Photo: Tom Smith/MileSplit
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Another weekend jam-packed with state championships saw a pair of the best juniors in the nation dominate their respective state championship.
Niwot's (Col.) Addy Ritzenhein and Herriman's (Utah) Jackson Spencer capped off their in-state season with multiple titles, both individually and as part of a relay.
After announcing her commitment to Northern Arizona earlier this year, the Niwot junior has been at the top of her game. Ritzenhein won her third consecutive 4A 3200m title at the Colorado State Track and Field Championships, running 10:27.8, breaking the tape with a 10-second gap on the field. The distance star came through 1600m in 5:21 and dropped a 5:05 over the final four laps to pull away. She also won her second consecutive 1600m title, running 4:47. With her fifth-place finish in the 800m (2:14), the future Lumberjack was the first leg of Niwot's state championship 4x800m squad. The Cougars ran 9:18 to win by eight seconds over Air Academy.
The junior left the Utah State Championships with a lot of hardware, heading home as a four-time state champion. Spencer won a pair of individual titles and contributed to two in the relays as well. Spencer clocked 8:56 to win the 3200m and followed that up with a nail-biting win in the 1600m, stopping the clock at 4:10. Spencer also helped the 4x400m and 4x800m take the top spot on the podium, with Herriman winning in 3:15 and 7:38, respectively. Herriman won by four seconds in both relays and finished third in the team scores with 89.5.
