Meet the Standley Lake senior who placed fifth in Colorado state track hurdles, but first in kindness

LAKEWOOD — Marcus Mills could’ve crawled to the finish line on scraped ego and bruised knees. But what would’ve been the point?

“I didn’t want to finish the race at all,” Mills, a senior sprinter at Sierra High, said of the carnage that capped the Class 4A state boys 300-meter hurdles championship won by Niwot’s Eric Walker Saturday. “I got DQ-ed anyway.”

JeffCo Stadium’s farewell kiss had sent Mills sprawling to the track, three meters from a state title. Last race. Last high school meet. Last CHSAA dance. Last lead. Last stinking hurdle.

“I guess I attacked it way too hard,” offered Mills, who went from first place to his keister in a blink as the crowd gasped. “Yeah. I guess the hurdle attacked me.”

A shocked Mills watched from his behind while the rest…