BROOMFIELD — Prior to her senior track season, Longmont’s Terra Brubaker had never attempted the high jump. She could have fooled any casual observer.
On Saturday at the Boulder County Track Championships, held at Broomfield High School, she picked up her third win of the season in the event with a clearance of 5 feet, 4 inches. Just a few weeks earlier, she set the school record at 5-5.5.
Her time in basketball and volleyball set her up perfectly to excel in the leaping disciplines.
“I think being able to try new things like high jump and long jump for the first time this year has definitely made me feel pretty good with the coaching,” Brubaker said. “(Head coach Scott Dickinson) wanted me my freshman year for high jump, but I was too needed in other events. (This year), he put me in high jump and I definitely just got a feel for it.”
Prior to the BoCo Invite, Brubaker ranked second in Class 4A in high jump, but she didn’t stop there Saturday. She was ranked fifth in the 200-meter dash, but she beat that time with a 24.69 and second place behind Fairview’s Lillian Graves, was fourth in the 400 (56.59), and ninth in the long jump (17-3).
As the season wears on, she hopes to break the high jump record by an even larger margin.
Peak to Peak’s Skye Williams wins the 800-meter dash during Saturday’s Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Skye’s the limit
Compared to her hefty AP coursework at Peak to Peak, the 800-meter run seems like a breeze to Skye Williams.
Still, the senior hadn’t won the event once in her high school career until Saturday afternoon. There, she sped to 2 minutes, 20.26 seconds to claim the gold, barely beating out Niwot’s Elsza Bergen (2:21.19), Boulder’s Sophie Roza (2:22.67) and Niwot’s Tereza Koudelka (2:22.70).
“I was just thinking pace the first (lap), feel calm and relaxed, and then really on that second one, just race and go after it and catch everyone who I could,” Williams said. “I’ve been working at the 800 a lot and I’m really proud that I could finally come together today.”
Up until Saturday’s meet, she had only participated in the 4×800-meter relay, and she said she’s dropped about 20 seconds off of her 800 time since her freshman season. That, of course, was the easy part.
Williams recently learned she was accepted into Harvard thanks to her 4.7 GPA. The smarts in the classroom have always been there, but now she has a glittering 800 time to back it up. That 2:20.26 should rank her at No. 4 in Class 3A now.
“I had a lot of teammates who helped lift me up over the years, and just running today for them and my friends and family has been awesome,” Williams said. “I think once I got the college application process done, it’s like, ‘Let’s go have a great track season, have fun and run fast.’”
Longmont’s Terra Brubaker competes in the high jump during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Saturday. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Niwot’s Samantha Johnson competes in the high jump during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Erie’s Brett Michalski wins the 3,200 meter run during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Centaurus’ Eli Shore competes in the pole vault during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Centaurus’ Eli Shore competes in the pole vault during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Erie’s Addison Greenlee competes in the high jump during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Monarch’s Thomas Cole competes in the pole vault during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Peak to Peak’s Skye Williams wins the 800-meter dash during Saturday’s Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Broomfield’s Audrina Zanella competes in the high jump during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Peak to Peak’s Ethan Rathke competes in the pole vault during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Niwot’s Zachary King competes in the 3,200-meter run during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Erie’s Sam Snyder competes in the 3,200-meter run during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Erie’s Cade Simonson competes in the 3,200-meter run during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Frederick’s Josh Cuzner competes in the 3,200-meter run during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
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Longmont’s Terra Brubaker competes in the high jump during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Saturday. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
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From the pigskin to the blocks
During the fall season, Monarch’s Abbott Lockwood established himself as a threat on the football field, picking up 606 all-purpose yards as a slot receiver and doubling up as a defensive back.
That’s nothing compared to what he was able to do at the BoCo meet Saturday. The junior won not one, not two, but three sprint events, picking up the gold in the 100-meter dash (10.81 seconds), the 200 (21.97) and the 4×100 (42.22) alongside Malakhi Payne, Lucas Bussard and Cooper Craze.
“(Football helps) definitely with the quickness,” Lockwood said. “The 100 is just getting out of the blocks fast. It’s kind of a reaction. Normally, there’s someone in front of you who’s way bigger than you, so you want to be quick to get away from them.”
Throughout the past year, Lockwood honed in on his strength training for football, but the results are speaking for themselves during the spring affairs as well. His speed training for track has already yielded a 10.59 personal record in the 100 and the PR in the 200 he set Saturday.
He hopes to stand among the top three boys on the podium at the state meet.
“At the end of last year, I kind of built up a passion for (sprinting), and this year is like coming to beat everything I’d already had,” he said. “My work ethic has been, all off-season, working hard and grinding. I changed the way I ran, basically a new stride, and I’m just feeling smoother and just working to get better every meet.”
Centaurus’ Eli Shore competes in the pole vault during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Reaching new heights
The last time Centaurus junior Eli Shore graced Broomfield’s Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium, a mere three weeks ago, he set the school record in the pole vault at 14 feet. There must be something about that pit.
On Saturday, to raucous cheers near the pole vaulting station, he did it again, this time to the tune of 14-3.
“It was just crazy thoughts going through my head,” Shore said. “I was so hype, and words can’t describe the happiness that I felt. That was only a three-inch PR. Three inches can be a lot in terms of pole vaulting, and I’m just so happy that I beat my school record and I’m just so psyched.”
He only began competing in the event just three years ago, but the strides he’s made have been gargantuan. He attends the same club as many of the elite pole vaulters from the Boulder County area.
“I think freshman year, I PR-ed at 10 feet but before that, I started at the lowest bar you could go on — probably like 7-6 at some JV meets,” he said. “Above the Bar helped immensely in terms of going from my sophomore to junior years. The coaching is just immaculate, and it’s just amazing to have such a good support system in a different kind of spot than your school.”
He placed second at the BoCo meet behind Peak to Peak’s Ethan Rathke, who won at 15-9.
Erie’s Brett Michalski wins the 3,200 meter run during the Boulder County Track Championships at Elizabeth Kennedy Stadium on Apr. 11, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Going the distance
“Quit” isn’t in Brett Michalski’s vocabulary, and neither, apparently, is the word “lose.”
The Erie junior wrapped up his Saturday with a 1.2-second win in the 3,200-meter run — clocking in at 9:49.48 — to edge out Niwot’s Garrett Sherrard. Immediately after, he emptied the contents of his stomach to show he left it all out on the track.
“I’ve raced the 4×800, 1,600, and 800 already, so I was pretty exhausted,” Michalski said. “I knew I had the fastest seed time by like 30 seconds, so I was just trying to kind of mess with the opponents and give my teammates a little bit of a gap. I slow down on the curves, make them have to go around me, waste energy.”
Earlier, he won the 1,600 at 4:26.38, the 800 at 2:00.21, and placed second in the 4×800 at 7:55.35 behind Broomfield, who won the event at 7:53.98.
“I’ve had a big focus on lifting weights more, just so I have a stronger kick towards the end and be able to close strong competitively and get a higher place,” Michalski said. “Obviously, it paid off today.”