Mills, BHS Long Jumpers Shine at Greeley

By Michael Hicks
Berthoud Recorder

GREELEY — She’s only a freshman, but Courtney Mills has already shown she can compete with the big schools. She made that point clear Saturday at the Greeley Central Invitational.

The Berthoud jumper easily won the long jump against competition that included 5A schools at District 6 Stadium, finishing with a jump of 16 feet, 5 inches. As a matter of fact her biggest competition came from her own team. The Lady Spartans placed three jumpers in the top four, including senior Hallie Groenewald, who finished second with a leap of 15-3. Junior Chanee Lintel was fourth with a leap of 14-5.5.

Head coach Colby Schultz was more than pleased by the way Mills performed.

“She’s (only) a freshman. Courtney ended up winning with a 16-5 jump against a lot of 5A schools. It was a huge, huge meet for her,” Schultz said.

Mills’ effort helped Berthoud to a sixth-place finish in the 15-team field. The Lady Spartans finished with 67.5 points, just one-half point behind fifth-place Rangeview. Greeley Central won the meet with 122.5 points.

In the boys competition, Berthoud finished 10th with 23 points. Rampart took top honors with 106.5.

Ty Duncan was the only BHS individual to finish in the top 10 in separate events, placing 10th in the 400 meter in 52.81 seconds. He also took fourth in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet.

“Ty had a good meet. He’s back on track. He really looked strong,” Schultz said. “He clipped the bar with his calves at 6-1, but I really expect him to get better and better. He’s a 6-6 jumper. He really should be.”

Fellow senior Bryce Munoz took third in the long jump with a leap of 20-6.25. He might’ve topped that if not for a scratch on his second jump.

“Bryce had a rally good day jumping. Once again, he’s one of those guys we know we’re going to get a lot of good jumps out of,” Schultz said.

Kent Flynn placed fifth in the 300 hurdles, Jack Kirk was 10th in the 3200, and Berthoud placed three relay teams — the 400, 1600 and 3200 — in the top 10.

Besides Mills, Groenewald and Lintel, the Lady Spartans had numerous top 10 finishes, including a second-place finish for Cheyenne Hall in the triple jump (34-1) and a pair of top 10s for freshman Mollie Bonds in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles.

Others to place were Julia Leonard (800), Dillon Fagler (800), Emma Otto (1600), Kayla Schinke (high jump), Tanya Bezanson (shot put), and four relay teams — the 400, 800, 1600 and 3200.

“Overall, our girls had a real strong performance,” Schultz said.

GREELEY CENTRAL INVITATIONAL
District 6 Stadium, Greeley, Saturday

Boys
Team scores: Rampart 106.5, Loveland 98, Sierra 83, Cherokee Trail 76, Greeley Central 53, Sterling 33.5, Kelly Walsh 31.5, Northridge 27.5, Standley Lake 26, Berthoud 23, Northglenn 22, Cheyenne Central 20.5, Wiggins 20, University 18.5, Fort Lupton 13, Regis Jesuit 13, Rangeview 11.5, Prairie View 11, Greeley West 8.5, Frederick 4, Hinkley 2

Berthoud top-10 finishers: 400 meter: Ty Duncan, Sr., 10th, 52.81; 3200: Jack Kirk, Sr., 10th,  10:48.06;300 hurdles: Kent Flynn, Sr., 5th, 42.36; 400 relay: Berthoud, 7th, 45.30; 1600 relay: Berthoud, 6th, 3:35.82; 3200 relay: Berthoud, 6th, 8:56.05; High jump: Duncan, 4th, 6-0; Long jump: Bryce Munoz, Sr., 3rd, 20-6.25

Girls
Team scores: Greeley Central 122.5, Sierra 87, Loveland 86, Rampart 81, Rangeview 68, Berthoud 67.5, Kelly Walsh 58, Cheyenne Central 41, Sterling 37.5, Frederick 28, Greeley West 20.5, Wiggins 17.5, Hinkley 14, Northridge 8, Prairie View 0.5

Berthoud top-10 finishers: 400 meter: Cheyenne Hall, Soph., 8th, 1:05.82; 800: Julia Leonard, Soph., 7th, 2:38.31; Dillon Fagler, Fr., 8th, 2:38.46; 1600: Emma Otto, Fr., 9th, 5:54.58; 100 hurdles; Mollie Bonds, Fr., 5th, 17.40; 300 hurdles: Bonds, 7th, 50.90; 400 relay: Berthoud, 3rd, 52.90; 800 relay: Berthoud, 3rd, 1:52.31; 1600 relay: Berthoud, 6th, 4:59.11; 3200 relay: Berthoud, 5th, 11:10.88; High jump: Kayla Schinke, Sr., 10th, 4-8; Long jump: Courtney Mills, Fr., 1st, 16-5; Hallie Groenewald, Sr.,, 2nd, 15-3; Chanee Lintel, Jr., 4th, 14-5.5; Triple jump: Cheyenne Hall, Soph., 2nd, 34-1’ Lintel, 4th, 32-11.5; Polly Poirier, Sr., 10th, 30-10.75; Shot put: Tanya Bezanson, Soph., 6th, 31-3.5