhein topped the 3,200m by over 25 seconds (10:39.25), Kimora Northrup led both the 100m and 300m hurdles (14.84 and 46.24, respectively) and Jade West's throw of 37 feet, 6 inches was tops in the shot put. Niwot also took first in the 4x100m relay with a time of 50.04.

The Niwot boys won both the 4x200m (1:30.15) and 4x400m (3:24.51) relays while Ben Classen's 49.70-second effort was tops in the 400-meter dash.

With top Colorado programs such as Mountain Vista, Eaglecrest, Northfield and Valor Christian also competing, the meet offered Niwot athletes a prime opportunity to size themselves up against some of the state's best. Cougar senior Jeremy Gillett, who finished fourth in the boys 1,600m, said his race was comparable to a state-caliber event. He added that running in front of a home crowd was a special experience and one that motivated him.

"It's pretty sweet," Gillett said. "I heard them cheering while we were coming around every time. It was putting a smile on my face all four laps. In that last 100 (meters), I knew I had to beat those other kids to show pride for Niwot since we're hosting this meet."

Henriques also noticed a special energy circulating around the Niwot track and the surrounding berm that was packed with team tents and spectators.

"This is beautiful," Henriques said. "Sometimes you just need people and energy and bringing a lot of people in here, so it's good."