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Ignacio junior Thunder Windy Boy (14) goes stride for stride with Crested Butte Community School’s Cody Pleak (10) as both pursue Dolores’ Joseph Padilla (15) into the fourth turn while completing a lap during the Class 2A Boys’ 3,200-meter run Friday morning, May 15, on the 2026 CHSAA State Track & Field Championships’ second day.
Ignacio senior Lincoln deKay (4) guts out the second Class 2A Boys’ 300-meter hurdles preliminary Friday morning, May 15, on the 2026 CHSAA State Track & Field Championships’ second day. Finishing in pain, deKay ranked 17th (his time was 48.44 seconds – roughly 5.5 off the minimum required pace) after the two heats and did not advance to the next day’s final. He did, however, rest and refocus himself to win the Saturday session’s 110-meter hurdles final.
Photo Credit: Joel Priest | Special to the Drum
Photo Credit: Joel Priest | Special to the Drum
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Determined hurdler deKay cops title

Friday - May 29, 2026 by Joel Priest | Special to the Drum

IHS senior wins one of two hurdles’ races

Finishing his 300-meter hurdles preliminary race Friday morning, May 15, somewhat in pain, but perhaps more pained by the sight of his fellow entrants running away from him, Lincoln deKay became even more motivated to leave Jeffco Stadium and the 2026 CHSAA State Track & Field Championships with at least one triumph to his name.

Thanks to his second-place 15.41 in the Class 2A Boys’ 110m hurdles prelims the previous day, he’d have a chance.

And thanks to his own resilience, he conquered.

Clocking a sterling 15.19 during the season-ending meet’s definitive Saturday session, deKay – Ignacio’s record-holder in the specialty after smashing the former standard, set in 1989 by then-junior Tim Mantey, of 16.00 seconds – won by two-tenths of a tick over Wray senior Aaron Tena and 0.76 over Longmont-based Twin Peaks Classical Academy junior Micah Arndt to summit the podium in his last-ever event as a Bobcat.

The ten points accompanying deKay’s first-place medal ultimately put IHS into a tie with Calhan for 31st in the final standings. Peyton racked up 70.5 points and won the team title over Julesburg-based Sedgwick County (59) and Greeley Dayspring Christian Academy (54), with Ordway-based Crowley County (37.5) and Arvada Forge Christian (37) filling out the top five.

deKay’s 48.44 in the 300 hurdles left him standing 17th after the two prelims, but he technically finished ahead of Buena Vista junior Dexter Whitmore, who was disqualified for finishing in the wrong lane.

Though fouling on his first and third attempts, senior Evan Perkins winged the discus 110 feet, three inches on his second and placed 17th. Junior Thunder Windy Boy qualified in the 3,200-meter run and on Day 2 clocked a 15th-place 10:37.53 in a race where both the winner (Colorado Springs The Vanguard junior Max Miller) and runner-up (DCA senior Cooper Osmus) broke the 2A Championships record.

Besting the 9:25.63 set just last year, Osmus finished in 9:18.54 but still couldn’t catch Miller and his 9:17.67.

AFTERMATH

When the Colorado High School Activities Association released its 2026 Boys’ Track & Field All-State Teams on the 20th, deKay was revealed as having earned First Team All-2A for his achievement in the 110m hurdles. Fellow San Juan Basin Leaguers also honored were Telluride junior Thomas Mahoney (First Team; 100m, 200m), Mancos senior Jonah Ritter (First Team; 200m), Dolores senior Michael Rantz (Second Team; 100m, 400m) and Dolores sophomore Joseph Padilla (Honorable Mention; 3,200m).

In Class 1A, Norwood junior Holten McCluer was honored (First Team; high jump) along with Ouray senior Cavan Pasek (First Team; 200m), Nucla junior Cole Bray (Second Team; long jump), Ouray junior Jeep Demuth (Second Team; 100m, 4×100 relay – with Pasek, senior Conner Hill, senior Keaton Nelson), Nucla junior Austin Garvey (Second Team; high jump), Nucla senior Drake Long (Second Team; high jump) and Dove Creek senior Mason Forst (Honorable Mention; 3,200m).

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