D'Evelyn's Kevin Williams usually jumps out to a huge lead in his races, forcing his competition to watch him from behind.

But during the 1,600-meter race in the Class 4A state championships Friday at Jefferson County Stadium, Williams tried a different approach - he stayed with the pack.

It appears it doesn't matter what strategy Williams uses: He earned his second straight 1,600 title, with a time of 4 minutes, 14.76 seconds, and will go for his third consecutive 3,200 championship when competition continues today.

"I run a lot more miles than a lot of other guys, so I have a lot more strength when it comes to really going for it," Williams said. "So, I was trying to go out conservatively, just be really patient and then have a really hard second 800 (meters), and it worked."

After the pack was called back because Cherokee Trail's Scott Ingram fell on the first turn, a lot of runners got thrown off their game plan. But Williams remained calm, and he didn't make his move until the last lap to fight off Falcon junior Wes Rickman, who finished second, in 4:16.94.

Mullen junior Andrew Berberick finished fourth (4:26.08) and was sandwiched between Battle Mountain's John O'Neill (third, 4:24.23) and Jonny Stevens (fifth, 4:26.31), who still were ecstatic from the Huskies' win in the 3,200 relay early in the morning.

Battle Mountain put the foursome of senior Tony Crisoulli, sophomore Connor Tedstrom, Stevens and O'Neill together Thursday night, and they combined to win easy, with a time of 7:52.94.

"We did a lot of switching people around, and it slowly unfolded into that team," O'Neill said. "Unfortunately, it unfolded into that team the day before, but it worked out."

Sierra's Kelby Dias is expected to repeat as champion in the 110 and 300 hurdles, having recorded the fastest qualifying times in the events Friday.

So, a state title in the long jump Friday came as a complete surprise - almost as much of a surprise as his leap of 22 feet, 23/4 inches in his first attempt, holding on for the top mark.

"I almost can't believe it, because Zach Little's (of Mesa Ridge) jumps of 23s have beaten me every meet we've been at, so (Friday), I thought he would get it on," Dias said of Little, who finished second, with a jump of 21- 113/4. "When he came up for his last jump, I thought, 'Oh, no.' And when he didn't get it, that was that."

Rock Canyon's Erik Sutterfield was surprised when he defended his pole vault crown. Sutterfield had a tough week, pulling a hamstring at regionals and suffering through the flu this week. But clearing 15 feet was enough to win.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to jump because of my hamstring," said Sutterfield, who will attend Nebraska. "I tried to jump on Wednesday, and I just couldn't do it. (Friday), I just had to fight the pain because it hurt so bad. I was really nervous, but once I got a few jumps in, I felt a lot better."

Fort Morgan's Joe Hochanadel bettered his personal best this season by more than 10 feet to win the discus, with a throw of 167-9.

"I was definitely an underdog, because some other guys had come in with throws of 166 and 167, and I had never thrown farther than 160," said Hochanadel, who will compete in the shot put today. "I didn't think it was a good throw."