As his feet pound against the track, Coleby Borchardt turns into a tactician.

The Krum sophomore has developed a knack for analyzing pace and timing his kick so that he has just enough energy to slip past his competitors at the finish line of a race.

DRC/Al Key

Krum sophomore Coleby Borchardt will compete in the 400 and the 800 at the Class 2A state track and field meet Saturday.

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It’s the mental aspect of running that has Borchardt qualified in two events for his first UIL state track and field meet Saturday in Austin.

Borchardt will run the 800, in which he was the Class 2A Region II champion last month, and the 400, where he was the regional runner-up.

“He’s a very smart runner,” said Krum head coach Keith Pierce. “He knows pace and usually runs a very smart tactical race. He can recognize when the pace is too fast.”

Borchardt has tried various distances — running everything from 100-meter sprints to the White Rock Marathon’s half marathon — but his favorite event always has been the 800.

It’s a tricky middle distance for some, but Borchardt has excelled, winning the event in all but two of Krum’s meets this season. He finished second at the Little Elm Invitational on March 29 and again at the District 13-2A meet on April 14.

In the latter meet, he was defeated by Aubrey’s Steven Cantwell, with Borchardt coming back to edge Cantwell by 0.07 seconds at the regional meet. Both qualified for state.

Borchardt is Krum’s first state track qualifier since 2005. He has steadily lowered his 800 time during the season, breaking 2 minutes for the first time with a 1:57.13 at regionals.

“It’s been a dream since last year to go down and compete,” said Borchardt, who also plays drums in the school’s jazz band. “I’ve been mentally preparing myself. That’s all I’ve been thinking about.”

Pierce said Borchardt’s affinity for the 800 can be traced to seventh grade, and is made possible by his combination of athleticism and mental toughness. Borchardt was sixth in the event at regionals as a freshman.

“You could kind of tell as a middle school kid that the 800 was his best event,” Pierce said. “You could tell over the years that he was going to get better. He has that natural drive.”

Borchardt won a district title in the 800 as an eighth grader, then became involved in a summer track program before entering high school.

After a solid freshman season, Borchardt joined the Krum cross country program last fall, qualifying for the state meet after the Bobcats won the regional title. In December, Borchardt decided to run in the half marathon at White Rock, where he placed 20th in his age group.

“I want down there just to see what the experience was like, and I ran better than I thought I would,” Borchardt said.

Borchardt’s versatility has caused Pierce to shuffle him around this season. He spent much of the season as part of Krum’s 4x100 relay, and ran as part of an all-sophomore quartet on the 4x400 relay, which qualified for regionals.

It wasn’t until late in the season that Pierce pulled Borchardt off the 4x100 relay and had him run the 400, in which he wound up second at the regional meet.

In the 800, Borchardt’s seed time ranks fourth among the eight competitors at state. Pierce expects the race to provide valuable experience, win or lose.

“I want to go down there and get some experience and put everything on the line,” Borchardt said. “Wherever I finish, I think it’s going to benefit me in the long run.”

TODD JORGENSON can be reached at 940-566-6871. His e-mail address is tjorgenson@dentonrc.com .

Class 4A boys

Denton

Johnson Amadi — triple jump

Guyer

Joe Barb — 400

4x400 relay

Ryan

Michael McLeod — pole vault

Class 4A girls

Guyer

Brittany Shorter — 100

Class 3A boys

Argyle

Stephen Curry — 1,600

Connor Hughey — 800

Garrett Hughey — 400

Colby Oberle — triple jump

Gavin Pucciarello — 300 hurdles

Samuel Retzloff — pole vault

Blake Woolums — 1,600, 3,200

4x100 relay

Sanger

Trevor Hall — pole vault

4x200 relay

Class 3A girls

Argyle

Jessica Bonfield — pole vault

Kristie Krueger — 800, 1,600

Class 2A boys

Aubrey

Steven Cantwell — 800

Krum

Coleby Borchardt — 400, 800

Class 2A girls

Aubrey

4x200 relay

4x400 relay