Trinidad sends strong boys track team to state championship

Trinidad School District #1 sent a deep boys track group to Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood, and the Miners answered with the kind of statewide showing that matters in a small district. The 2026 Colorado High School Track and Field State Championships ran May 14-16, all events streamed on the NFHS Network, with tickets and parking passes sold online in advance through GoFan and no cash accepted at the venue.

The district’s May 14 announcement showed how broad Trinidad’s qualifying footprint was. Keith Duran earned a state berth in the 100-meter dash, Dominic Edwards in the 300-meter hurdles, Xavier Maes in both the long jump and triple jump, Matthew Garduno in the triple jump, Connor Knezel in the shot put and discus, D’Ante Cole Guzman in the 100- and 200-meter wheelchair races, and Francisco Flores in the wheelchair shot put and discus. Trinidad also qualified both relays, a sign that the Miners had speed and depth at the same time.

The 4x100 relay was listed as Keith Duran, Andrew East, William McCray and Xavier Maes, with Dominic Edwards, Michael Montano, Francisco Sandoval and Acelino Diaz as alternates. The 4x200 relay featured Andrew East, Dominic Edwards, Xavier Maes and Keith Duran, with Michael Montano, Colton Roybal, Darius Gutierrez and Joshua Sandoval available off the bench. For Trinidad, that roster meant more than numbers on a start list. It meant the school could cover sprints, hurdles, jumps and throws with athletes who had already proven they belonged in Denver.

The results backed that up. MileSplit’s Trinidad High School page showed Dominic Edwards running 44.71 in the 300-meter hurdles for 16th in prelims, and the 4x100 relay finishing in 46.03 for 15th in prelims. Xavier Maes jumped 18-3 in the long jump to place 15th in finals. Connor Knezel delivered Trinidad’s strongest open-field results, taking fifth in discus with 143-8 and 11th in shot put with 42-4.75. In the wheelchair divisions, Francisco Flores placed fifth in discus at 50-0 and eighth in shot put at 21-2.25, while D’Ante Cole Guzman finished fifth in the 100 meters in 14.48 and third in the 200 meters in 30.43.

For Trinidad and Las Animas County, the meet carried a familiar local weight. Trinidad became the county seat in 1866 and grew into an important coal-mining center in the 1870s, and the Miners nickname still ties Trinidad High School to that history. This spring’s state trip gave the city another visible marker of school pride, with athletes from the district representing Trinidad against Colorado’s best on one of the biggest stages in high school track.