LAKEWOOD — Jack Nauman knew his school moving up one classification would prove to be just the push he needed.
At Jeffco Stadium on Thursday night, the CU commit and Heritage Christian star was pressed hard by the field but ultimately pulled away with two laps to go in the Class 2A boys 3,200-meter race with a winning time of 9 minutes, 45.21 seconds.
“This group of guys is so talented and I knew that if I left it too long, I’d have to out-kick some of these guys and I don’t have the wheels for that,” Nauman said. “I figured it’d be smart to try and take it when everybody’s legs were starting to fade.”
Nauman won his third state title and first in 2A after winning the previous two in 1A. He was familiar with the field as he also won the 2A cross country title in the fall. He’ll have an opportunity to win the 800- and 1,600-meter races left, however, the 3,200 was his bread-and-butter.
“It’s been so awesome for our team and having these guys push, even seeing MaxPreps with everybody running super fast times, it was fun to try and qualify for those marks,” he said.
Silver Creek’s Kelleghan becomes three-time vaulter
A third state title for Silver Creek’s Megan Kelleghan was just another notch in the belt on Thursday afternoon, as the University of North Carolina-bound pole vaulter beat her own state record in the process. She vaulted to a height of 13 feet, 5 inches to claim the Class 4A girls title.
“It’s crazy, those are the only words I can think of, and I’m just so thankful for it,” Kelleghan said.
The Silver Creek senior is also an accomplished horse rider and plans on taking the summer off from vaulting to focus on dressage, one element of an equestrian competition.
“I’ve been riding horses since I was 2 years old,” she said. “… I’m taking the summer off and am gung-ho’ing into that.”
Niwot wins 5th straight 3,200-meter relay
There’s no stopping Niwot High School’s famed running program and it got off to a strong start Thursday. The Cougars dominated the Class 4A 3,200-meter relay field en route to a fifth straight win in that event. Niwot won the event by more than 12 seconds and clocked in a winning time of 9:22.60, while Battle Mountain (9:34.73) and Summit (9:40.73) rounded out the top three.
The four runners on the Cougars’ dynamic team were Lex Bullen, Cayden Justice, Kendall Madine and Anna Prok.
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