LAKEWOOD - Cherry Creek’s Roman Holmes never imagined his success in track would lead to three state titles in one year because if he would have known, he would have started doing track long before last season.

The Bruins’ senior - who set the state record two weeks ago in the long jump and won the state final in the event Friday - capped off his tremendous season Saturday at the Class 5A state championships at Jefferson County Stadium by winning two more gold medals. He leapt 50 feet, 9-¼ inches to win the triple jump, and was also the lead leg in the Bruins’ victorious 400 relay along with Devan Levy, Alex Johnson, and Kiel Prickett.

“Oh I am so glad I did track, yes I am,” Holmes said. “I’m so excited about all of this. I’m not much of a sprinter, I’m a jumper. But I just had to sprint today and that was a lot of fun to win that.”

In the triple jump, Holmes was jumping between 48-49 feet throughout the round, but didn’t eclipse the 50-feet mark until his final jump. His previous jumps would have been enough, as Aurora Central’s Castin Mabin finished second with 46-7-¾ and George Washington defending champion Joe Harris settled for third with his mark of 46-0-¼.

“In the air, I just knew it was a good jump,” said Holmes, who hurt his left quadriceps muscle with his final jump, but still managed to run the relay. “I could feel it. That last triple jump, I just gave it my everything.”

But Holmes’ three titles weren’t enough to give Cherry Creek the team title, with the Bruins just missing out by three points to Arapahoe. After failing to score in any of the four final events Friday, the Warriors were led by Reger Craigo’s strong showing in the sprints and relays to score 53 points, ahead of Cherry Creek (50), Littleton (41) and Rampart (41.)

Reger finished fourth in the 100 and second in the 200, with his loss in the 200 coming to Denver East junior Dominick Roberts - the returning champion in the 200 and 400 who defended his crown in both events.

In the 200 Roberts had to not only face Craigo, but Heritage’s Jordan Edwards - who won the 100 earlier in the morning. And even though Roberts started slow, he said he worked on using his arms, and won with a time of 21.09 over Craigo (21.49) and Edwards (21.69.)

“I’m very relieved and very satisfied that it’s over because now I can focus on prom tonight and my birthday on Monday,” said Roberts, who will turn 18. “I got out of the blocks a little slow, but I worked it out. I guess you could say I had lazy start, and an extremely good finish.”

And in the 400, Roberts felt confident enough to make the race exciting.

“I wanted the fans to see a show, so I let the guy (Rampart’s Devin Mohn) come up on me and then I just burned him,” said Roberts, who won with a time of 47.27, over Mohn’s second-place finish of 48.20.

Dakota Ridge junior Evan Appel also became a double champion, winning Saturday’s 1,600 after claiming the 3,200 title the day before.

About 200 yards in to the race, Thornton senior Dey Tuach - who won Friday’s 800 - got boxed in and fell while Appel and Regis Jesuit’s Bobby Nicholls led the pack for most of the way.

Appel and Nicholls broke away with a lap to go, and Appel began to extend his lead with 200 yards remaining. Cherry Creek senior Charles White began to make his move from the third position and while he managed to pass Nicholls on the last turn, he didn’t have enough energy to get Appel, who ran his best time of 4:16.31.

“The whole time I was just waiting for them to pass me, holy smokes,“ said Appel, who won the cross-country championship in the fall. “But as soon as Dey went down, something told me just to go and leave it all out there.”

White was second in 4:17.66, Nicholls finished third (4:18.39), Wheat Ridge’s Henry Cowhick was fourth (4:20.66) and Tuach rebounded for a respectable fifth-place finish (4:22.78.)

Northglenn’s Cory Engel won the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.09, but had to settle for fourth in the 300 hurdles after Regis Jesuit’s Jordan Aguilar and Littleton’s Kyle McIntosh sprinted to a photo finish.

Aguilar and McIntosh didn’t know who won the race until the awards committee placed them all on the podium to get their medals. Aguilar was clocked at 38.255 and McIntosh recorded a time of 38.259.

“I wasn’t really sure if I won or not, and I wasn’t seeded to win this,” said Aguilar, who had the fifth-fastest qualifying time. “I couldn’t tell if I won or not because when we crossed the finish line, it looked like we were the same. But I was really excited. I’m a junior so I’ll get another year to try and do it again. But I was definitely surprised.”

It was no surprise when Smoky Hill’s Chase Cooper won the pole vault state title. After finishing second in state last year, he was the top returning pole vault participant this season and had jumped over 16-0 during the regular season. Cooper recorded the second-best pole vault mark in Colorado history Saturday, with his vault of 16-7.

“I wasn’t too worried, I’m pretty good at keeping calm at the heat of it all,“ Cooper said. “I could tell early on it felt good that first jump, so I knew that big jump was coming.”

But the best part about winning his state title was that his older brother Kirk, the 2005 and 2006 state champion in the event, was able to see his brother win. Kirk Cooper now competes at the University of Kansas, and came in town to participate in the Big 12 Track Championships in Boulder.

“My goal was 16-9-½, but 16-7 is still my (personal record), but it was great to win, and it was really exciting to have my whole family and my brother here today,” Cooper said.

Junior Terry Alletto of Ponderosa claimed the shot put title with his best-ever throw of 55-5, barely edging out Durango’s Will Hunsaker, who tossed 55-4-¼.

“I knew it was a good throw right away,” said Alletto, who didn’t qualify for the state meet last year. “I was just hoping that it would be far enough, and it was. But barely.”

In the relays, Littleton’s combination of Peter Neal, Will Scernanec, Peter Jenkins, and Nate Guthals won the 3,200 relay title with a time of 7:57.17; Grandview’s Paul Terailleur, Marion Brown, Brett Johnson, and Davis Burl combined to win the 800 relay with a time of 1:27.87; and Montbello’s Shaine McGee, Tyree Yates, Cortney Dorsey and Denzel Williams won the 1,600 relay with a time of 3:16.42.

CLASS 5A BOYS

TEAM SCORES

Arapahoe 53; Cherry Creek 50; Littleton 41; Rampart 41; Loveland 38; George Washington 37; Heritage 36; Regis 35; Aurora Central 33; Pomona 32; Grandview 28; Grand Junction 26; Eaglecrest 26; Smoky Hill 23; Palmer 23; Wheat Ridge 23; Coronado 21; Montbello 21; Dakota Ridge 20; Doherty 20; Ponderosa 20; Denver East 20; Northglenn 16 1/2; Thornton 15; Durango 14; Fort Collins 14; Fruita Monument 11 1/2; Chaparral 11; Highlands Ranch 11; Rocky Mountain 9; Standley Lake 7; Fairview 7; Denver North 7; Mountain Vista 5; Boulder 5; Central (G.J.) 4; Chatfield 3; Mitchell 3; Columbine 3; Arvada West 2; Bear Creek 2; Sand Creek 1; Legacy 1; ThunderRidge 1; Douglas County 1.

3200 RELAY

1, Littleton (Peter Neal, Will Scernanec, Peter Jenkins, Nate Guthals), 7:57.17; 2, Arapahoe, 7:58.05; 3, Rampart, 7:58.66; 4, Regis Jesuit, 7:59.96; 5, Chaparral, 8:01.76; 6, Rocky Mountain, 8:03.00; 7, Doherty, 8:05.84; 8, Durango, 8:06.79; 9, Standley Lake, 8:08.19.

110 HURDLES

1, Cory Engel, Northglenn, 14.09; 2, Tarique Hill, Eaglecrest, 14.17; 2, Tashuan Hill, Eaglecrest, 14.22; 4, Jon Reed, Highlands Ranch, 14.30; 5, Brendan Jackson, Palmer, 14.39; 6, Halpon Taylor, Grandview, 14.41; 7, Michael Geiger, Ponderosa, 14.75; 8, Marcus Pierce, Arapahoe, 15.09; 9, Taylor Aversano, Wheat Ridge, 15.16.

100

1, Jordan Edwards, Heritage, 10.81; 2, Jesse Lewis, Loveland, 10.84; 3, Kenny Chambers, Doherty, 10.86; 4, Reger Craigo, Arapahoe, 10.89; 5, Davis Burl, Grandview, 10.94; 6, Shawn Tucker, Grandview, 11.00; 7, Devin Mohn, Rampart, 11.03; 8, Aaron Whitaker, George Washington, 11.07; 9, Orenzo Davis, Columbine, 11.15.

800 RELAY

1, Grandview (Paul Terailleur, Marion Brown, Brett Johnson, Davis Burl), 1:27.87; 2, Loveland, 1:27.93; 3, Arapahoe, 1:28.64; 4, Heritage, 1:28.79; 5, George Washington, 1:28.87; 6, Littleton, 1:29.15; 7, Smoky Hill, 1:29.71; 8, Rampart, 1:30.30.

1,600

1, Evan Appel, Dakota Ridge, 4:16.31; 2, Charles White, Cherry Creek, 4:17.66; 3, Bobby Nicholls, Regis Jesuit, 4:18.39; 4, Henry Cowhick, Wheat Ridge, 4:20.66; 5, Dey Tuach, Thornton, 4:22.78; 6, Mathew Bell, George Washington, 4:25.83; 7, Clif Campbell, Fort Collins, 4:26.03; 8, Jeff Warren, Mountain Vista, 4:26.30; 9, Alex Weinheimer, Fairview, 4:26.39.

400 RELAY

1, Cherry Creek (Roman Holmes, Devan Levy, Alex Johnson, Kiel Pickett), 42.28; 2, Rampart, 42.51; 3, Loveland, 42.55; 4, Heritage, 42.55; 5, Grandview, 42.73; 6, Montbello, 42.94; 7, Mitchell, 43.33; 8, Columbine, 43.34; 9, George Washington, 44.11.

400

1, Dominick Roberts, Denver East, 47.27; 2, Devin Mohn, Rampart, 48.20; 3, Denzel Williams, Montbello, 48.65; 4, Edryse Kelly, George Washington, 49.07; 5, David Mueller, Coronado, 49.16; 6, Nolan Curtis, Grand Junction Central, 49.16; 7, Sam Stratton, Chatfield, 49.17; 8, Dustin Ebner, Pomona, 49.42; 9, Corey Clark, Rampart, 49.43.

300 HURDLES

1, Jordan Aguilar, Regis Jesuit, 38.255; 2, Kyle McIntosh, Littleton, 38.259; 3, Brendan Jackson, Palmer, 38.55; 4, Cory Engel, Northglenn, 38.66; 5, Tashaun Hill, Eaglecrest, 38.70; 6, Herman Gutierrez, Grand Junction, 39.01; 7, Kumar Pinkney, Littleton, 39.13; 8, Ben Courtney, Littleton, 39.98; 9, Brien Hopkins, Douglas County, 40.40.

200

1, Dominick Roberts, Denver East, 21.09; 2, Reger Craigo, Arapahoe, 21.49; 3, Jordan Edwards, Heritage, 21.69; 4, David Mueller, Coronado, 21.91; 5, Jesse Lewis, Loveland, 21.92; 6, Keith Williams, Aurora Central, 22.11.

1,600 RELAY

1, Montbello (Shaine McGee, Tyree Yates, Courtney Dorsey, Denzel Williams), 3:16.42; 2, Littleton, 3:18.81; 3, Arapahoe, 3:19.48; 4, Grand Junction, 3:21.99; 5, Boulder, 3:22.37; 6, Regis Jesuit, 3:22.66; 7, Coronado, 3:23.29; 8, Rocky Mountain, 3:23.65; 9, Loveland, 3:23.90.

TRIPLE JUMP

1, Roman Holmes, Cherry Creek, 50-9-¼; 2, Caston Mabin, Aurora Central, 46-7-¾; 3, Joseph Harris, George Washington, 46-0-¼; 4, Randy Brown, Grand Junction, 44-7-¾; 5, Josh McMillin, Rampart, 44-4-¾; 6, Dylon Pierpont, Arapahoe, 44-3; 7, Dawson Moore, Fruita Monument, 44-1-¼; 8, Michael Wahl, Arvada West, 44-0-½; 9, Travis Sears, Legacy, 43-10-¼.

SHOT PUT

Terry Alletto, Ponderosa, 55-5; 2, Will Hunsaker, Durango, 55-4-¼; 3, Cole Carveth, Pomona, 53-2-¾; 4, Mark Sparks, Smoky Hill, 52-2-¼; 5, Joe Caprioglio, Highlands Ranch, 52-1-¾; 6, Kyle Major, Heritage, 51-8-½; 7, Jaden Terry, Doherty, 49-6-½; 8, Cody Sanders, Heritage, 48-6; 9, Adam Turner, Standley Lake, 48-5-½.

POLE VAULT

1, Chase Cooper, Smoky Hill, 16-7; 2, James Nixon, Cherry Creek, 15-6; 3, Josh McMillin, Rampart, 15-6; 4, Travis Thompson, Loveland, 14-6; 5, Todd Paicurich, Standley Lake, 14-6; 6, Luke Biewick, Littleton, 14-0; 7, Andrew Schall, Rocky Mountain, 14-0; 8, Phil Bourgeouis, Arapahoe, 13-6; 9, Will Plamet, ThunderRidge, 13-6.

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