Time and time again, the bar was raised. Peak-to-Peak’s Kourtney Rathke and The Classical Academy’s Anna Willis never blinked.

Thirteen feet, the standing Class 3A state meet record in the pole vault? No sweat. How about 13 feet, 4 inches? No problem. And 13-4 or 13-7? Cleared without issue. 13-10? A worthy challenge conquered.

Finally, their thrilling dual in the sun at Jefferson County Stadium late Friday afternoon in the CHSAA state track and field championships ended when they both missed on three attempts at 14-1. Rathke, clearing 13-10 on her first attempt, was declared the state champion for the third consecutive year. Willis, who missed at 13-10 on her first try, got the silver medal. But like Rathke, Willis crushed her personal best record.

“That was incredible — we both did so well,” said Rathke, who set the state meet record last year and whose PR this year was 13-9 1/4.

She thought she could clear 14-1 and set a new all-class state record, established Thursday by Broomfield senior Lilly Nichols, who cleared 14 feet in the 5A meet.

“That was my first time attempting more than 14 feet this season,” said Rathke, who’s headed to Michigan on a scholarship. “I really thought I was going to get it. My last attempt was pretty close. If I only had one more.”

Willis, a senior headed to South Dakota, soared to cloud nine with the two best vaults of her life.

“My personal best was 13-6 and I did that back in my sophomore year, so it’s been almost two years since I PR’d, so I got two different PRs today,” he said. “That was just amazing. I was here to PR and score for my team and I did that. I’m really happy.”

Willis’ performance also qualified her for the USA Track-and-Field Under-20 Championships in Eugene, Ore., in June.

The drama built Thursday as a large crowd gathered to watch the pole vaulters, who happened to be the final two competitors of the day.

Of course, Rathke and Willis had been here before: They’ve now finished 1-2 in the 3A pole vault in each of the past four state meets, with Willis winning their first faceoff in 2021.

“Yeah, I get a little bit nervous,” Rathke said. “But mostly, it’s the excitement. And it’s super-competitive with Anna. I came out here to try and PR and I was stoked when I did it.”

Culpepper boasts “loose” race plan: Rocco Culpepper described his race plan for the Class 4A boys 800 meters as “loose.” Really, the only strategy involved was to try to win.

Funny considering his parents, Alan and Shayne Culpepper, are Colorado running legends and former Olympians in longer-distance disciplines. Either way, the Niwot sophomore won his first state title in the event with a time of 1 minute 55.23 seconds, just a day after anchoring a state title 3200 relay team.

Not only did the relay win build his own confidence heading into the individual race, but it did the same for some of his teammates who, like Culpepper, competed in both races.

“There’s definitely a motivation boost,” Culpepper said. “We had five guys in the field today, so I feel like winning that 4×800 yesterday got everyone excited.”

The race itself was split into a distinct group of four in front after the first lap, which included Culpepper and another Niwot freshman in Quinn Sullivan — though Culpepper floated between third and fourth until the final 100 meters.

After being boxed in for most of the first 700 meters, the seas parted for the sophomore and he took advantage to finish just a half-second ahead of Coronado’s Xzavier Campos.

Culpepper still has the 1600 meters to look forward to on Saturday, where he snuck into the 18th and final seed.

New 5A girls high jump champ: Rock Canyon junior Petra McGowan dethroned the defending champion, Valor Christian senior Farrah Eike, to win the 5A high jump. McGowan jumped 5-6 to win, while Eike (Navy commit) matched her winning jump from last year of 5-5.

The two are club teammates and have been going back and forth beating each other all season. Last year, McGowan tied for second with a jump of 5-3. “I jumped 5-3 last year and as a freshman, so I felt like I wasn’t improving and it was definitely a struggle,” McGowan said. “So this year, I came back with fuel to keep jumping higher.”

McGowan is being recruited by Air Force and hopes to receive an offer from the Falcons soon.

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