Colorado Springs, July 19-------Looks like they’ll have to make adjustments again at Lewis-Palmer High’s track and field events for the 2010 Rocky Mountain State Games again this year because big Mason Finley is going to toss the discus and shot put.

The 6-8, 375-pound Salida star is back again to compete in the Games after being named the Big 12 Freshman of the year at Kansas, winning the conference title in both events and taking second in the NCAA Championships, where he threw the discus 191-5 and tossed the shot 67-10.25 for runnerup honors.

The national high school record holder in the discus (236-6) has won everything he’s entered, and is considered the best Olympic prospect in the United States in both events in years. He’s an odds-on favorite to be competing in London in 2012 at the Olympic Games for the United States, too.

Mason won’t be alone, as usual, since he’s bringing along his 13-year-old twin sisters, Matia and Rebecca to compete in the Games.

Two years ago at the State Games of the West in Colorado Springs, Mason won the javelin, shot and discus, and the girls went 1-2 in the shot and javelin in their age group.

Three Colorado Girls In Wrestling Competition

Among the hundreds of interesting stories about the Colorado athletes of all ages and skill levels in the upcoming Rocky Mountain State Games, one that stands out lies in the Wrestling competition that takes place at the Fort Carson Special Events Center on July 31 and August 1.

In the popular mat events, girls will square off with boys in many events, mirroring the growth of females in the Olympic sport contested since the Ancient Games in Greece and added to the Olympic Games in 2004.

Kaden Campbell, a nine-year-old wrestler from Greeley is entered in the folkstyle and freestyle events in the Games, one of three girls in the competition and the lone female at the moment in her Intermediate Kids Division.

The other two girls registered to wrestle in the Games are Ashlynn Ortega (11) of Pueblo, a Girls State and National Champion who also competes in Greco Roman events and Topanga Tollefson (8) of Colorado Springs, a 2009 Colorado state all-girls champion.

Ortega is no stranger to State Games competition, winning a silver medal last summer in the 2009 State Games of America in the Kids (8-10) 85 pound class as the lone female in her division.

Registration for athletes of all ages and skill levels is open at www.coloradospringssports.org

Rocky Mountain State Games Notes

2009 State Games of America Triathlon gold medalist Derrick Ryan of Colorado Springs is back in the Games this summer in the Male/USAT Elite Development Division……….also in Triathlon is 15-year-old Michael Havenar of Palmer Lake and Lewis-Palmer High School, who finished 12^th in the Youth Elite national Championships……….there are 222 athletes already registered to compete in the Triathlon……….Benjamin Brown (13) of Colorado Springs won three gold medals in last summer’s State Games of America in track and field 9100,200, 400 meters) and is entered in all three events plus the 200m Hurdles this summer in the events at Lewis-Palmer High School…….

Opening Ceremony - July 30

Singing star, television host and American Idol performer Kimberly Caldwell will headline a sensational evening of entertainment for the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 State Games of America on July 30 at the Colorado Springs World Arena at 7:00 p.m.

Her long-anticipated debut album, “Without Regret,”  is due to be released on July 27, just ahead of her Rocky Mountain State Games Opening ceremony performance. The rock/pop star will be performing with the help of AT&T, and 2,000 tickets to the event will be donated to the area’s military families by the performer and AT&T.

See more about the Opening Ceremony headliner at:  http://www.kimberlycaldwell.com/

Tickets: priced at $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for seniors and youth, available at www.ticketswest.com or by calling (719) 576-2626. Tickets will also be available at the World Arena box offices.

Also performing for the athletes and fans at the Opening ceremony will be ACRODUNK, the acrobatic, Extreme slam-dunk performance team that took its sensational showing on NBC’s America’s Got Talent  to stardom, and performances at NBA and college basketball halftime shows , thirteen appearances during the NBA All-Star Game festivities, and performances in a dozen nations.

The members of ACRODUNK jump off mini trampolines and perform acrobatic stunts before dunking the basketball. Intricate passes are also performed where the members of the squad pass the basketball off the glass, off the ground or through the air prior to the last performer dunking the basketball.

The Opening Ceremony will include the parade of athletes, videos and the Official Torch Ceremony, which concludes with the lighting of the cauldron by 2010 Olympic Bobsled Gold medalist Steve Holcomb of Colorado Springs, who piloted his “Night Train” sled to a USA triumph in Vancouver.