Coronado’s Oliver Horton confidently waits to make winning charge late in 4A 3,200
LAKEWOOD – Oliver Horton demonstrated that one of the keys to being a champion is knowing you are a champion.
The Coronado junior bided his time Friday morning in the 3A 3,200 meter run at the Colorado Track and Field State Championship. He was at times boxed in by the pack, but he didn’t panic. He knew – the kind of knowing that comes from being there before – that he’d have what it took to make a final move.
And then he pulled it off, winning the race to keep him perfect this season in 3,200 runs in Colorado and adding hardware to the cross country championship he captured in the fall.
“I knew a lot of people were going to be looking at me,” Horton said after running a 9:12.18 for a narrow victory over Ryder Keeton of Niwot (9:12.52). “But I didn’t really care. I knew that I had every tool I needed to win this. I just think the confidence was talking to my coach and knowing that I deserved to win.”
More than his history of success, Horton pointed to his training intensity. And a sense of purpose dating to the time when victories did not come with such regularity.
Last year he was fourth in the state in the 3,200, blaming himself for his in-race execution.
“That (3,200)’s been haunting me for a year,” he said. “I’m glad I have this win under me because I’ve been wanting it for so long.”
The win certainly didn’t come with ease. Horton ran near the front of the pack, but never in front, for about seven laps. His first five laps were all at 1:10-plus. On Lap 6 he went 1:09:44, Lap 7 was 1:05.68 and his winning final lap was 56:19.
“I was trapped for a lot of it,” Horton said. “Not a lot of doubt crept in, but I was really delayed on getting on moves. Sometime on the back stretch I was like, ‘Man, I’m running a really dumb race. It’s choppy, I’m getting crushed a little bit.’ But I knew that when I hit the outside, 350 to go that I can win this.”
Horton was one of five Pikes Peak region runners to finish in the Top 10, joined by Palmer Ridge’s Benjamin Olds (fifth at 9:16.44), Air Academy’s Carson Smith (eighth at 9:18.72), Lewis-Palmer Noah Thompson (ninth at 9:19.25) and Cheyenne Mountain’s Aiden Le Roux (10th at 9:21.58)
Horton is seeded third in the 1,600, which runs on Saturday. He’ll have a shot to win the distance triple of cross country, 3,200 and 1,600 in the same school year.
It would be unwise to bet against a champion.
“I’m getting ready for the mile and then I can celebrate after that,” Horton said.