LAKEWOOD – Alexa Queen shined in her last high school race, and it wasn’t just because of the red and blue sparkles in her hair. 

The Fountain-Fort Carson senior successfully defended her state title in the 5A girls’ 300-meter hurdles Saturday with a time of 42.31 seconds, and placed third in the 100-meter hurdles for the second year in a row. Queen couldn’t be happier with the result after a season full of sickness and struggles to drop time. 

“I’m just really happy to be here,” Queen said. “It’s not a personal record, but I’m grateful for how I did.” 

As the field turned the last corner in the 300-meter hurdle event, Queen had the clear advantage and cruised to the Colorado High School Activities Association championship with a wide smile plastered on her face.

“I tried to start as strongly as I could and keep carrying it,” Queen said. “The crowd, my family and friends, cheering was the final push to give it all out there.” 

As she settled into the blocks before the 300-meter hurdles, Queen prayed to stay healthy and finish strong, as she does before every race. It helps her stay calm, and she was rewarded with state champion results Saturday at JeffCo Stadium. 

“It’s just putting it all out there,” Queen said. “It’s my last race in high school, so I wanted to run as hard as I could and do my best.”

The senior will compete for the Duke University track team after graduation, following in the footsteps of her parents, who were standout track & field athletes at the University of Colorado Boulder. It still hasn’t hit Queen yet that her prep career is over, but she’s focusing on the present. 

Looking back at her career, she’ll remember the titles, but most of all, she’ll remember her supporters. 

“I’ll remember all the wonderful people I’ve gotten to spend time with and the people here supporting me today,” Queen said. “It’s been great connecting with my parents over track. I’m just grateful for everything.”