In a sense, Albrie Everett and Anthony Hernandez are starting a race together.
Everett, a freshman at Jefferson High School, is a promising track and field athlete just beginning to explore her potential.
Hernandez, her coach and the founder of Greeley’s Cutthroat Track and Field Club, is on a mission to establish his club’s reputation both locally and nationally. Hernandez, head coach of the club, formed it last May after seeing other communities with track and field clubs.
The two are just getting started on their respective routes. And both are off to promising starts.
Cutthroat Track and Field Club coach Anthony Hernandez, right, works with high jumper Albrie Everett while practicing at Heath Middle School in Greeley on Feb. 7. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)On Friday, Jan. 31, the club competed at the University of Colorado Invitational in Boulder. Hernandez registered Everett to compete in the high jump with hopes of her qualifying for the Adidas Indoor National meet in March. The qualifying height for freshman girls was 4 feet, 10 inches. Everett cleared her opening jump of 4 feet, 9 1/2 inches.
“I honestly didn’t practice very much,” Everett said. “It was a little stressful. They (other athletes) were way nicer than I expected. I had fun. It was fun jumping with people with more experience than me to learn what I should and shouldn’t do.”
She missed her first attempt at 4 feet, 11 1/2 inches but cleared it on her second attempt, which was good for eighth place. From March 21-23, she and two other middle school Cutthroat teammates will compete at the Adidas Indoor National meet in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“It’s exciting, it’s different,” she said. “I’ve never been to nationals. I’ve only ran for middle school (track).”
Hernandez has been coaching her for two seasons, first when she was at Heath Middle School.
Hernandez was an all-conference selection in the 110-hurdles at Greeley Central High School his senior year, where he ran track all four years. In 2023, he attempted to walk onto the Colorado State University track and field team but was cut.
That led him back to Heath as a volunteer coach with the hurdlers. He competed in track and field at Heath as a seventh grader. The Heath girls’ track team won the city championship in 2023.
“I really fell in love with coaching and decided to do it full-time, not just the hurdlers (coach),” he said.
Hernandez credited Marty Neighbour, former Greeley Central track and field coach, for instilling a lot of track and coaching wisdom into him.
Last spring, Hernandez completed courses through the USA Track and Field, the national governing body for track and field, of which the club is a member. He is an official USA Track and Field coach.
The original name for the club was the Panthers, but he changed it to the more aggressive name because he didn’t want people to think the club was an extension of Heath, which has the Panthers as its mascot.
The Cutthroat name also comes from the Colorado Cutthroat trout. Hernandez is an avid fisherman.
“I just wanted to give our kids a little bit more opportunities to keep competing because their outdoor season is pretty small,” he said. “I also just wanted to hone my coaching skills.”
The club started with six middle school athletes and found early success. Naveiah Stewart and Lauralei Stewart qualified and competed last July in the Junior Olympics Region 10 track and field competition in Aurora. The team currently has a dozen athletes, mainly from Greeley high schools. There are a few top-tier middle school athletes, too.
Members of the Cutthroat Track and Field Club warm up during practice at Heath Middle School in Greeley on Feb. 7. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)When Hernandez spoke with high school athletic directors about his club and getting athletes to join, they were excited about the opportunity for their student-athletes to get more experience, he said.
The Cutthroat season started last May and will be over once the high school track and field season starts. All athletes can go back and forth between his club and the other high school teams they might be on. They practice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the track at Heath, with most meets on Saturdays across the state. Practices are scheduled to happen throughout the year.
The club travels across Colorado and out of it. For Valentine’s Day weekend, the team has gone to a meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Hernandez works in Boulder, and being the “one-man band” for the team, his time and finances can be stretched thin. He sets aside some of his finances to help pay for expenses and meet fees for some of his athletes so they don’t have to worry about that side of the sport, which encourages them to stay on the team. It doesn’t cost to be on the team.
He sought out sponsors and did some fundraising last summer, but since the club was new and fresh, it was tough.
“This year, I can show improvement,” he said.
Hernandez can also show potential sponsors, or anyone who wants to help, what Everett has done and what she can potentially do.
In a few weeks, Everett is set to join the Greeley West High School track and field team because Jefferson High School doesn’t have athletic teams. She’s excited about being a part of the Spartans because she knows a few athletes on the team, and she’s eager to practice in fairly new facilities at the school.
Hernandez is also excited to see her at Greeley West. And that’s just the start.
“I don’t think she even realizes how fast she is and how good she is,” he said. “It’s been a joy to coach her. There’s a lot we can still learn and a lot I can teach her. She pretty much has been doing these amazing jumps just off pure talent.”
Upon hearing her coach’s comments, Everett said she was excited about how far and high the sport could take her. She has hopes of earning a track scholarship to a Division 1 school, but for now, she’s enjoying where she’s at.
As the sun begins to set, Albrie Everett clears the high jump bar while practicing at Heath Middle School in Greeley on Feb. 7. Everett will compete in the Adidas Track Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virgina. Everett is a part of the Cutthroat Track and Field Club. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)“I don’t want to expect to get a D1 (scholarship),” she said. “Just wherever it takes me, it takes me, and I hope I do good.”
Hernandez loves what he’s created, and it’s given him fulfillment. He’s optimistic about where the club can go.
“I love being out here. It’s something I look forward to every day, even if I’m having a rough day at work, I know that I always have these guys to cheer me up,” he said. “They’re a fun group of kids. I love it.”
To contact Hernandez about sponsorships, being on the team or other information, message him on the club’s Instagram, @Cutthroattfc, or email him at cutthroattfc@gmail.com.
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