The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — It wasn’t a new height for Steamboat Springs sophomore Austin Hinder, but Saturday’s high jumps could foreshadow future success.

The sophomore high jumper has been clearing 5 feet, 10 inches for most of the season, and he did so with ease again Saturday, the final day of the Tiger Invitational track meet in Grand Junction.

The jump, which was good for fifth place in the event, was more progress down the right path, Hinder said. He’s hoping his performance set the stage for a big week of practice and a breakthrough at next week’s regional track meet.

“I should get 6-foot this week during practice,” Hinder said. “It really just has to do with correcting my form and keeping up my speed.”

Hinder said his form hurt him Saturday and has him excited for the coming week. He wasn’t perfect with it, but he was better.

“It was going really well (Saturday) until toward the end,” he said. “I started slowing down and losing form. Once I learn to perfect that, it’ll help me a lot.”

Hinder was one of just two Sailors to score on the second day of the meet, the team’s final performance before regionals. Steamboat coach Luke DeWolfe had little trouble picking out positives, however, and said like Hinder, he’s excited with the weekend’s progress and what it means for the week ahead.

“For us, it was a great weekend,” DeWolfe said. “A lot of the kids we thought were ready to run good times did even better than we thought.”

Chief on that list was John Cutter, who ran Saturday in the 1,600-meter run and the 1,600 relay.

Cutter finished the 1,600 in 4 minutes, 45.71 seconds. The time was good for 13th place. The relay team also ran its best time of the year.

Peter Daley was 13th in the 800, finishing in 2:08.

“Our distance kids really stepped out again,” DeWolfe said. “Cutter is really stepping up and looking strong. He’s really turned the corner and is doing things he wasn’t doing at the beginning of the year. Charlie Stoddard is another one, and Brittany Long also looked really strong.”

Long, the only girl competing for Steamboat in the tournament, scored in the 1,600 a day after finishing second in the 3,200. She was seventh Saturday, crossing the line in 5:40.41.

“This time of year is when you start to see kids reach their full expectations, where you want to see them,” DeWolfe said. “That was really what this weekend was all about for us. The majority of our kids got the best times of the year. They’re looking strong, they’re healthy, and it’s exciting going into next weekend.”