Story published in the Windsor Beacon in May
Even a mysterious injury couldn’t slow down the Windsor 400-meter relay team Saturday at the Class 4A State Track and Field Championships at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood.
The foursome of seniors Matt Hoffman and Brian Hanlin and juniors Scooter Wiles and Bob Barbour smoked past the competition en route to the first state title for a Windsor track and field team or individual since 2000 when Bob Harms won the discus.
The same foursome ran the race last year, using this season to hone in on their time.
Overall, Windsor’s boys finished 11th with 30 points and the girls took 15th with 24.
The four posted a school record with a time 42.49 seconds, which would have been good enough for third at the 5A level, to beat rival Greeley Central by almost three-tenths of a second.
“I didn’t know how it was going to turn out because all the teams were close together,” Hoffman said. “As the race kept going on, and we were pulling away a little bit, I was thinking ‘Wow, we’re going to win this.’”
Windsor was powered by smooth handoffs throughout the race and Hoffman slammed the door shut on the final straight-away to win the title. The Wizards were seeded second going into the finals after a preliminary time of 43 seconds, but came into the state meet with the fastest time of the season, up to that point.
Wiles led off the race with a strong first leg and Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, in that order, kept the pressure with each stride. But once the race was over, jubilation hit the four runners as two years of working together finally paid off.
“I wanted to win it for all of us because we’ve been together for two years and it means a lot to me,” Wiles said.
Last season, the four ran a 43.93 in the state finals and placed eighth, but head coach Conrad Crist helped the kids shave off over a second on their time.
“They basically stepped up their training and performance to another level,” Crist said. “Their handoffs were just perfect and that gained us speed. Scooter had a great start off the blocks to get us going and from there on out it just flowed.”
The team had it’s share of frightening moments over the past year and it almost fell apart three days before the start of the meet. Hoffman was plagued by a swollen right knee, an injury he had no idea how he got, but it healed just in time for the meet.
Wiles partially tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the basketball season, but elected not to have surgery until the summer. Barbour ruptured a disk in his back during football and underwent surgery in the winter, and Hanlin fought off illness after illness all year in time to prepare for state.
Though the team went through its fare share of injuries, confidence was never an issue.
“Right when he (Wiles) went out of the blocks I just knew,” Barbour said. “I had that feeling like, ‘We have this.’”
Hoffman and Hanlin will now leave Windsor on top and embark on new adventures in college next year. Hoffman will attend Western Nebraska Community College to play soccer while Hanlin will travel to Boulder and enroll at the University of Colorado.
Hanlin would like to run track for the Buffaloes, but for now will enjoy his team’s achievement.
“It’s been really awesome,” Hanlin said about his two years with his three teammates. “I think, really, the thing that let us win is that we came together.”
School Records set in 2008
Girls
Pole Vault — Chelsea O’ Connor, 9 feet 6 inches
400-meter dash — Emily Elliott, 59.21 seconds
800 — Lauren Bowers, 2:20.0
400-meter relay — Mallory Duran, Katie Hazel, Rachel Weakland and Emily Elliott, 49.77
800 relay — Duran, Hazel, Weakland and Elliott, 1:46.8
1,600 relay — Bowers, Hazel, Ellery Miller, Elliott, 3:57.02
Boys
400 relay — Scooter Wiles, Brian Hanlin, Bob Barbour and Matt Hoffman, 42.49
800 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 1:29.72
3,200 relay — Cal Englert, Chris Ullom, Seth Bott and Zane Hyland, 8:00.09
2008 State Placers
Girls
Shot Put — Katie Olson, 35 feet, 11.5 inches, 7th
Triple Jump — Weakland, 34 feet, 0.75 inches, 9th
Pole Vault — O’ Connor, 9 feet, 6 inches, 7th
400 relay — Duran, Weakland, Hazel and Elliott, 49.77 seconds, 5th
800 medley — Duran, Weakland, Hazel and Elliott, 1:50.72, 5th
1,600 relay — Bowers, Hazel, Elliott and Miller, 3:57.02, 3rd
Boys
400 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 42.49, State Champions
100-meter dash — Hanlin, 11.15 seconds, 5th
200 — Hoffman, 22.0 seconds, 9th
300 hurdles — Adam Winick, 41.94, 9th
800 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 1:30.30, 5th
1,600 relay — Englert, Ullom, Bott and Hyland, 3:31.34, 9th
3,200 relay — Englert, Ullom, Bott and Hyland, 8:01.26, 3rd
Even a mysterious injury couldn’t slow down the Windsor 400-meter relay team Saturday at the Class 4A State Track and Field Championships at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood.
The foursome of seniors Matt Hoffman and Brian Hanlin and juniors Scooter Wiles and Bob Barbour smoked past the competition en route to the first state title for a Windsor track and field team or individual since 2000 when Bob Harms won the discus.
The same foursome ran the race last year, using this season to hone in on their time.
Overall, Windsor’s boys finished 11th with 30 points and the girls took 15th with 24.
The four posted a school record with a time 42.49 seconds, which would have been good enough for third at the 5A level, to beat rival Greeley Central by almost three-tenths of a second.
“I didn’t know how it was going to turn out because all the teams were close together,” Hoffman said. “As the race kept going on, and we were pulling away a little bit, I was thinking ‘Wow, we’re going to win this.’”
Windsor was powered by smooth handoffs throughout the race and Hoffman slammed the door shut on the final straight-away to win the title. The Wizards were seeded second going into the finals after a preliminary time of 43 seconds, but came into the state meet with the fastest time of the season, up to that point.
Wiles led off the race with a strong first leg and Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, in that order, kept the pressure with each stride. But once the race was over, jubilation hit the four runners as two years of working together finally paid off.
“I wanted to win it for all of us because we’ve been together for two years and it means a lot to me,” Wiles said.
Last season, the four ran a 43.93 in the state finals and placed eighth, but head coach Conrad Crist helped the kids shave off over a second on their time.
“They basically stepped up their training and performance to another level,” Crist said. “Their handoffs were just perfect and that gained us speed. Scooter had a great start off the blocks to get us going and from there on out it just flowed.”
The team had it’s share of frightening moments over the past year and it almost fell apart three days before the start of the meet. Hoffman was plagued by a swollen right knee, an injury he had no idea how he got, but it healed just in time for the meet.
Wiles partially tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the basketball season, but elected not to have surgery until the summer. Barbour ruptured a disk in his back during football and underwent surgery in the winter, and Hanlin fought off illness after illness all year in time to prepare for state.
Though the team went through its fare share of injuries, confidence was never an issue.
“Right when he (Wiles) went out of the blocks I just knew,” Barbour said. “I had that feeling like, ‘We have this.’”
Hoffman and Hanlin will now leave Windsor on top and embark on new adventures in college next year. Hoffman will attend Western Nebraska Community College to play soccer while Hanlin will travel to Boulder and enroll at the University of Colorado.
Hanlin would like to run track for the Buffaloes, but for now will enjoy his team’s achievement.
“It’s been really awesome,” Hanlin said about his two years with his three teammates. “I think, really, the thing that let us win is that we came together.”
School Records set in 2008
Girls
Pole Vault — Chelsea O’ Connor, 9 feet 6 inches
400-meter dash — Emily Elliott, 59.21 seconds
800 — Lauren Bowers, 2:20.0
400-meter relay — Mallory Duran, Katie Hazel, Rachel Weakland and Emily Elliott, 49.77
800 relay — Duran, Hazel, Weakland and Elliott, 1:46.8
1,600 relay — Bowers, Hazel, Ellery Miller, Elliott, 3:57.02
Boys
400 relay — Scooter Wiles, Brian Hanlin, Bob Barbour and Matt Hoffman, 42.49
800 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 1:29.72
3,200 relay — Cal Englert, Chris Ullom, Seth Bott and Zane Hyland, 8:00.09
2008 State Placers
Girls
Shot Put — Katie Olson, 35 feet, 11.5 inches, 7th
Triple Jump — Weakland, 34 feet, 0.75 inches, 9th
Pole Vault — O’ Connor, 9 feet, 6 inches, 7th
400 relay — Duran, Weakland, Hazel and Elliott, 49.77 seconds, 5th
800 medley — Duran, Weakland, Hazel and Elliott, 1:50.72, 5th
1,600 relay — Bowers, Hazel, Elliott and Miller, 3:57.02, 3rd
Boys
400 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 42.49, State Champions
100-meter dash — Hanlin, 11.15 seconds, 5th
200 — Hoffman, 22.0 seconds, 9th
300 hurdles — Adam Winick, 41.94, 9th
800 relay — Wiles, Hanlin, Barbour and Hoffman, 1:30.30, 5th
1,600 relay — Englert, Ullom, Bott and Hyland, 3:31.34, 9th
3,200 relay — Englert, Ullom, Bott and Hyland, 8:01.26, 3rd
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