High jumper breaks 48-year-old Eagle Valley track and field record at Demon Invitational

Four Eagle Valley track and field records fell over the weekend, including the oldest one on the books.

Allie Braun soared 5 feet, 5 inches at the Demon Invitational in Glenwood Springs on Saturday, breaking Tia Ross’s 48-year-old record by an inch.

“I kind of had it in the back of my mind since I started track,” Braun said of her mark, a 4-inch personal best. “After that season I realized that maybe I had a chance at it. I just worked hard and I think that meant a lot to me personally to show that my hard work paid off.”

Both Braun and Ross had major breakthroughs in setting their standards — Ross initially broke the record with a jump of 4-11 in Rangely on April 24, 1976 before going 5-4 the following year — but Braun’s jump didn’t come out of nowhere.

“I’ve seen her do this in practice,” said head coach Jeff Shroll, who believes extra winter weight room sessions pushed Braun to new heights. “I knew it was in there. She already had the technical skills to do what she’s doing, so it’s just putting it all together.”

Support Local Journalism

Donate

“It wasn’t a super surprise,” Braun added. “But I was getting, you could say a little bit discouraged because I didn’t feel I was jumping my best at the beginning of the season.”

Braun no-heighted 4-6 in Rifle on March 19 and went just 4-11 at her team’s home meet a few weeks later. Even on Saturday, she missed her first two attempts at 4-6 and one at 4-10 as well. Meanwhile, Summit freshman Ruby Snyder, whom Braun helped at a middle school meet last year, was perfect through 5-0. That’s when the Eagle Valley senior got going. She cleared 5-0, 5-2 and 5-4 on three-straight jumps. After two misses at 5-5, she got the record on her third and final attempt.

“It was one of my most special moments ever,” Shroll said. “She’s such a good athlete to coach and such a good human being.”

When Ross set her record nearly a half-century ago against Rangely, the Devils destroyed a slew of program bests, establishing new marks in the 220 and 880-yard events, the shot put, discus and two relays. Eagle Valley did something similar last weekend.

The boys broke the 10-year-old men’s 4×200-meter relay mark on Saturday. Kingston Clous, Wynn Sanders, Taigo Horruitiner and Blake Anderson ran 1:29.81, nearly a second faster than the quartet of Luis Chavez, Jay Neal, Charles Fessenden and Cristian Aguilar (1:30.79) set in 2015.

“Honestly, that time can be below 1:29, even 1:28,” sprint coach Alex Aragon commented. “Handoffs were not the greatest and for them to run the time they did was incredible.”

Aragon called Clous the “heart and soul” of any relay he’s on.

“He’s been performing out of his mind this season and we kind of saw glimpses of it last season,” the coach said.

Always an electrifying starter, Aragon believes his 400-specific workouts have improved Clous’ finishing ability. The senior won the long jump and 100-meter dash and he and Sanders went 1-2 in the 200-meter dash as well, with both going under 22.5 seconds.

“It’s great to see. He just works so hard all the time and I think having the great leaders he had last year and the year prior, it kind of helped him get motivated,” Aragon said of Clous before adding, “And Wynn is just a natural talent.”

The Devils now sit second in the event in 4A, trailing only Niwot. Shroll said this crew could vie for a state title.

“We’ve got four really fast guys that are deep enough to run 100s, 200s and 400s,” he said. “Alex has been doing a great job training them and teaching the body to be consistent.”

On Friday, Tyler and Dylan Blair competed in a pair of California competitions, lowering out-of-state marks in the distance events.

Tyler Blair ran 4:18.85 in the 1600-meters at the Tiger Invitational at South Pasadena High School, an 8-second lifetime best, while his twin brother ran 9:07.93 in the 3200-meters at the Arcadia Invitational six miles away. The latter mark bested current Boise State University runner Jake Drever’s outdoor out-of-state program best of 9:10.20 set at Arcadia in 2023. Drever still holds the in-state school record in the 1600 (4:21.12).

Earlier this year, Dylan Blair also ran 9:03.22 in the indoor 2-mile (which converts to a 9:00.07 3200-meter time) at Nike Indoor Nationals in New York City.

The Husky Twilight in Parker was moved to Monday, so Eagle Valley will head to Coal Ridge this Friday. Aragon said the main priority will be improving the squad’s state rankings in the 4×400 and 4×800 relays. After spring break, the Devils will be going for their third-straight league title on the boys side in Grand Junction on May 2-3.

Still, another old record remains on the board: the 4×100. On April 5, the Devils were 0.11 seconds away from what Wes Minett, Sean Matheson and Alex and Brad Gamble ran in 2005, the last year the team won a state team title.

“That’s another one that ought to come off the board,” Shroll said. “This team can do that.”

Meanwhile, Braun plans to attend Northern Arizona University next fall. She said she isn’t sure if she’ll try track at the NCAA DI level, but 5-4 is the walk-on prerequisite for the Lumberjacks.

“Now that I have that mark it’s definitely in the realm of possibility,” said Braun, who placed 14th in the event at her first state meet last May. After her record jump, she fielded a few calls from DII and DIII schools as well, but hasn’t gotten a call from Ross — at least not yet.

“I kind of want to meet her,” Braun said. “That would be cool.”