Colorado sends a message at Chandler Rotary

Katie Rainsberger eyes the finish line on her record-breaking run in the Arizona twilight. Photo by Margot Kelly.

What a difference a week makes!

Last Saturday, Katie Rainsberger was struggling to a 5:32 1600 in a gale force wind. This Saturday, in the cool of an Arizona evening, she was doing the blowing--as in blowing away the meet record for the 1600 in Arizona's most prestigious invitational, finishing in 4:51.20. It's also a two-second PR for Rainsberger in the event.

But Rainsberger wasn't the only story with a Colorado tagline. In fact, there were several. And "broken records" is the best sort of segue I can think of to those other stories.

Cerake Geberkidane took down a record of his own on Saturday evening, winning the boys 1600 in an impressive time of 4:06.56. And that, of course, raises the question of how endangered Colorado's own 1600 mark might be (a question that Kevin Akers already raised for us on the forum--conveniently omitting the options of "it won't be broken this year" and "it will be broken before state and then again at state"). Chandler sits at 1200 feet of elevation, which is a good deal lower than any Colorado elevation Geberkidane will run at this spring, but you can't help but think a 4:06 now portends something better than a 4:10 sometime later. Geberkidane's mile, incidentally, was 4:08.00.

Of note, Cheyenne Mountain's William Mayhew finished third in 4:18.43 in the same 1600 that Geberkidane won. Also of note, Geberkidane came back later in the evening and won the 3200 in 9:02.69. And that, my friends, could portend another broken record somewhere over the next two months.

It should be a fun spring.

And Geberkidane was not the only DPS athlete enjoying the Arizona warmth. Dior Hall ran away with the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 13.66, just one week off of her record-smashing performance at New Balance Nationals Indoor. Only at NBNI, she was running 60 hurdles, while in Arizona, it was a different race with different spacing. Hall, apparently, adjusts quickly. And Darby Gilfillan landed a fourth in the 1600, with a time just a hair over 5:00.

Shayna Yon took on celebrated Arizona sprinter Ky Westbrook in the 100, but came up just a little short with a time of 12.04. Cherokee Trail teammate Brandon Singleton also came home with a second, 49.09 in the 400.

Other Colorado placers in the elite events included Payton Miller, third in the 400, Catherine Liggett, fourth in the 3200, Kamryn Hart, fifth in the 400, Payton Miller, seventh in the 200, Blake Jacobs, third in the shot put, and Brandon Singleton again, eighth in the 200.

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