It did not take Ella Hagen long to make her mark on the Summit High School track and field program. The freshman broke an 18-year-old school record in the 1,600-meter run at the Runners Roost of Fort Collins Invitational on Saturday, March 26.

At the Rifle Invitational a week prior, Hagen brought the new school record within striking range as she beat her personal best by 15 seconds and was within two seconds of breaking the school record.

Poised to set a new record in Fort Collins, Hagen didn’t show her age. She raced like a seasoned veteran, taking full control of the field in the early parts of the race and eagerly chasing down the school record time of 5:07.92.

Hagen completed the first lap of the race well under the pace needed for the new school record and on pace for under a five-minute mile. On the second and third laps, Hagen slowed a tad but closed extremely well on the final lap, dipping close to five-minute mile pace.

Hagen valiantly crossed the finish line in first place in a time of 5:05.94, nearly three seconds in front of second place and two seconds under the school record set by Whitney Anderson during the 2004 season.

The performance by Hagen continues to move her up in the 4A girls state rankings for the 1,600-meter run, which includes much older talent from some of the best track programs in the state.

The school record performance also now opens the door for her to continue to improve the time throughout the rest of the season as well as her high school career.

Hagen also ran in the 800-meter run where she notched another top-10 finish by placing fourth in a time of 2:24.86.

Having only run two meets as a high school distance runner, Hagen now has four top-10 finishes, including an individual win.

Continuing the success for the Tigers freshman, Niamh Nelson put her aerobic talent on full display in the 3,200-meter run, placing 15th in a time of 14:36.

The Tigers also saw success from junior distance runner Dom Remeikis, who placed within the top five in two individual events.

In the boys 800-meter run, Remeikis placed fifth in a time of 2:02.24 and in the competitive, 1,600-meter run he placed fourth overall in 4:37.34.

Ephraim Overstreet, Summit basketball player turned track star, placed 13th in the boys high jump. He used his height and size to jump 5 feet 6 inches.

In the girls 100-meter hurdles, Emily Koetteritz was able to place within the top-10 for the Tigers for the second time this season, placing sixth in a time of 17.60 seconds. In the 300-meter hurdles, Koetteritz placed 13th with a time of 52.95 seconds.

Out of the 20 teams competing at the Runners Roost of Fort Collins Invitational, the Summit track and field team placed 15th in the girls team rankings and 19th overall in the boys team rankings.

The team will compete again on Friday, April 1, at the Erie Twilight Invitational hosted by Erie High School. Events are scheduled to start at noon.