ERIE >> Though the steady rain wasn’t friendly to those trying to lower their times, local track and field athletes still gained plenty from Friday’s Erie Twilight Invitational.

For some, the meet offered a mid-season barometer with many of the Front Range’s top high school programs competing. Others approached the invite focused on either improving technique or capturing confidence in certain events.

Local teams in attendance included host Erie, Broomfield, Silver Creek, Monarch, Longmont, Skyline, Boulder, Twin Peaks Classical Academy, Legacy and Lyons.

Few boys’ runners enjoyed as successful of a day as Broomfield senior Diego Estebanes.

Guided by his love for the hurdles and a relentless competitive drive, the veteran Eagle took first in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles at Erie High. Estebanes completed the 110 in 15.22 seconds before pacing the 300 at 39:02.

“I don’t walk into anything thinking I’m going to win,” Estebanes said. “I just want to come out here and compete. That’s what I love so much about this sport. It allows me to compete to my highest level. Other people, regardless of if they have the technique that I have, they can still have the drive to come and catch me.”

The humble Estebanes added that, after not playing basketball this past winter with the goal of prioritizing track, his two wins became even more satisfying.

“To have it pay off the way it’s had, I’ve really come to love the 300 because I’m really competitive,” he said.

In the 300 hurdles, fellow Broomfield runner Blaes Kane took second (40.75) and Twin Peaks Charter senior Joshua Bishop placed third (41.51).Elsewhere:

Erie finds success on home track

Racing on a familiar track certainly has its advantages, and the Erie Tigers capitalized on that with multiple top-three finishes.

On the boys’ side, Erie’s Hayden Fox placed runner-up in the boys 400-meter dash (52.02), and Joshua Levine finished third in the 200 (22.73). Levine, along with Carson Hageman, Alex Sweeney and Braylon Toliver, also took first in the 4×100 relay with a time of 43.38.

“I was just excited,” said Toliver, the Tigers’ anchor. “I was glad that we won as a team. It was great.”

The Erie girls also ran well on familiar ground. Freshman Abigail Bjerkaas and junior Sabina Stroia won the 200 (26.10) and 3,200 (11:28.13), respectively, to lead the charge. Erie also took second in the 4×800 (10:07.53) and third in the 4×100 (52.42).

Longmont’s new-look 4×200 earns gold

Competing together for the first time as a group, the Longmont foursome of Makenna Smith, Lea Irvin, Maya Pears and Rosie Nowlin took first in the 4×200 (1:48.37).

“We definitely didn’t really know how it would end, but we ended up pulling ahead and doing really good in our heat,” Pears said. “We ended up pulling out in front of everybody and winning first, which was really exciting for all of us.”

Despite her hands going “completely numb” in the cold weather, Irvin took fourth in the 100 hurdles (16.38) and eighth in the 300 hurdles (50.52).

“It was really exciting, considering everything,” Irvin said. “I’ve had a really long week. I had a track meet on Tuesday and came back from Arizona on Sunday. I’m really proud of myself for doing really well.”

Fairview senior Helen Carlson wins the 800 by wide margin

Fairview’s Helen Carlson wasn’t putting too much pressure on herself entering her final Erie Twilight.

With the simple goal of feeling good about her 800 — the senior’s lone event of the day — Carlson cruised to a first-place time of 2:21.24, over six seconds faster than the runner-up finisher from Battle Mountain.

“I was mostly just trying to remember what it feels like,” Carlson said. “I’ve only had one other race before it. I feel pretty good afterwards, but I know have more in me.”

Carlson will stay in Boulder next fall as she’s currently committed to running track and cross country at the University of Colorado. Until then, she’s hoping to soak in her final days with the Knights.