Photo by Will Cornelius
Fighting the cold, Spartan Tate Bothun set a new BHS school record in the 3200-meter run on April 22.

Tate Bothun sets new BHS school record in the 3200-meter run

By Kristi Leonard
The Surveyor

To those who do not understand the sport — track and field just looks like a lot of work. Often in lousy weather, where only one person gets the prize. However, those who drove by Berthoud High School (BHS) last Saturday had to conclude that there is something special about this sport. Twenty-three teams, with three to four athletes allowed per team in 38 different events made Max Marr Stadium come alive with energy. Roosevelt High School hosted the Randall Hess Invite at BHS because their track is in poor condition. Berthoud has one of the fastest tracks in the area thanks to voters passing the bond and mill levy a few years ago. The Spartan boys team finished in fourth place and the girls in fifth, but there is much more to this story.

Syd Slauson and Bella Miller were the first Spartans to race, running the 3200-meter run. They ran the grueling eight-lap race in frigid 28-degree weather. Slauson finished eighth and Miller 21st.
Shortly after, BHS distance coach Jordan Jennings created an intrasquad competition in the boys 3200-meter run by entering his top four boys to compete against one another for the fastest times. Berthoud runners were easy to recognize in the field as each wore their bright neon beanies from their trip to the Nike Cross Regionals in Arizona last November.

As soon as the starting gun went off, it was clear that records were going to be broken. Nolan Hoffman of Mead High School set a blistering pace as BHS’s Tate Bothun bounced along right behind him like the pom-pom on his beanie. Fellow Spartans Scott Clark, Afton Cooper, and Daniel Hatton started a little more conservatively, but still much faster than normal.

Clark and Cooper started picking people off after the mile mark. Clark, looking regularly at his watch to check his pace, moved up from seventh, to fifth, and eventually to third, just 10 meters behind Bothun. Hearing the bell ring for the final lap, Clark made a move and closed the gap to seven meters. But Bothun found another gear deep inside and held on to finish two seconds ahead of his teammate to set a new school record of 9 minutes and 41.84 seconds. Clark’s time of 9:43.81 also obliterated the previous record of 9:53 set by Luke Spitz in 2015. Cooper (9:59) and Hatton (10:31) finished seventh and 13th respectively.

At the same time, the field events were underway. Small groups of people were cheering for different athletes competing, but the most enthusiastic shouts came from the fence outside of the high jump. BHS throwers were cheering on freshman Audrey Gravestock. After each jump, the freshman ran to the fence to the thundering zeal of her teammates. They joked and encouraged Gravestock, who has improved from clearing 3 feet 10 inches in her first meet to 4 feet 7 inches this week — and nabbing fourth place. The BHS throwers are having a great season both athletically and socially.

“We are setting lots of PRs (personal records),” Everett Peatrowsky responded when asked how the season was going. “Coaching has been really good,” the junior said of coach Brody Wright.
“We’ve been focusing on form,” Taylor Lundgreen added. However, there is much more to this group than just throwing. It is obvious that the athletes enjoy being together. They trust one another and their coach. They support each other. Once Gravestock was finished jumping she headed to throw the discus. Julianna Jorgensen, Lilly Strait, Zayne Froien, Trevor Moore, Peatrowsky, Lundgreen and coach Brody all moved as one to cheer for Gravestock again.

“We’re getting excited about this group. The throwers are putting it together. Juliana and Audrey have good potential. We have more talent than we’ve had in six years. Our juniors are doing great, our freshmen are spectacular. We’ll have a state champ in the next few years,” commented coach Brody. “Izabelle [Froien] has been bombing it in practice, working on explosiveness. She’s thrown over 120 feet in practice.” Froien finished in second place with a throw of 106 feet five inches. One of Berthoud’s few seniors, Froien is currently ranked third in Class 3A according to Max Preps. Another senior, Gracie Flores is ranked ninth in Class 3A despite only participating in track on a part-time basis. The senior is also playing with a club softball team.

“We’re building trust in the process. They want quick results, but it happens a little at a time. There are definitely frustrations with them wanting to be further than they are developing,” complimented coach Brody. He continued, “We have great senior leadership. Nolan [Simon] is the epitome of a decathlete. He is fast, explosive, can run, jump and throw. He has the body type of a D1 decathlete.” Simon and Caiden Day turned out for track for the first time in high school. “It is fun to see the brotherhood with the seniors,” Brody added.

The Randall Hess Invite hosts a special 4×100-meter relay for the throwers. Donuts are awarded to the winning team. Peatrowsky, Izabelle Froien, Trevor Moore and Gravestock finished second.
The camaraderie between the throwers, the distance runners, the hurdlers, the jumpers and the relay runners is what makes BHS track and field special.

BHS also supports a roster of seven special needs athletes. Brenden Nelsen and Andrew Keenan competed in the unified 100-meter dash. “With help by Blaine Voth and Jill Fitzgerald (MVHS unified coach), we’ve had fantastic support by other schools to graciously add in unified events at their meets. It makes my heart happy to see them so excited to race, as well as befriend unified athletes from other schools,” explained Julie Nauss, one of the BHS unified coaches. Nelsen high-fived all the other athletes after the race, even waiting at the finish for the final competitor to finish.

Other notable placings: Brooke Nelsen (second in 100-meter hurdles), Jaycee Williams (second in the 800-meter run), Jay Michaelis (second in 110-meter hurdles and fifth in 300-meter hurdles), Paige Farnam (third in the 400-meter run, fourth in the 200-meter dash, sixth in long jump), Aiden Malherbe (fifth in 800-meter), Trevor Moore (sixth in discus), Ellie Harper (seventh in 100-meter), Shaylee Spears (eighth in triple jump). Relays: 4×100-meter (fifth for both genders), 4×200-meter (boys finished third and the girls placed fourth), 4×400-meter (boys grabbed seventh place and girls second), 4×800-meter (boys captured sixth place) and sprint medley relay (girls finished fifth).

The track team will be in Eaton next week for the Weld County Championships but will return to Max Marr Stadium on May 4 for the Patriot League Meet.