5A boys track and field: Discus State meet record falls on first day

Jarrius Ward subscribes to the belief that records are not meant to last forever.

The Overland junior will have a battle to contend with next year, as he placed himself atop the Colorado Class 5A record book in the boys discus competition with his performance Thursday at opening of the national track meet at Jefferson County Stadium.

Ward threw her third throw of the preliminaries 203 feet, 4 inches, which not only earned her the state championship, but it also marked the farthest throw the 5A competition has seen in the discus. Ward toppled Westminster’s Todd Austin, who set the meet record of 192-5 in 1977.

“Records are meant to be broken and today was the perfect time for me to do it,” Ward said of breaking the 47-year-old standard. “I’ve seen what I can do now, and I can definitely achieve it again next year.”

The next record Ward could aim for (besides his own) is the all-class Colorado standard set by former Buena Vista star Mason Finley, who went 214-1 in 2009.

Ward – a multi-sport athlete – loves to compete and was motivated by the need to try to surpass the performance of Charles Lafore of Chatfield, the reigning state champion in the event and his club teammate.

Lafore shot 193-6 on his second throw of the preliminary round and that led the competition for a short time until Ward bettered that result on his next attempt.

“Definitely credit to Charles because if he hadn’t thrown that 193, I definitely wouldn’t have made 203,” Ward said. “I couldn’t let him win (the state championship) twice in a row.”

The two throwers are likely to also compete for the 5A shot put title.

Overland has just three individual qualifiers, but the Aurora school is tied for second place in the 5A rankings after the first day of competition thanks to championships from Ward in the discus and senior Wondam Davis Jr. in the long jump.

Davis Jr.’s high jump of 22 feet, 11 1/4 inches, came on his first attempt in the final and he had to sweat it out while others tried to improve on it. Marcus Mozer of Fossil Ridge came close, but his 22-11 kept him in second place with Cayden Sweets of Cherokee Trail (22-9 1/2) third.

In other significant events on the 5A boys field, Monarch’s Tyler Rowan won the state championship in the pole vault with a personal best of 16 feet, 9 inches.

On the track, the 4×800-meter relay — one of only two championship races on the opening day — ended with plenty of drama.

Defending champion Mountain Vista changed its order for the state meet and it paid off with a victory over ThunderRidge that came down to a photo finish.

The anchor legs of both teams – Alex Fowler for the Golden Eagles and Landon Twiss of the Grizzlies – engaged in a battle down the stretch that ended in trips and falls at the finish line with an audible gasp from the crowd.

Fowler came in first by 0.03 of a second, as he earned a victory for himself and teammates Benjamin Anderson, William Wachter and Jameson Tokle in 7 minutes, 46.16 seconds, compared to 7:46.19 of the Grizzlies.

“It was amazing, I’m so happy the team put me in a position to help the team and get the win,” Fowler said. “All season we’ve been shuffling the order, so this is the first time we’ve found ourselves with this lineup. It worked perfectly, I think. Everyone did their part and we had a great day there.

Anderson – who finished third in the 3,200-meter race a short time earlier – took the lead and was followed by Wachter and Tokle, who passed it to Fowler, who ran stride for stride with Twiss until until both fell in a heap at the end of the race. race.

“I was just trying to focus on my form and staying strong,” Fowler said. “I was hoping I could hold him (Twiss), but it was very tight. …The feeling of winning is unmatched.

Mountain Vista repeated as state champion in the event, while an individual also defended his state title against Dane Eike of Valor Christian in the 3,200 meters.

Eike held off a challenge from Cherry Creek’s Daniel Hruska early and Denver East’s Jonas Scudamore late to win his second straight title in the event. He clocked 9 minutes, 7.42 seconds, with Scudamore (9:12.70) second and Anderson (9:15.57) third.
Mountain Vista holds the 5A team lead with 23 points, followed by Overland and defending champion Cherokee Trail, who also had 20.