Michael Hagen/Courtesy photo
The last few weeks have been tough for the Summit track and field team. It has had to endure spring snow storms and high winds at practices and meets.
However, the Tigers resilience paid off on Saturday, April 9, when the team arrived to Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood for the David S. D’Evelyn Invitational to sunny spring weather, calm winds and blue skies.
The last time the Tigers ran in favorable conditions like this, Ella Hagen shattered an 18-year-old school record by running 5 minutes, 5.94 seconds in the 1600-meter run.
Hagen gave Jefferson County Stadium a taste of what is likely to come at the Colorado State Track and Field meet as she ran in a league of her own. Throughout the race, she had nobody but herself to push her to a faster time.
Hagen finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, registering a time of 5:05.63 to reset her own school record by fractions of a second. Her performance destroyed the girls 1600-meter meet record by close to 23 seconds.
Niamh Nelson also competed in the 1600-meter run for the Tigers. She placed 27th in a time of 6:35.95.
Unlike Hagen, Dom Remeikis had a pack around him during the boys 1600-meter run. Remeikis was seeded at a time of 4:26.94, but he was not able to stick on the rapid pace, which requires running each 400-meter split in around 67 seconds. He fell slightly off that pace to run 4:44.89 for eighth place.
Lucas Sudduth and Jacob Shriver joined Remeikis in the 1600-meter run. They place 34th and 54th, respectively.
After having a lackluster showing in the 1600-meter run, Remeikis redeemed himself in the 800-meter run. He placed first by over four seconds and set a new meet record with a time of 2:00.10.
“I had a little bit of a disappointing day in the 1600, but I came back in the 800 with the mindset that I wanted to get something done today. I got myself a (personal record) and meet record,” Remeikis said. “I’m happy about how the day turned out.”
The Summit relay teams also had success at the David S. D’Evelyn Invitational. Several were able to place within the top eight.
The girls 800-meter medley relay team has been racing well all season, and Saturday was no different. The team made up of Shannon Reed, Cami Davis, Sage Hanks, and Aubree Confer placed eighth in a time of 2:08.09.
The 4×100-meter relay teams also had success. The girl’s team, composed of Reed, Cami Davis, Taylor Tullio and Emily Koetteritz, placed seventh overall, finishing a time of 56.20 seconds.
In the boys 4×100-meter relay, Liam Dalzell, River McClung, Malik Abdurakhmonov and Jack Schierholz finished a few seconds behind the team’s school record mark, which the team broke last week in Erie. The Summit boys relay team placed 15th overall in a time of 49.89 seconds.
Michael Hagen/Courtesy photo
After contributing to the girls 4×100-meter relay team, Koetteritz also dominated in her main events, the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Koetteritz came close to the time she ran a week ago in Erie. She crossed the finish line in a time of 17.52 seconds for a third place finish.
In the 300-meter hurdles, Koetteritz also placed third overall in a time of 52.19 seconds.
In the triple jump, Koetteritz came within 3 inches of winning the event but ended up placing second with her best jump of 33 feet.
The Tigers will compete in two meets next week, first at the Norsemen Invitational in Northglenn on Wednesday, April 13, and then in Glenwood Springs on Saturday, April 16, for the Demon Invite.
