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Summit track athletes secure podium finishes at final day of state track and field meet 

Sophomore Faith Fox leads performances with 4th-place finish in 300-meter hurdles

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Cody Jones

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Summit sophomore Faith Fox dips across the finish line of the Class 4A girls 300-meter hurdle final in fourth place on the final day of the Colorado state track and field meet on Saturday, May 18, 2024. Fox jumped up one place from last year when she placed fifth.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

After two full days of impressive performances from the Summit High School track and field team at the Colorado state meet, the 2024 championship event had its finale on Saturday, May 18.

Summit sophomore Faith Fox led off the action for the Tigers, competing in the 4A girls 300-meter hurdle final. Looking to improve upon her fifth-place finish in last year’s state final, Fox calmly positioned herself in the starting blocks, taking a deep breath before the pop of the starter’s gun. 

In a flash of arms and legs, Fox bound over the hurdles, pumping to eat up the track beneath her feet. Fox dipped her chest across the finish line to take fourth place, resetting her own school record from yesterday by 0.06 seconds with a time of 45.17 seconds. 

Niwot High School’s Reese Kasper took first in the event with a time of 42.23 seconds.

“It is amazing,” Fox said. “Again, I am so excited that I got to be here. It has been a great past three days and I am proud of where I placed. It shows that I have so much more room for improvement. If I keep working hard and keep doing what I am doing I will definitely win this one, one year. That is the goal.”

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Faith Fox smiles on the podium after taking fourth in the Class 4A 300-meter hurdles on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

Feeling slightly more recovered from the illness she battled through on Friday to place third in the 3200-meter run, Summit junior Ella Hagen toed the starting line in the Class 4A 1600-meter final where she looked to defend her title.

Once again lining up next to Niwot High School’s Addy Ritzenhein and Riverdale Ridge High School’s Payton Meineke, Hagen ran smart over the first lap of the race, quickly tucking in and letting the front of the field take out the race.

After splitting 1 minute, 11.51 seconds over the first lap of the race, Hagen smoothly moved past other competitors to take over third place behind Ritzenhein and Meineke.

Hagen ran 2:26.48 through the halfway point of the race before splitting a 1:17.60 on the penultimate lap. Over the final 400 meters, Hagen made a push to try to reel in Meineke in second, but could not match the leg speed of the Riverdale Ridge runner.

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Summit junior Ella Hagen runs to sixth place in the 4A girls 1600-meter run at the final day of the Colorado state track and field meet on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

Hagen fought down the homestretch for the final race of her junior-year state meet, crossing the finish line in sixth place with a time of 5:04.58.

Ritzenhein took first in 4:47.07 and Meineke took second in 4:54.63.

“It was definitely a hard race,” Hagen said. “I had to stay focused. It is championship racing so everyone is going to bring their best. I enjoyed it and I had a lot of fun. It was hard and I felt a lack of energy at the end. I am excited for what is to come and I will run hungry for a little while.”

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In the lead up to the state meet, track and field enthusiasts circled the Class 4A boys 1600-meter final as a must-see race. With the entirety of the field running under 4:23 in order to qualify for the race, the final was bound to be highly competitive and tight until the finish line.  

After taking 12th in yesterday’s 3200-meter run and being seeded third in the 1600-meter final, Summit junior Josh Shriver was set on putting himself in contention to finish on the nine-person podium. 

As the race swiftly got underway, Shriver buckled into the hot pace and prepared to make a move when the moment arose. Shriver split 1:02.26 through the first lap of the race before the pace began to slow on the second revolution of the track.

The vast majority of the field ran together through the halfway point, splitting 2:11.41. Boxed in tightly in the middle of the field, Shriver pounced on the third lap, swinging into the second lane on the final curve and taking over the lead. 

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Josh Shriver surges to the lead of the 4A boys 1600-meter run on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

With friends, family and teammates cheering him on, Shriver hit the bell lap and continued to open up a lead on the chase pack. Niwot High School’s Rocco Culpepper and Battle Mountain High School’s Will Brunner chased Shriver down the backstretch, but Shriver continued to maintain the lead.

Shriver ran hard over the final 200-meters, but with 100-meters to go Culpepper and Brunner pulled even with him, driving closer to the finish line. In an all out kick, Culpepper took first in 4:17.23, Brunner placed second in 4:17.66 and Shriver took fifth in 4:20.32. 

“I think I can leave here happy now with that,” Shriver said. “I sent it early and did not really expect to do that. I am still proud of that. I knew I could finish high on the podium, but for it to actually happen is satisfying.”

In terms of team scores, the Summit girls track and field team took 12th with 20 points. The Niwot High School girls track and field team won the Class 4A state meet title with 158 points. 

The Summit boys track and field team tied for 32nd with 5 points. Northfield High School was rewarded with the boys team title with a total of 74 points.

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