More photos from the race. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — What Kidus Begashaw accomplished Saturday was almost unfair.

Begashaw, a senior from Lotus School for Excellence in Aurora, easily outpaced the competition to win the 2A Boys Cross Country State Championship by 30 seconds with a mark of 16:17.

Facing runners that had been training to win a state title for many years, Begashaw came quite literally from nowhere, becoming a state champion after only discovering distance running six months ago.

“I saw (2019 state champ Isaac Roberts of Lyons) do this last year, and I told myself, I want to do that,” Begashaw said. “I said I’m going to work hard for that, train hard, and now I became a state champion.”

Begashaw also became the first Lotus runner ever to become a state placer, let alone a state champion.

Before discovering running, his passion had always been basketball and soccer. Playing as a midfielder in soccer, Begashaw learned he had superior speed and endurance.

Now, after trying cross country and succeeding at a high level, Begashaw’s post-high school goals have changed from soccer to running.

“Now I’m going to focus on running in college,” Begashaw said. “I mean, I’m Ethiopian. It’s in my blood.”

More photos from the race. (Brad Cochi)

Much like Begashaw, Vanguard’s Ella Johnson came out of nowhere to emerge as the 2A girls cross country state champ, utilizing a late kick in a remarkable comeback win.

For much of the race, Johnson trailed Buena Vista’s Zaila Smith and Peyton’s Eowyn Dalbec, who were running side-by-side in what was shaping up to be a potentially exciting finish to the girls’ 2A title race.

“They had such a lead on me, and they were so so far ahead, I thought I was done,” Johnson said. “This is super unexpected.”

With 800 meters to go, Johnson managed to make up ground late, climbing the final hill before the finish line to win by a remarkable nine seconds over Dalbec with a mark of 19:34, her season best.

“I thought I wasn’t ever going to get close,” Johnson said. “But then they started to slow down, and then I said to myself, I’m so close. I need to catch them, and I did.”

With the win, Johnson became Vanguard’s first ever state champion.

A first-time team champions was also crowned Saturday.

On the girls’ side, Buena Vista claimed its first team title, led by third-place finisher Mallory Salazar, and flanked by three finishers in the top 12.

Heritage Christian won its third boys state championship, barely edging Lyons by five points to win the crown. Despite not having a single finisher in the top 10, four runners in the top 30 helped deliver the crown.

More photos from the race. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

More photos from the race. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS — For the most part, the fall 2020 state championship season has looked very close to normal. The biggest noticeable difference is the spreading out or relocation of fans at boys tennis and softball.

The competition?

Looks the same.

The championship celebrations?

Those also look the same.

Perhaps the wildcat among the four sports originally green-lit for fall competition was going to be cross country. A preview of how state cross country will look happened back on Sept. 11 at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede. The Norris Penrose Event Center, the annual host for the state meet, put on the two-day event with officials getting a good look at how things will look on Oct. 17.

The results were encouraging.

“I think the racing piece of the event went great,” Cheyenne Mountain athletic director Kris Roberts said. “By and large, kids and coaches did a great job of working with the protocols that are in place right now.”

Those protocols will make the state meet look slightly different from any other year. To start, each race will begin with a staggered start from the competitors. They will be sent off in waves which means the winners will actually be determined in more of a time trial manner rather than simply going to the runner that crosses the finish line first.

Runners also have to wear a mask at the starting line and put it back on once they cross the finish. There will be no loitering around the finish line as the competitors will have to walk straight out of the stadium once the race is finished.

Most notably, the stadium bowl inside of Norris Penrose will be closed to spectators. The cheers that are normally directed at the runners as they near the finish will be gone. But the important thing to keep in mind is that those absent cheers mean the kids will get the opportunity to claim championships throughout the course of the day.

“The facility did a great job of limiting the people to that 250 mark at any one gathering,” Roberts said. “By and large, to the school, kids and coaches, everyone did a fantastic job doing what we have to do to make the event successful.”

Cheyenne Mountain serves as the host of the event each year and Roberts receives help from other athletic directors and administrators. He’s seen the event at its peak and now he’s seen what it will look like in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As with anything in these situations, there are certainly concerns when it comes to the event going off without a hitch, but the test run at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede helped assuage some big concerns.

“I was really interested to see what spectators would do with our restrictions and expectations,” Roberts said. “I was really pleased with the initial (Class) 4A race on Friday and how everyone saw the value in our kids getting to compete this fall. They followed those protocols and rules.”

He’s expecting the same level of cooperation this week. And should the guidelines and restrictions be followed in the same manner they were over a month ago, there should be a full day of high school athletes competing the best of their ability, which is what the event is all about.

Meet information for the 2020 state cross country championships:

• Where: Norris-Penrose Event Center, Colorado Springs
• Date: Oct. 17
• Results: Updated live on CHSAANow.com
• Watch live: NFHS Network

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Schedule

A complete list of individual qualifiers for Saturday’s state cross country meet.

Find a state meet schedule here.

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The Class 5A Region 3 cross country meet was held on Thursday.

A photo gallery from the Class 5A Region 1 cross country meet held on Thursday.

Erie and Silver Creek punched tickets to the state meet as they claimed the Class 4A Region 4 cross country titles on Thursday.

The Class 4A Region 2 cross country meet was held on Friday.

(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Following additional work by assistant commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, all teams will be able to run at the regional cross country meets this week.

In reviewing current state guidelines, it has been determined that all regionals can be effectively and safely conducted within all state guidance. This means that every team will participate in regionals.

“Every school will have a representative varsity team for boys and girls team at regional cross country meets this week,” said commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green.

In order to meet the guidelines, each classification will be reduced one runner from a typical meet in a typical year. An additional wave will be added to each regional.

Waves will hold no more than 25 runners to meet state guidance.

“We are really excited,” Roberts-Uhlig said. “We’ve been advocating for this since August, and there’s no better day than today to make and announce this decision administratively on behalf of Colorado cross country and our regional meets. Their hard work will be recognized.

“The way that teams and individuals qualify for this year’s state meet is not changing,” she added

ARVADA — Pomona sophomore Emma Stutzman added to her growing resume Friday afternoon during the Class 5A Jeffco League Cross Country Championships.

Stutzman easily cruised to the girls individual title with a time of 18 minutes, 57.7 seconds on the grounds of the Standley Lake Basketball Barn near Stoney Creek Golf Course in north Arvada.

Chatfield freshman Reese Tucker helped the Chargers bring home the 5A Jeffco League girls team title. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“It means a lot because last year I came in third and blew the finish a little bit,” said Stutzman, who broke the school cross country record at Pomona earlier this season. “It feels really good to be able to win this one.”

The sophomore didn’t mind the several surface changes and uneven ground of the new course that hosted the 4A Jeffco League championships the day before.

“It was good. It’s a nice course. It was kind of lonely, but you just got to work with you got,” said Stutzman, who’s time was nearly 40 seconds faster that second-place. “It hits home a little bit. I train a lot in the mountains. It was nice to have a similar surface and not have a concrete course.”

Chatfield grabbed the team title with 55 points. Freshmen Reese Tucker (2nd) and Aspen Webb (4th) led the Chargers to the team victory.

Now it’s onto regionals next week. Stutzman and the Panthers will head to Monarch High School for the 5A Region 3 meet on Thursday, Oct. 8.

“It’s definitely to win regionals,” Stutzman said of her goal next week.

Dakota Ridge senior Jacob White is alone as he nears the finish-line during the 5A Jeffco League XC Championships on Friday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

On the boys side, Dakota Ridge senior Jacob White continued his winning ways. The three-time state placer grabbed his first individual conference title with a time of 15:52.1.

“I just ran,” said White, who was all by himself for the majority of the race defeating the rest of the field by nearly a minute. “I feel ready for regionals.”

Dakota Ridge grabbed it third straight 5A Jeffco team title with four runners — White, Ethan Straub, Chance Heisler and Silas Thompson — all finishing in the Top-10. Ralston Valley boys finished second with seniors James Ramey (2nd) and Jack Donze (4th) leading the way for the Mustangs.

White is looking forward the facing some tough competition at the 5A Region 1 meet Friday, Oct. 9, at Clement Park. Mountain Vista senior Harrison Witt will give White a good gage of where he is at heading into state.

“It will be so much fun. I can’t wait for next week,” White said. “It will truly be something.”