LAKEWOOD – After conquering his anxiety and unlocking his potential, Grand Junction senior Miller Jones leapt his way to the Class 4A long jump title Thursday at Jeffco Stadium.
Jones lived up to his top-ranked status entering the CHSAA state meet, posting a mark of 23 feet, 4 inches. The championship jump bested runner-up Jayden Nohr of Roosevelt by 3.5 inches and marked a total turnaround from Jones’ performance in the event last year, when he finished 13th.
“I’ve been present mentally to be able to put up these jumps,” Jones said. “I had some bad mental stuff last year, with really bad anxiety that affected (my performance). This year, it’s been a lot better. I’ve been able to overcome it and learned how to be patient in everything with my approach, on the runway, all of it.
“I had no patience last year, but I’m getting there now. This year, I’ve dialed it in.”
Jones is headed to Colorado Mesa to run track and kick for the Mavs football team. After finishing second in devastating fashion on the final jump of the triple jump last year, he’s determined to add another gold in that event Saturday. Jones took runner-up to Longmont’s Caleb Johnson, who beat him by 4.5 inches.
“I’m fueled by that,” Jones said. “There’s nothing I hate more than losing. And to lose the way I did, it motivated me to come back and win this year.”
In addition to the triple jump, Jones also has the 110-meter hurdle finals on Saturday, as well as the preliminaries in the 300-meter hurdles.
“I want to leave here with two state titles,” Jones said.
The 5A long jump, featuring Vista Ridge star Brandon Hills, is on Friday. Hills owns the top mark in the state at 23 feet, 11 and is a Washington State football commit.
Mountain Vista’s blazing relays. In the Class 5A boys 3,200-meter relay, Mountain Vista set a state record with a time of 7:42.58, blasting the mark of 7:45.10 set by Smoky Hill at the state meet in 2001. Cherokee Trail, the defending champion in the event, had the lead but the Golden Eagles raced back to win after the Cougars dropped the baton before the final leg of the race. The Cougars ran 7:45.69.
The Golden Eagles’ performance made sure the relay lived up to its billing. Coming into the meet, Mountain Vista, Cherokee Trail and Rock Canyon (which finished a distant third at 7:53.13) each had national Top 50 times.
Then, after the boys set their record, the Golden Eagle girls completed the 4×800 sweep by winning with a time of 9:05.05, easily beating second-place Air Academy (9:08.58) and third-place Cherry Creek (9:08.65).
Special Olympic sprinters. In the mixed 100-meter dash for the Special Olympic/Paralympic race, Fairview junior Lochlan Walker won with a time of 12.97. Walker also took the crown in the mixed 200-meter race with a time of 27.55.
Class 4A girls champion. While Jones took home the 4A long jump title on the boys side, Falcon senior Brianna Tira won the girls title in the event with a jump of 17 feet, 11.25 inches. Tira turned in that distance on her last jump of the finals to edge runner-up Lutheran sophomore Ryleigh Robbins, who was previously leading with a jump of 17-10.
Class 4A discus champs. On the boys side, Grand Junction Central senior Daniel Baroumbaye set a 4A record with a heave of 194 feet, 11 inches — good for first place by over 38 feet. Palmer Ridge senior Geneva Gigi won the girls 4A discus title with a throw of 135-9.
