LAKEWOOD — Eddie Kurjak raised his hands above his head to lead thousands of state track and field fans in a slow clap.
The Longmont senior had already broken the Class 4A state meet record in the high jump with an incredible 7-foot leap, and he drew from the Jeffco Stadium crowd’s energy as he powered up for three more attempts at 7 feet, 2 inches.
He hit the bar on each of those tries, but he still knocked off the former mark to beat — a 6-11 leap by Colt Sessions in 2013 — en route to winning the gold. It was the first time he’s ever cleared 7 feet.
This go-round, the timing was just right.
“It is unreal,” Kurjak said. “When just all around you, 360 (degrees), everyone’s watching, everyone’s clapping, that’s one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever felt. It was awesome.”
Now, as he moves forward from his high school career and into college, he’ll look to achieve the height he couldn’t on Friday.
“I think I’ve attempted (7 feet) probably five times this season and I’ve been pretty close, so I knew I had it in me,” he said. “It’s the most relieving thing to finally have an attempt at 7-foot and just not touch it. … A lot of the jump is timing, so I’m glad I could put it all together.”
He wasn’t the only Longmont High athlete to make his school proud during the second day of the state track and field championships.
Junior Connor McCormick wasn’t prepared to place fourth in the 800-meter run. He knew he still had some juice in him.
He closed part of the large gap behind frontrunner Zane Bergen of Niwot before crossing the finish line.
“Coming around the corner, with about 150 (meters) left, I was like, ‘I have some left in the tank. I could definitely try to come up and pass these two guys,’” McCormick said. “When I came around the corner, I was just like, ‘Give it all you got. You have nothing to save for. It’s time to go.’ And I just started sprinting.”
First, he passed up George Washington’s Charley Welch, then Niwot’s Grayden Rauba. He crossed the line for a photo-finish at second place to defeat those two by 0.08 seconds and 0.2 seconds, respectively. He took home his silver with a time of 1:53.32.
“Second sounds a lot better than fourth,” he said.
The Longmont girls 800 sprint medley team, likewise, put on a show for runner-up accolades. The compilation of Sally Marshall, Megan Leick, Christine D’Epagnier and Ella Pears tracked just three seconds behind Niwot’s star-studded squad but beat out Palmer Ridge by just 0.51 seconds. They finished at 1:49.31.
“We were super excited about the medley, of course,” senior Marshall said. “We wanted to win and I think Niwot switched out a few girls. I mean, what can you say, but we got second and I was really excited. Our 400 leg runner came out really hard and she passed all five (competitors), but the Niwot runners, they know what they’re doing, so (Niwot’s Stella Vieth) came back with it. It was a close race, it was really exciting and it was fun to run.”
Longmont also saw podium finishes from the boys 800 relay (seventh place, 1:32.61) and the girls 800 relay (eighth-place, 1:49.72) to cap off the Trojans’ banner day.
