It is paramount that track and field teams get the opportunity to compete against a wide array of competition throughout the season. From higher classification teams to smaller, less developed track teams, the range in competition allows athletes to rise to another level and grow more confident about their fitness.

The Summit High School track and field team got the opportunity to showcase its conditioning at the popular Broomfield Shootout track and field meet on Saturday, March 22. 

Much like the meet name suggests, the competition was a shootout among some of the best track and field teams in the state. Featuring over 40 teams from across the state of Colorado, athletes fought against breezy conditions and attempted to place as high as they could in their respective events. 

The Tigers managed to put numerous athletes within the top 20 of the results, displaying the team’s determined work as the season nears the end of its first month of meets.

Girls team results

The Summit girls track and field team had an impressively well rounded meet in Broomfield.

Most notably, Summit junior Faith Fox had two top-10 performances at the meet. Fox took seventh in the 100-meter hurdles (16.03 seconds) and second in the 300-meter hurdles (45.49).

The two performances not only added points to Summit’s final team score, but it also exposed Fox to athletes like Niwot High School senior Reese Kasper, who she will face again at the 4A state track and field meet later this spring. Kasper took third in the 100-meter hurdles (14.81) and first in the 300-meter hurdles (43.05).

In the sprinting events, freshman Avery Russer showed off her leg speed. The talented athlete took 29th overall in the 100-meter dash (13.52) before running 28.06 in the 200-meter dash to take 19th.

Russer’s older sister, Hailey, followed her in the 100-meter dash results, finishing in 40th (13.71). Junior Saige Heflin took 35th in the 200-meter dash (28.88).

Summit had two, top-10 performances in the girls 400-meter dash. Hailey Russer finished in eighth (1:03.51), and freshman Ruby Snyder followed two spots behind her in 10th (1:04.08). Snyder also competed in the girls high jump, where she tied for 12th place with a mark of 4 feet, 8 inches.

In the distance events, senior Avery Eytel took 20th in the 800-meter run (2:34.75) while sophomore Lily Benbow took 32nd (2:41.44).

Earlier in the day, Benbow competed in the 1600-meter run and took 15th overall in a time of 5:48.30. Freshman Paige Ratliff followed Benbow in the 1600-meter run, taking 38th (6:05.40). 

Senior Cece Miner notched a 21st-place finish in the 3200-meter run with a time of 13:05.79. 

Scoring 13 points, the Summit girls tied for 23rd place among the 32 teams that scored points at the meet. The Broomfield girls won its home meet with 86 points. 

Boys team results

The Summit boys may have not been able to score any points at the meet, but the group of athletes still had a multitude of standout performances. 

Senior Quinn Breigenzer had the highest finish among his Summit teammates in the pure sprinting events. After fracturing his leg during the winter, Breigenzer took 46th in the 100-meter dash (11.65) and 32nd in the 200-meter dash (23.75). 

Moving up in distance to the 400-meter dash, Summit put two athletes within the top 40. Freshman Connor Erwin utilized his football running back skills to take 34th (55.84), and junior Carter Niemkiewicz finished in 36th (55.85). 

Sophomore Lukas Remeikis had a strong 800-meter race, placing 27th in the event with a time of 2:07.89. Sophomore Malachi Love finished in 69th place in a time of 2:20.50. 

It was sophomore Jay McDonald that had the highest finish for the Summit boys track and field team. Still in the middle of his ski mountaineering season, McDonald traded his skis for spikes and finished 13th overall in the 3200-meter run (9:56.69). 

Junior Henry Eslich and senior Cesar Sauceda Viniegra rounded out the performances for the Tigers in the boys shot put. Eslich took 25th (39 feet, 8 inches), and Sauceda Viniegra finished in 32nd (38 feet, 11.5 inches). 

Additionally, Summit sophomore Jamison Lee competed in his first track race since getting injured in a mountain bike crash last summer. As part of the unified 100-meter dash field, Lee squared off against several other adaptive athletes from across the state of Colorado. 

The Summit track and field team will now travel to the Niwot Invitational on Saturday, March 29.