Niwot Invitational halted by storm

The Third Annual Niwot Invitational took place on Saturday, March 29, at the Art Stapp Sports Complex at Niwot High School, bringing together some of the top track and field talent in the state. Before the rain rolled in, the day featured warm sunshine, great competition, and even a few shattered meet records. Though a lightning delay cut the meet short, plenty of standout performances made their mark.

For Niwot Head Coach Maurice "Mo" Henriques, hosting this event is the fulfillment of a long-time goal. "It was a dream 15 years ago to host a meet, and now we're in the third year of that reality," he said.

One of the meet's biggest moments came from senior Jade West, who made the most of her final home meet by winning the shot put with a throw of 43 feet, 2 inches, seven feet further than the second-place thrower. "Winning at my last home meet ever was so exciting and rewarding, not only to win for my team but to compete with all of my friends I've met at the Niwot Invitational over the last three years," West said. "The energy is infectious and there's nothing like the electric atmosphere the meet brings to everyone."

The weather delay stopped the meet before the boys and girls 300-meter hurdles, 800-meter runs, 200-meter dashes, 4x400-meter relays, and the boys shot put could take place. At the time of the suspension, the Niwot girls team was sitting in second place behind Eaglecrest High School, while the boys were in fourth place behind Mountain Vista High School, Eaglecrest High School, and Erie High School.

Despite the shortened meet, the Cougar athletes delivered impressive performances. Junior Addison Ritzenhein dominated the girls 3200-meter run, winning in 10:26.31, 17 seconds ahead of the next finisher. Also running the race were sophomore Elise Hagen (7th, 11:01.53), junior Anna Prok (9th, 11:04.42), and senior Avy Beltran (12th, 11:14.39), all placing in the top 15.

In the girls 100-meter hurdles, senior Reese Kasper pulled away from the field to take first in 14.63, more than half a second ahead of second place. "It felt great to be able to show up for my team at my last home meet and compete not only for myself on my home turf, but for my team," Kasper said. "Looking back, I will definitely remember it being cut short because of the rain, sadly." Kasper was warming up to run the 300-meter hurdles when the lightning delay was called.

The girls 4x200-meter relay team, featuring seniors Eliana Henriques, Kate Schmidthuber, and Kasper alongside sophomore Sammie Holliday, finished third with a time of 1:40.51.

Niwot's field athletes made their presence known as well. Henriques placed third in the long jump with a mark of 16 feet, 2 inches. In the triple jump, freshman Sienna Wood claimed seventh place with a leap of 32 feet, 1 inch.

On the boys side, the Cougars took home a win in the 1600-meter run, thanks to junior Rocco Culpepper's 4:19.24 finish, which was 12 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Junior Hunter Robbie secured fourth in the 3200-meter run (9:16.29), with fellow juniors Ryder Keeton (7th, 9:23.47) and Gabriel Marshall (9th, 9:27.83) also finishing strong.

In the boys 4x200-meter relay, the Niwot team of senior Weston Domich and juniors Joshua Archuleta, Kingston Staton, and Townes Bernstein placed fifth in 1:31.82. Archuleta also clocked a solid time of 51.75 in the 400-meter dash, finishing ninth.

One of the day's highlights was the Unified 100-meter dash, which featured Niwot freshman Isaiah Richart and Erie freshman Augustus Bucher. Richart finished in first place with a time of 13.63, followed by Bucher's 16.36.

Even with its abrupt ending, the Niwot Invitational once again delivered as one of the most competitive meets of the season. With top finishes and a packed stadium full of energy, the meet set the tone for what looks to be a strong season ahead for the Cougars.

Niwot will be back in action at the Birds of Prey Invitational on Friday, April 4, at Everly-Montgomery Field and the Holy Family Invitational on Saturday, April 5. Additionally, a portion of the team will compete at the Oregon Relays hosted by the University of Oregon on Friday and Saturday.