Colorado High School Girls T&F Athletes of the Year

CTS’ Girls T&F HS athletes of the year of 2023 was a difficult one.  In the following CTS will give you the gold-silver-bronze winners.  CTS will also give you athletes that made or improved on their top-10 marks.

GOLD, Bethany Michalak, junior at Air Academy HS, squeaked out the Gold here in what was the highly contested girls title.  Her third-place finish in the mile at the Brooks PR Invite in Seattle, WA. with a time of 4:37.39 help her to the CTS Gold.  That time was good for the #2 CTS mile in the all-time standings.  Only Katie Rainsberger‘s 4:36.61 in 2016 is faster, Rainsberger was also from Air Academy HS.  Michalak mile time ended up #5 Nationally and her 4:19.02 1500 meters en-route in the same race landed her #3 in the CTS standings and #7 Nationally.  She also ran 10:01.12 (9:57.86 3200 meters) in the 2-mile for 6th place at the Arcadia Invite in Arcadia, CA.  That time was #5 in the CTS standings and #12 Nationally.  At the Indoor New Balance Nationals in Boston, MA. where they had a clock on the 3000 meters in a 2-mile race, she had a 9:39.03, which ranks #10 in the CTS all-time standings.  She has committed to North Carolina State U.

SILVER, Emma Stutzman senior at Pomona HS, nailed down the SILVER with a third-place finish at the Brooks PR Invite in the 2-mile, with a time of 9:55.75.  That time is #2 in the CTS all-time standings.  Only Brie Oakley (Grandview HS) time of 9:51.33 at the same meet in 2017 has run faster.  Stutzman’s time landed her #4 Nationally in the 2-mile event.  The meet also had a clock at the 3000-meter mark in which she clocked a time of 9:17.67.  That is #3 CTS all-time list and was #4 Nationally for the year.  At the 5A Colorado State Meet she had an altitude 1600 meter time of 4:39.94, which converts to a 4:41.57-mile time.  The mile time is #7 CTS all-time.  She will be attending Northern Arizona U. in the fall.

BRONZE, Madison Shults senior at Niwot HS, ran a fast 2:04.28 800 meters at the Arcadia Invite for third place.  That time lands her #2 CTS all-time and was the #5 fastest Nationally for the year.  Only the legendary Wendy Koenig (Estes Park) has run faster, and is the oldest girls mark still on the books.  Koenig’s CTS #1 of 2:03.03 run in 1973 was in an international meet in Munich, Germany.  Shults is attending Stanford U.

Top-10 marks made in 2023 in the CTS High School lists.

Kourtney Rathke junior at Peak-to-Peak HS, in the Pole Vault was outstanding all year and knocked down the #1 CTS Vault, with a 13-9 1/4 at the Air Force Indoor High School Open.  That was #8 Nationally in the indoor rankings for 2023.

Isabel Allori junior at Liberty Common HS, was outstanding in the distance events in 2023.   At the Arcadia Invite in Arcadia, CA in the 3200 meters where the Colorado girls were all over in this event, Allori was 4th in a time of 9:56.82, which converts to a 10:00.07 2-mile.  That 2-mile time is #4 CTS all-time.  At the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, MA she clocked an en-route 9:35.21 3000 meters.  That 3k time is #6 CTS all-time.  In both those races she took down our GOLD Medal winner Michalak.  These two juniors should light up these lists in 2024.  Allori might have ranked higher, however was injured just before the Colorado State Meet.

Brooke Wilson senior at Valor Christian HS, ran in the 3200 meters at the Arcadia Invite in Arcadia, CA like many of the Colorado distance girls, and came in 9th.  Her time of 9:59.49 lands her in a converted 2-mile 10:02.76 CTS all-time of #6.   She had a 9:36.20 3000 meters in route to a 2-mile at the Nike Indoor Nationals in New York, NY.  That 3k time puts her #8 in the CTS 3k listings.  She will be attending Wake Forest U.

Ella Johns senior at Fort Collins HS, at the HOKA Festival of Miles meet in St. Louis, MO ran in a very competitive mile race, and came in 10th with a time of 4:48.34.  Her 1500-meter en-route time of 4:28.02 however lands her in #8 in the CTS all-time list.  She is headed to Duke U. in the fall.

Emily Lamontagne senior at Arapahoe HS, competed at the University of Washington High School Indoor Invite in the 3000 meters and ran a 9:35.62 which comes in at #7 CTS all-time.  She will attend North Carolina U.

Gabriella Cunningham junior at Grandview HS, was undefeated in the hurdles in the State of Colorado in 2023 and competed in many National meets.  She broke the CTS top-10 list in 3 events. in the 60-meter hurdles she moved to #6 with a time of 8.51 at the Let’s get Real Invite in Colorado Springs, CO, and #8 in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.69 +0.6w at the Stutler Twilight in Greenwood Village, Co, and #9 in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.36 at the Arcadia Invite in Arcadia, CA in which she came in at 2nd.  Keep an eye on her in 2024!

Megan Kelleghan senior at Silver Creek HS, improved her CTS top-10 standings in the Pole Vault to #5 with an 13-5 height at the Colorado 4A State Championships for 1st place.  She is going to North Carolina U.

Olivia Kosanovich senior at Fairview HS, another top Pole Vaulter from Colorado moved to #10 in the CTS listings with a 12-10 vault winning the Colorado 5A State title.  She is going to Vanderbilt U.

Enjoy and GOD Bless