Las Animas County athletes compete across busy spring track circuit

Las Animas County runners and jumpers were in the middle of a crowded southeastern Colorado track circuit again at CSU-Pueblo’s Thunderbowl Stadium, where Trinidad and Aguilar athletes joined one of the region’s strongest early-season tests and came home with marks that showed how competitive the spring has become.

The Thunder-Storm Invitational on April 11 drew 24 scored boys’ teams and 27 scored girls’ teams, turning Pueblo into a measuring stick for schools from across southern Colorado. Trinidad finished 17th in the boys standings with 11 points, while Hoehne placed ninth on the girls side with 27 points. The field stretched well beyond county lines, with teams from Pueblo, Salida, Canon City, Pagosa Springs, Alamosa, Centauri, Monte Vista, Cheraw, Rye and La Junta all part of the same crowded day of racing and field events.

For Trinidad, the trip produced concrete results in the sprints and hurdles. Alicia Barron ran 31.26 in the 200 meters and 1:10.13 in the 400, while Summer Hernandez clocked 1:12.15 in the 400 and 1:00.43 in the 300 hurdles. Those marks put Trinidad athletes into the same race environment as the larger programs, where early-season times can matter just as much as placings because they show how close runners are to qualification pace and later-meet contention.

That kind of progression has been part of the story all spring. Earlier coverage noted that Braylee Foster of Hoehne won the high jump at 5 feet, 6 inches and finished ninth in the 100 at a March meet, then later won the state high jump title at 5 feet, 3 inches. Foster also showed up in the regional conversation at Swink, where cold, overcast conditions delayed the Ray Hedley Invitational by about an hour but did not stop her from turning in first-place finishes, personal bests as a sprinter and high jumper, and help for relay teams.

The same weather-and-travel grind has defined the county’s spring schedule. Another recap noted that the Thunder-Storm Invitational had drawn 18 schools in an earlier year and still went on despite wind, rain and cold, a reminder that rural track in southeastern Colorado often depends on resilience as much as raw speed. Trinidad, Aguilar, Hoehne and their neighboring schools are not just chasing medals from one weekend to the next. They are building marks, relay chemistry and experience against some of the strongest early-season competition in the region, with Pueblo serving as the main proving ground.