Steamboat boys take 10th in 4×400, narrowly missing decades-old school record
In an adjusted heats-for-time format, the Steamboat Springs High School boys 4×400 team finished just off the podium, concluding an epic season for the middle-distance relays and two Sailors seniors.
Seniors Connor Prost and Bowden Tumminello combined with Casey Wolf and Olin Webster to earn a time of 3:26.56. It wasn’t quite enough for a spot on the podium, but it was a four-second improvement on their personal best time and just shy of a school record that has stood since 1980. Podium or not, record or not, the Sailor boys were still proud.
“This doesn’t matter,” Tumminello said. “It’s these guys.”
Snow postponed the second day of action at the Colorado High School Activities Association State Track and Field Championships. The 4×400 relay felt the brunt of that burden as the prelims were canceled to prevent Saturday’s events from going late into the night. Instead, there were two heats of finals at the end of the day Sunday, and the top nine would be determined by time.
The Sailors finished second in their heat but had no idea how their time would hold up against the next heat, filled with the top-nine seeds in the event.
The Sailors had done all they could. All they had left was to wait.
They had gotten good at waiting. With the meet postponed Friday, they hung out at the hotel, playing a lot of cards. Then, when action picked back up Saturday, the 4×400 was pushed back, so the foursome had yet another day of waiting.
The team killed time at Bass Pro Shops, Denny’s and on Saturday evening, went to the Luke Combs concert at Empower Field at Mile High after finding $20 tickets two hours before the show.
“It was the busiest two days of doing nothing,” said junior Casey Wolf.
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Steamboat Springs senior Bowden Tumminello leads off the 4×400 during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
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Olin Webster of Steamboat Springs sprints to the exchange zone in the 4×400 during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
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Steamboat Springs senior Casey Wolf keeps his team in second in the 4×400 during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
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Olin Webster of Steamboat Springs tracks down the runner in front of him while running his leg of the 4×400 during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, 2022, at Jeffco Stadium.
Shelby Reardon/Steamboat Pilot & Today
The waiting was good for them, though. Tumminello said he woke up Friday not feeling ready for a 4×400. By the time Sunday rolled around, he was very ready.
“I think it really makes you want it,” Tumminello said. “If they keep telling you you can’t do it, it makes you want it more.”
Earlier in the day, Prost competed in the finals of the 400-meter run in which he took seventh with a time of 50.04. He also helped Tumminello, Wolf and Webster earn a school record in the 4×800 two days earlier.
“I am honored to have run alongside Bowden and alongside you two,” Prost said motioning to Wolf and Webster. “I think that school record is going to stand for years.”
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Soroco sophomore Larhae Whaley explodes out of the blocks to kick off the 4×400 during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
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Soroco senior Marissa Martindale passes off to senior Kayedence Bruner during the 4×400 during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
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Soroco senior Kayedence Bruner pulls into second during her leg of the 4×400 during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
Shelby Reardon/Steamboat Pilot & Today
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Soroco senior Hailey Minnick, right, fights to the finish of the 4×400 relay during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
Shelby Reardon/Steamboat Pilot & Today
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Steamboat Springs senior Connor Prost competes in the 400-meter dash finals during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
Shelby Reardon/Steamboat Pilot & Today
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Soroco senior Sophia Benjamin competes in triple jump during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
Shelby Reardon/Steamboat Pilot & Today
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Hayden’s Bella Simones competes in triple jump during the final day of the Colorado High School Activities Association Track and Field Championships on Sunday, May 22, at Jeffco Stadium.
Shelby Reardon/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Elsewhere around Routt County, Hayden’s Alison Rajzer won her third-consecutive triple jump title, and the Soroco girls 4×400 team finished third, earning the team’s 70th and final state medal with coach David Bruner at the helm.
The combination of sophomore Larhae Whaley, and seniors Marissa Martindale, Kayedence Bruner and Hailey Minnick fought hard for third with a time of 4:15.37. Minnick got the baton in second and hauled around the track neck-and-neck with Limon, who snuck ahead in the final stretch and took second.
A couple hours earlier, Rams senior Sophia Benjamin finished 13th in triple jump, just ahead of Hayden’s Isabella Simones who earned 14th.
Shelby Reardon is the assistant editor at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach her, call 970-871-4253, email sreardon@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @ByShelbyReardon.
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