Basalt sends big contingent to state track meet
The Aspen Times
Kara Williams / Special to The Aspen Times |
The Basalt Longhorns are filling up the bus.
The Basalt track and field team will take a large contingent to the State Track and Field Championships this week at Jeffco Stadium in suburban Denver.
The Longhorns qualified eight athletes for the individual events at the three-day state meet. They also advanced four relay teams for the state’s largest track fest in Lakewood.
The top 18 times or distances in each event advance to state in each event.
Rewinkel is the top long jumper in 3A with a jump of 21-7.25, recorded last weekend at the Tiger Invitational in Grand Junction.
“The number of athletes who we have qualified for the state meet this year is proof of their talent and training,” said Basalt head coach Allyson Kottyan. “Caleb Rewinkel is ranked first in 3A statewide in the long jump and is an inch and three-quarters away from the school record. That’s a fantastic accomplishment for his senior year before he heads off to Cornell College in Iowa to compete for the track team there.”
Rewinkel also qualified for state in the 100-meter hurdles.
“Our other state-ranked senior, Jake Schiesser, will be pursuing the podium in three jumping events — long, triple and high,” Kottyan said. “We will truly miss them next year as they have both been integral point earners for the boys team all season long.”
Rewinkel will race in the 300-meter hurdles at the state meet again this year. He qualified No. 14 with his time of 42.68 seconds.
Schiesser enters state with the fifth-best long jump at 20-10.25. He advanced to state with a 5-10 high jump and a 40-8.5 triple jump.
Basalt’s Miles Levy also will compete in the high jump at state. He cleared 5-11.5 to advance as the No. 11 jumper in Class 3A.
Levy, an all-conference quarterback for the Longhorns, recorded his state jump at the Tiger Invitational last weekend, his first high school track meet.
Individually, on the girls side Basalt sophomore Nicole Alvarado will compete in the 400 meters (1:01.45) and the 100 meters (13.25).
Basalt freshman Megan Maley also qualified in the 400 (1:02.46).
BHS sophomores Morgan Ash and Kaylin Williams qualified in the high jump. Williams cleared 4-11; Ash cleared 4-11.5.
They are No. 11 and 12 entering state.
Alvarado, Williams and Ash are all return qualifiers to the State Track and Field Championships. They all qualified last year as freshmen.
Morgan Ash made the podium at state when she finished eighth in the high jump in 2015.
“To have four female relay teams competing at state from the sprint medley to the 4×800 shows the latitude of the girls team,” the Basalt head coach said. “I look forward to incredible performances from these athletes at state, including sophomore Kaylin Williams, who has been awarded the honor of singing the national anthem to kick off the day’s events on Friday morning.”
The Basalt girls 4×400 team qualified last weekend as the No. 5 team in the state with a 4:15.11 time in Grand Junction. The team includes sophomores Nicole Alvarado, Jenna Curnow, Alyssa Maniscalchi and freshman Megan Maley.
“The girls 4×4 relay really dug deep for their race at the Tiger Invitational last week, and chopped 14 seconds off their time,” Kottyan said.
The girls 4×800 team from Basalt also is ranked No. 5 coming into the state championships (10:26.91).
The team includes sophomores Jenna Curnow, Carly Robinson, Becca White and freshman Megan Maley.
Basalt’s 4×100 team (53.11) enters as the No. 15 qualifier behind sophomores Nicole Alvarado, Morgan Ash, Michell Cabrera and Alyssa Maniscalchi.
The sprint medley team is at No. 17 (1:57.40) with Alvarado, Ash, Cabrera and Maniscalchi.
Maniscalchi also earned a late bid in the 400 meters.
And Carly Robinson secured a spot in the girls 3200 at the state meet, which opens Thursday at Jeffco Stadium Lakewood.
The Basalt boys 4×800 relay team and the 4×400 relay team both finished just outside the state qualifiers at No. 19 in 3A.
Rewinkel’s 3A long jump finals at state are scheduled for Saturday morning (10 a.m.).
The preliminaries in the 3A track events will begin Thursday at 2 p.m.
The meet will continue with field events all three days.
The finals in the running events will be Saturday at Jeffco Stadium.
