LAKEWOOD >> As a two-time prep shot put champion, Jade West has cultivated a reputation as one of Colorado’s best in the event.

She also thinks most people see her as just a shot put thrower and nothing else. So at Thursday’s track and field state championships, the Niwot senior set out to shatter that perception.

In the Class 4A girls discus finals, West threw 133 feet, 7 inches to win the title and set the seventh-best mark in Colorado this season. Now, she’s a two-timer in both events.

“I think people see me, and they see how well I do in shot put and they think, ‘She’s a shot put thrower. Disc is just a secondary thing,’” West said. “I want people to see that I can do both and I can win both. I think it’s a big thing for me to show that no matter who doubts you, no matter who wants to shove you in a box, you can break out of that, you can prove people wrong, you can work hard, and it’s a choice to show up every day.”

West’s performance was just the tip of the iceberg for Niwot, the juggernaut that continues to chase down team track and field championships on an annual basis.

It wasn’t a final, but Niwot’s girls 4×200-meter relay team — Eliana Henriques, Sammie Holliday, Kate Schmidthube and Reese Kasper — set a state meet record of 1 minute, 39.39 seconds. The previous record (1:39.49) was held by the Niwot relay team from 2021.

Adding another Niwot title in the field events, Cougars senior Eliana Henriques won the 4A girls long jump with a mark of 18-3.

“It’s super exciting, especially because I tore my ACL my sophomore year,” Henriques said. “So then last year, when I was long-jumping at state, I had to long jump off of my non-dominant side. Now being able to come back, jump off my dominant side and then win, it just really means a lot.”

The Cougars also dominated the 4A 3,200 individual events and 4×800 relays on both sides.

Junior Addy Ritzenhein won the girls open race with a time of 10:27.80. Junior Ryder Keeton won the boys race in 9:02.44.

In the boys 4×800 relay, the Cougars — Quinn Sullivan, Cole Mazurana, Gavin Engtrakul and Rocco Culpepper — won with a time of 7:51.53. It was the fastest 4A time in Colorado this season.

“I think, especially considering it’s pretty windy and you’re hitting the stretch and you’re going head-on into the wind and every one of our legs ran alone,” Culpepper said. “Considering that and the time we still put up, we all had a lot more in us, and I’m very proud of what we can do.”

In the girls 4×800, Niwot’s team of Ritzenhein, Anna Prok, Elsza Bergen and Elise Hagen finished first with a time of 9:18.74. That makes two golds already for Ritzenhein, who still has the 800 and 1,600 left this weekend.“It was amazing. Great way to kick it off,” Ritzenhein said. “I’m halfway through my events, and it’s already been so amazing. So, I can’t wait for what’s next.”

Niwot’s Jiselle Sales was seventh in the discus with a throw of 115-5. After the first day of the three-day meet, Niwot’s girls (49) and boys (30) both led their respective team standings.

Claiming an individual title for Erie, Tigers junior Natalie Fetters threw 38-2.25 in the 5A shot put to place first.

“It’s really a surreal moment,” Fetters said. “It still hasn’t really hit me yet. I’m just excited for what I’ve done and what I’ve achieved and to see what I can do in the future. It was a total surprise. I was not expecting it whatsoever. I got the mark on the first throw, and I was just expecting people to keep improving.”

Also for Erie, Tegan Cerveny finished seventh in the girls shot put and Addison Greenlee placed fourth in the 5A girls high jump by clearing 5-3.

Holy Family’s Monte Samaras placed third in the 4A boys long jump with a mark of 22-0.50.

For Silver Creek, Michael Fertitta was the top placer at fifth in the 4A boys pole vault and a mark of 14-1.

Mead’s top finisher was Dresden Spendlove, who placed ninth with a mark of 145-9 in the 4A boys discus.