If she had to choose a site to continue her siege on a long-standing school standard, Tymbree Florian could have done a lot worse than historic Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo, as she stood at the starting end of the runway awaiting clearance to take off. The stadium was formerly home of the Class 2A and 3A State Track & Field Championships.
"I set a goal this year of breaking that record," the Bayfield freshman said of the 16-foot, 4.5-incher set by Kelly Mars in 1990. "And in Pueblo the odds were definitely in my favor as far as the weather."
Seeded eighth in the third wave of long-jumpers with a baseline 16'0", Florian's stay at last Friday's Pueblo Twilight Invite took on a new glow as she flew 16'9" with an early attempt.
But achieving something akin to the seeding 17'6.5" owned by event favorite Julie Mackin, a 5A Castle Rock Castle View senior, still couldn't have been more than a junior- or senior-year target.right?
"We've been working on a new approach.to keep more momentum," Florian explained, "but a lot of it had to do with just relaxing and breathing."
Blasting off the board like never before, Florian soared 17 feet, 5.75 inches to capture first place at the elite competition. She jumped 4.75 inches longer than 4A Pueblo West junior Hannah Meek and 8.75 over CVHS senior Kendall Cooley (Mackin, amazingly, did not record a distance). 5A Castle Rock Douglas County senior Skyler Kriese (16'6.5") and 5A Colorado Springs Rampart senior Kiara Kearney (16'5") rounded out an amazed top five.
"I think adrenaline is what made me break it," said Florian. "My goal for next year was to win state, but after breaking the record.my goal this year is to win state! Seeing my potential in track's really opened the door."
Also for Bayfield at the Twilight, Amber Johnson was 10th in the 100-meter hurdles (18.51 seconds) and 11th in the 300 hurdles (51.19). Isis Gonzales was 12th in the 400-meter dash (1:06.49), and fellow junior Bridget Goddard was 15th in the 800-meter run (2:36.28). Sophomore Tiarra Christensen was 11th in the shot put (31'3.75") and 18th in the discus (91'9").
With word having undoubtedly gotten out, Florian's presence the next day at 3A Pagosa Springs' Terry Alley Invitational had heads wondering what she would do for an encore. Unable to better her newfound school-best, she still managed a 16'5.5" jump-again re-breaking the old record. That trailed only the 17'4" of 1A Mosca Sangre de Cristo's Sarah Storey (who also won the triple jump, as well as the 100) inside Golden Peaks Stadium.
Florian also took fourth in the 100 (13.44), Gonzales did likewise in the 400 (1:06.52), and Goddard was third in the 800 (2:33.91).
Also battling fatigue from the long drive and short night, Johnson managed fourth in the 100m hurdles, running an improved 17.95, and stepped her game up to third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 51.72. Christensen rose to fifth in the shot put (27'7.5"), then followed teammate Mikayla Barnes in placing 7-8 (91'2", 90'1" respectively) in the discus.
Still there, were titles to be taken in Pagosa, and the Wolverines didn't leave empty-handed.
Senior Katie Hawkins won the pole vault clearing 9 feet, 1 inch-one of her best heights this spring-and junior Maddi Foutz followed in second at 8'7". Sophomore Colton Fine won the boys' event with a 10'7" best.
Gonzales, Johnson, Goddard and Foutz also combined to win the 4x200 relay in 1:53.30, beating second-place 2A Telluride by almost three full seconds, and the same personnel placed second in the 4x400-their 4:27.34 was less than five seconds behind 3A Alamosa's winning 4:22.68.
Sky Vagneur took second in the high jump, clearing the bar set 4'5" high, and Foutz scored third place in the 200, clocking 28.05 seconds. BHS' 4x100 relay was third (57.22), its 800 medley relay fifth (2:08.79) and its 4x800 seventh (13:52.34).
Up next for Bayfield will be tomorrow's Monte Vista Last Chance (9:00 a.m.) out in the San Luis Valley, with the 2016 Class 3A State Championships set for May 19-21 at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood.
TERRY ALLEY INVITE GIRLS' STANDINGS: 1.Alamosa 128, 2.BAYFIELD 107, 3.Telluride 79, 4.Pagosa Springs 68, 5.Center 54, 6.La Jara Centauri 52.5, 7.Mosca Sangre de Cristo 50.5, 8.Dolores 40.5, 9.Ouray 27, 10.Mancos 22, 11.IGNACIO 21.5, T-12.Dove Creek/Monte Vista 11, 14.Nucla 8, 15.Creede 7.
