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Coal Ridge’s McCain earns silver in girls 3A 300 hurdles

Jeff Caspersen
jcaspersen@postindependent.com
Post Independent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
Jeff Caspersen Post IndependentCoal Ridge junior Chelyn McCain claimed second in the Class 3A girls 300-meter hurdles at the state track and field meet in Lakewood on Saturday.
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LAKEWOOD, Colorado ” Chelyn McCain wanted a top-three finish, and she made sure she got it.

The Coal Ridge junior exerted maximum effort in crossing the line second in Saturday’s Class 3A girls 300-meter hurdles final at the state track and field meet in Lakewood.

“I think I just didn’t hold anything back,” said McCain, who wrapped the three-day meet on a high note. “I had a lot of determination. I really wanted to do this. It was here, so it was time.”



McCain, a junior, had quite the state hurdles experience. She placed fourth in the 100 hurdles on Friday before her 46.09-second run in the 300 landed her a silver medal and the top state track finish in Coal Ridge history.

“I did very well,” she said. “That’s what I wanted, so that’s good.”



Three other individual Titans and a Coal Ridge relay team also participated in finals on Saturday.

Jessica Needham placed seventh in the shot put, logging a top toss of 35 feet, 3 inches, while DaLin Murphy sped to 15th (4:42.62) in the 1,600 and Bradey Gasaway claimed ninth in the 300 hurdles (45.99).

The Titans’ boys 4×100 relay team of Gasaway, Alex Klein, Blake Rivers and Colby Fauser took seventh as well, clocking in at 44.98.

Entering high school, Grand Valley’s Brandi Krieg wanted merely to make it to state. Two state meets and five top-six finishes later, the sophomore’s expectations have risen dramatically.

Krieg polished off her second state appearance with a fifth-place run in the girls 1,600 (5:16.78) and a sixth-place finish in the 400 (1:00.55) on Saturday. Mix in her sixth-place finish in the 3,200 on Thursday and her top-five runs in the mile and two-mile last year, and Krieg’s crafting quite the resume.

“I can’t complain,” she said. “When I started out I just wanted to make it to state. Now I’m setting higher and higher goals.”

Krieg’s ultimate goal: a state title.

She knows it won’t be easy, though.

“I’ve got to start working harder if I want to get where I want to go,” she said. “It’s going to be rough trying to get one. I’m up for the challenge, though.”

Four other Grand Valley athletes were busy with Saturday finals.

Jared Tonder nabbed sixth in the boys 300 hurdles (41.68), Colton Cowan seventh in the long jump (20-2 1/2), Erin Vanderpool eighth in the girls 300 hurdles (49.1) and Jordan Steinke 10th in the girls long jump (15-0 1/2).

Roaring Fork’s Bryan Salinas wanted simply to break a school record in the 300 hurdles on Saturday. He did just that.

Timing in at 40.5, the senior snagged fourth in the boys 300 at the state track and field meet. It was an improvement over last year’s seventh-place state finish in the event.

Add Salinas’ hurdles effort in with Tyler Thompson’s long jump and triple jump state titles and Jon Araujo’s third-place discus finish, and the three-day state experience was a good one for the small Roaring Fork track and field team.

“I’m happy with it,” Salinas said. “We’re a really small school and people usually underestimate what we can do. It’s fun to show up.”


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