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After 'Impressive' Snow Clearing Effort, Colorado State High School Track And Field Meet Gets Going

(CBS4) – A day after snow halted the Colorado high school state track and field meet, the fight for a spot on the medal stand resumed Saturday, but not without a few changes to the schedule and a major effort to clear snow by maintenance crews.

track
(credit: CBS)

From foot races to pole vaulting, and everything in between, peak athleticism was on full display Jefferson County Stadium Saturday afternoon. The state track meet is the culmination of months of hard work and dedication, but this year athletes had one extra hurdle thanks to Mother Nature.

"I was definitely prepared for it, but I was really hoping the forecast would be wrong because I really wanted to run," said Mary Scoggins, a senior at Rangley High School.

Scoggins drove 300 miles from her hometown near the Utah border for her final track meet as a high schooler, but on Friday snow blanketed the track and CHSAA postponed competition.

"It was in doubt, for sure," said stadium manager John Sears. "We were thinking about having to push it to Sunday and Monday."

According to Sears, crews arrived to nearly 5 inches of snow Saturday morning. For hours, they worked and shoveled until CHSAA made the decision to continue the meet in the afternoon.

"We weren't thinking it was going to look too good for us for the day, but we kind of got on it right away and we just needed that help from the sun to pop out," Sears said.

track
(credit: CBS)

Hours later, piles of snow remained but the events continued, much to the relief of athletes and parents alike.

"That they got it cleaned up this well, that's pretty impressive," said Cheri Smith, a parent from Rangley.

For Scoggins and her Rangely teammates, it was a cold but memorable experience.

"It's definitely different running in this weather," Scoggins said. "It's hard to keep your feet warm and it's harder to warm up."

track
(credit: CBS)

Still, the unpredictability of a Colorado spring proved no match for those hyper focused on reaching the finish line.

"I'm grateful it didn't mess it up and that we're here to compete," said Max Kleve, a Junior from Holyoke High School.

Sunday will now be the final day of the state track meet. Events start at Jeffco Stadium at 9:30 a.m.

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