This past weekend, the Thompson Valley High School girls repeated its Colorado 4A team State Title.  Coach Matt Norton had predicted his team to be in the 80-90 point range, and virtual meets had predicted the Eagles to score in the upper 90s; however, these golden girls lived up to the hype they had created all season and surpassed everyone’s expectations, scoring 101 points and furthermore winning by over 30.

     On Thursday morning, Thompson Valley began its dominance in the meet’s “race to watch” – the 4x800m relay.  Not only did the Eagles beat 2nd place Alamosa by 30 seconds and capture the new All-Colorado State Record, but the quartet of Laura Tremblay, Liz Tremblay, Brooke Regan, and Karina Ernst now sit with the new US #1 time (9:00.07) for the 2009 outdoor season.

     After accomplishing this one goal that had been lingering since the St. Vrain Invitational on April 24th, the Eagle girls have now focused their attention to breaking 9:00 at this year’s Nike Outdoor Nationals (NON) meet in mid-June and hope to win a national championship.

     Coach Norton had commented to me that the Eagles scored the majority of their points from the relay events.  “Ever since I’ve been here, the relays have been an important part of what we do because the kids realize that collectively, they can be a lot stronger than what they do individually.”  Certainly, the Eagles were anchored at the State Championship by their relay performances.  “That was really how we started generating momentum for our program,” Coach Norton said.  “The girls love running those relays because they get tied into the emotion of running for your teammates.  That always draws out their best.”  Thompson Valley earned 10 points from the 4x200m relay (1:43.79) and managed to distance the entire field even farther in the 4x400m relay, winning in a season-best 3:50.74 by 6 seconds.  Also, the Thompson Valley’s 4x100m relay (which set a school record) took 2nd place (49.18) and the 800 Sprint Medley relay (SMR) took 3rd (1:49.86).  The Eagles will be sending three more squads – the 4x400m, 4x200m, and SMR – to Nike Outdoor Nationals in an attempt for even more All-American honors.

     But the Eagles had two more busy days ahead of them for individuals too.  Thanks to the CHSAA’s newly formatted 3-day schedule from May 14th to May 16th, Thompson Valley was able to put girls in three or four events to maximize its point scoring.  The Tremblay sisters especially each had monster meets, greatly contributing to the many relay teams and winning individual titles of their own.

     Laura picked up a US top-20 time with her new 1600m PR of 4:54.59 – a new 4A Meet Record.  “Laura’s performance in the 1600 was awesome,” Coach Norton said.  “Using the altitude adjustment that the NCAA takes into consideration, Laura’s time would be equivalent to a 4:48 mile.  That would make her one of the top milers in the country.”  Laura will be entered in the mile at NON, hoping to place highly against this year’s studded field, which includes: Amanda Winslow (4:44.97), Chelsey Sveinsson (4:45.19), and Jordan Hasay (4:47.05).  Also, Laura took 2nd in the 800m with yet another PR 2:13.66.

     But possibly more rewarding, in Coach Norton’s opinion, was Liz’s 400m Individual State Championship.  “Liz has been that hammer for us in all the relays.  It was great to see her get her first individual title as well,” Coach Norton said.  Liz was crowned State Champion in the 400m with a new PR and State leading time of 55.19 and placed 5th in the 200m (25.13).  “People like Liz are so committed to the program.  They are always willing to sacrifice some of their own glory to help the team out,” Coach Norton said.  “It’s a great thing for her to get that one moment where the spotlight is solely on her.”

     In addition, after splitting 2:17 in Thompson Valley’s winning 4x800m relay, Karina Ernst had plenty of momentum for a stellar State meet.  Coach Norton claimed that “she took her experience in the 4x8 and applied her experience to her open events too.”  The freshman phenom scored in both the 1600m and 800m, placing 5th and 6th respectively.  “She is tremendously talented,” Coach Norton said.  “This spring, especially, she has done a great job of getting in the mix with our senior girls and not being afraid of going with them.”  Her new PRs in the 1600m (5:11.04) and 800m (2:18.26) distances earned her the top performance by a freshman in both of those events.

     Other individual point contributors were: Brooke Regan (400m, 800m), Katie Lindenmuth (Long Jump), and Sarah Van Horn (pole vault).  The Eagles flew to a back-to-back 4A team title with a full team effort and never looked back after leading from the very beginning.  The Eagles’ culmination to the regular season could not have ended any better, in Coach Norton’s opinion.  “Most of these girls came in during my first year as head coach.  It’s very rewarding to see them all succeed as seniors.”