Minor ready to make next improvement at Simplot Games

By Brent W. New for DyeStat

Arria Minor put her name on three records Saturday at the Great Southwest Indoor Classic in Albuquerque, N.M.. Within the next few days, the Denver East CO junior hopes to set more of her own in Pocatello, Idaho.

Complacency? Yeah, not a problem here.

Colorado’s fastest girl won the 60-meter dash (7.41), 200 (23.72) and 400 (53.80) to earn most valuable female athlete honors at Great Southwest. Minor, 17, now heads to Idaho State’s Holt Arena, where she’ll be one of – if not the biggest – headliner at the 40th annual Simplot Games. ENTRIES

“I’m just trying to improve, improve, improve,” Minor said after her three wins Saturday. “Anything I can do to keep getting better. I don’t want to plateau at a young age. I just want to keep on doing what I love and improving at it.” INTERVIEW

Simplot runs Thursday through Saturday. Last year, more than 2,200 athletes participated in the games, including Minor, who won the 200 in 23.65, which was a national leader at the time and finished third among all female athletes in the country for the indoor season.

Minor, who is entered in the 60 and 400, is eager to make a new mark of her own by week’s end.

“I love the track at Simplot,” said Minor, who is scheduled to run the two sprint races, along with potential relays Friday and Saturday for Denver Lightning.

“I’m going to try to PR. I just want to keep the legacy going (of past Simplot champions) and make them proud.”

It’s all a part of Minor’s growing legacy on the track.

The Chicago soccer player turned Denver speedster swept the 100, 200 and 400 in her first two years at the Colorado state track and field meet. By the end of spring, she hopes to have the state records in all three events.

Outside of the Mile High City, she’s been even more impressive.

Adding to her bounty of gold in meets across the world, Minor wowed at the Pan American U20 Championships when she contributed to a U.S. victory and meet record in the 4x400 relay in 3:28.57. All three of her relay teammates – Syaira Richardson (Ohio State), Jaevin Reed (Texas A&M) and Takyera Roberson (Alabama) – are currently freshmen or sophomores in college.

Then there’s the 2020 Olympics.

“The 2020 is definitely on our radar,” said Steve Kiper, Minor’s high school and Denver Lightning club coach. “It’s something that we’re looking at. … Right now, her best chance would probably be in the open 400.”

Minor isn’t getting ahead of herself, though. She admits the articles, videos and tweets donning her as Colorado’s next big track star are, at times, a bit overwhelming.

Like the story The Denver Post ran before her state meet last year, headlined “Arria Minor, already the state’s fastest girl, has a chance to be the best female sprinter Colorado’s ever seen.”

She’s humbled by it, but she does her best to keep things in perspective.

“A lot of athletes I know that are in the same situation and have all headlines like that, we don’t go on Twitter, we don’t go on Instagram. We don’t look at any of that until the meet’s over,” she said. “Then we look at it.”

As for her legacy? The Olympics? Her college plans? It’ll all come in time.

Right now, she’s just running for the moment.

“At the end of the day, I feel like I run track for myself,” Minor said. “As long as I’m in love with the sport, that stuff will follow.”