Grimes, Hallsted headline Eagle tracksters

The Chadron State Track and Field team gets off its starting block today with events at the Colorado Mines Alumni Classic, in Golden. Events continue through Friday. 

Building on Nationals worthy performances last season, Chadron’s Isaac Grimes, sophomore of Moreno Valley, California, and Ashton Hallsted, junior of Casper, Wyoming are expected to once again lead the Eagles in their indoor season. 

Grimes, who took sixth in long jump at the NCAA DII Indoor Meet last season, is expected to expand from his usual long and triple jump events into sprints. 

“Last year he was great in the long jump and great in the triple jump,” Chadron State Head Coach Riley Northrup said, “but he’s a guy that can also sprint with anybody.”

According to Northrup, Grimes training and competing in the 60 meters should lead to longer jumps. 

“Realistically, I think he’ll push the 8-meter mark in the long jump and over 50 in triple,” Northrup said. “And he’s probably a sub-690 guy in the 60 (meters).”

Northrup also believes Grimes could be a key addition to the team’s relay group. “This year I think we have some people in place to potentially put together a mean 4×4.”

Hallsted, who was 11th in the 20-pound weight throw at the NCAA DII National Indoor meet and Second-Team All-American last season, also looks poised to improve this season.

“Points wise, she’s certainly going to be somebody that will contend to win every event she enters,” Northrup said. “After our Friday (intrasquad) meet, she’s really really ahead of the game in terms of her weight throwing. She (set a personal record) during the intrasquad, in December – she’s going to have a really good year.”

Northrup said he sees her being in the top three in the country in the weight throw and could be at the top of the conference in the shot put, an event she’s shown big gains in. 

Having graduated several key members of the women’s team following last season, Northrup’s primary concern is that the women’s group is small, although he does have four additions for next year and expects to see growth from the majority of the women’s group. 

Among the women’s group, Northrup said sprinters Christina Frick, of Fort Morgan, Colorado,  and Cassidy Johnson,  senior of Rock Springs, Wyoming, are poised to have good performances this season.

“They both have trained really well and have done everything they need to do to set themselves up for a good year,” Northrup said. 

Northrup also praised jumper Michelle Carbajal, senior of Gypsum, Colorado. “Her form started coming around in the triple jump,” Northrup said. “The changes from a strength and conditioning standpoint – she’s a completely different animal right now. I’ll look to see her open the season better than ever.”

Along with Grimes, Javan Lanier, junior of Aurora, Colorado, is another of the men’s team to watch. Northrup said he’s impressed with how Lanier has looked so far, but may not go full-force with him this week due to what Northrup called a “hamstring nick.”

Northrup welcomed the addition of two young sprinters, Brodie Roden, freshman of Riverton, Wyoming, and Chancy Hunt, freshman of Big Piney, Wyoming.

Northrup believes Roden, who’ll take some time to get going this season, as he recently finished his football season, will begin to make his presence known around the time the RMAC Indoor Conference meet comes around.

Of Hunt, Northrup says he’s already looking better on paper than he did coming out of high school.