Alexa Queen’s coronation as the 5A girls 300 hurdles champion occurred in Lakewood during last month’s Colorado State Track and Field Championships, but the process began in 2022.

Queen, a Fountain-Fort Carson junior who won the 300 hurdles title with a career-best time of 41.66 seconds, played several sports at Fountain Middle School but gravitated toward soccer, her preferred sport at the time. But in late seventh grade and eighth grade, Queen began to show an interest in hurdles.

“She was a natural at it. She stumbled upon hurdles how I did in middle school,” said Donna Queen, Alexa’s mother and hurdles coach at Fountain-Fort Carson. “It’s hard to teach some kids how to hurdle but she jumped over one and it was natural. I think she always knew I was a hurdler, but I never prompted her to try it.”

Donna, who enjoyed an illustrious career at the University of Colorado and is in the Buffaloes’ hall of fame, is a three-time Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100 hurdles and missed the 1992 Olympics by .01 second. Donna never forced Queen to follow her career. However, Donna didn’t hide her excitement when her daughter’s focus shifted from soccer to hurdles.

“Oh, I absolutely was (happy),” Donna said. “I was very thrilled on the inside and outside. I even have a video of me reacting to her three-stepping in a hurdles race in eighth grade.”

The three-step pattern is where a competitor in the 100 or 110 hurdles takes three steps between each leap prior to clearing a hurdle. Queen did that in her first race in eighth grade with ease.

“That’s when I knew hurdling was what she’d end up doing,” Donna said. “It’s really difficult to three step and she accomplished that her first race. My hurdle-mom heart was like, ‘Wow! This is awesome.’”

Queen’s success continued during her freshman year at Fountain-Fort Carson and last year as a sophomore. Queen began the season with a 46.49-second race and ended her sophomore campaign with a then personal record (PR) of 43.19 for second place in the 300 at state.

From her freshman debut, where Queen ran a 49.74, to her PR at the 2024 state race, she shaved more than six seconds in just two seasons. The Trojans junior credited cross country for adding to her endurance.

“It was a big help mentally for me,” Queen said. “Whenever I would go before a race, I would think to myself, ‘I ran cross country and ran three miles. This is not as bad as that.’ That helped me to be more mentally tough with the workouts and it’s a good base to have going into track season.”

Fountain-Fort Carson track and field coach Ben Montoya, who also coaches the Trojans cross country team, noted the importance of Queen’s foray into long-distance running and how it benefitted her as a sophomore and junior.

“Cross country is a mentally tough sport and she’s proven she’s mentally tough, especially in the 300 hurdles,” Montoya said. “The 300 hurdles is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, events in track and cross country and it helped her develop that mental toughness.”

Sure, the souped-up mentality and improved times pleased the Trojans hurdler, but Queen still required a crown. And she showed her hunger to check that box this year.

In seven 300 hurdle events prior to the state meet, Queen placed second or better in each race. And, for a second consecutive year, Queen qualified for the state meet in the open 100, 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles.

Another outstanding accomplishment, but this added another hurdle of sorts. During Thursday’s prelims at the state meet, the 5A 100-meter dash and 100 hurdles had just a 90-minute gap between the events.

“At first, we were a little nervous and we asked if she felt good about the races being that close,” Trojans hurdles coach Nathan Bohlken said. “She was the one who said she wanted to do it. More props to her for wanting to see what she was capable of doing and being able to put herself in a physically uncomfortable position and flourish.”

Queen set a personal best time in the open 100 at 12.25 but just missed qualifying for finals. The Trojans junior qualified in the 100 hurdles and placed second in the finals at 13.99, her first sub-14 second race.

Although the PR in the 100 hurdles earned her second place, Montoya said, “she hates losing.” That finish served as fuel for her final race.

“When I got second in the 100 hurdles, that motivated me to run fast … if I run my hardest, I’ll be a state champion,” Queen said. “I was thankful to get to the point where I was a state champion. Coming in as a freshman, I knew I wanted to do that.”

In the 300, she needed that record-setting pace as eventual runner-up Ponderosa’s Payton Becker wasn’t far off. The Mustangs senior clocked in at 41.73.

When she crossed the finish line and during her climb atop the podium at JeffCo Stadium, her family ensured Queen received the ovation she deserved.

“We were all there to cheer her on, and her sister was probably the one everyone heard,” Donna said. “Having been a college coach, I see a bit more ability than what she did on the track. … She has a high ceiling and I’m chomping at the bit watching it unfold.

“In my mind, this is what I knew she could do and I know she’ll be back even better next year.”