CHSAANow

Category: Boys Cross Country

  • Dakota Ridge senior Jacob White dominates at Durden Invitational

    ARVADA — There were a couple of significant changes during the annual cross country Wildcat Invitational hosted by Arvada West High School.

    First, races began at 8:30 a.m. with the idea to beat the afternoon heat. With Jeffco Public Schools’ high schools all on remote learning on Fridays it was more feasible to have a morning start.

    It was a morning start at the Durden Invitational at Stenger Soccer Complex in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    The second change was a name change. The Wildcat Invitational was renamed the Durden Invitational this year. A-West decided to honor Benji and Amie Durden, both have been very impactful on the running community in Colorado. Benji Durden was 2nd at the U.S. Olympic Trails back in 1980. If not for the U.S. boycotting the Olympic games in Moscow that year, Durden would have run for U.S. at the Olympics.

    One thing that was the same was Dakota Ridge’s Jacob White crossing the finish-line first. The Dakota Ridge senior won the boys race in a time of 15 minutes, 55 seconds. Ralston Valley senior James Ramey placed 2nd, more than 50 seconds behind White.

    However, White wasn’t completely trilled with his time on the course run at Stenger Soccer Complex in Arvada.

    “I wasn’t happy with it,” White said of his sub-16 minute time. “I have been kind of off for the last couple of months. I feel myself getting back on track. Hopefully next week I’ll get that low 15-minute time.”

    White has his sights on a fourth straight appearance at the state meet coming up Oct. 17 at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs. White has finished in the Class 5A Top-6 individually the past two years, along with helping the Eagles to back-to-back 5A team titles.

    The senior and one of the top distance runners in the state does give a lot of credit to former teammates like Austin Vancil (University of Colorado) and Connor Ohlson (Air Force Academy).

    Standley Lake senior Sophia Abernethy led the pack during the girls race Friday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “It has been very helpful,” White said of his experiences of back-to-back team 5A team state title at Dakota Ridge. “I’m so grateful. I would never be where I’m at today with those guys (Austin Vancil and Connor Ohlson). Without them none of this would have happened.”

    Ralston Valley did edge Dakota Ridge for the team title at the Durden Invitational. Ralston Valley seniors James Ramey, Jack Donze, Ethan Grolnic and Aiden Logan all finished Top-10.

    On the girls side, Standley Lake senior Sophia Abernethy claimed another individual crown this season with a time of 20:17.8. D’Evelyn girls won the team title with sophomore Jayden Miller, seniors Sonja Morin and Kati Livingood finishing Top-10.

    Coming up quickly is the 5A and 4A Jeffco League Cross Country Championships. The 4A Jeffco League championships is scheduled for Oct. 1 at Stoney Creek Golf Course. The 5A Jeffco League championships will run the following day on Oct. 2 at Stoney Creek.

    It has been a different season with new protocols and restrictions.

    “It has been difficult,” White said of the cross country season during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Honestly, there is no excuses for me. I just have to go out there and work on the process.”

  • Photos: Cross country state record set at Heritage Distance Classic

    Cherry Creek’s Parker Wolfe finishes in 14 minutes, 30.1 seconds which is a Colorado state cross country record.

  • Photos: Cross country’s Erie Invitational

    Longmont’s boys and Loveland’s girls won the Erie Invitational during a cross country meet on Saturday.

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    Boys race

    Erie Invitational Cross Country
    (Brent Murphy/brentmurphyphoto.com)

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    Girls race

    Erie Invitational Cross Country
    (Brent Murphy/brentmurphyphoto.com)

  • Air Academy cross country freshman Bethany Michalak stunned herself with Friday’s finish

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    COLORADO SPRINGS — Bethany Michalak took a quick glance at her watch as she neared the finish line at the Norris Penrose Event Center.

    Yet, the announcement of her time still came as shock. At 17 minutes, 27.5 seconds, she had blitzed the field on the first day of the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede cross country meet.

    She crossed the line with her hand over mouth, trying to process what had just happened.

    “I was not expecting that at all,” she said. “I’ve run a 17:36 on a flat course so my goal today was to be at 18:30 or lower.”

    She erred on the side of lower. Not since the days of Katie Rainsberger has an Air Academy runner been so dominant at Norris Penrose.

    Her general running strategy has even benefitted her at the same venue where she’s hoping to capture state gold. She’s familiar with the course, having seen it several times before stepping in the door of Air Academy High School. All it took was putting plan to action and it turned out better than she could have hoped for.

    “I like to go really fast to create some distance and get my speed going,” she said. “Ive trained on this course a lot, so that second mile area I know really well. I just give it my all.”

    The Stampede serves as the pre-state meet and although it’s typically held earlier in the season, it will be a vital glimpse of the State course ahead of October’s championship run.

    Friday’s races featured the top Colorado Springs Class 4A boys and girls runners. They went a day ahead so that the meet could comply with COVID-19 mandates and still have a full meet on Saturday.

    Cheyenne Mountain’s Erik Le Roux won the boys race, crossing the finish line in 15:48, 41 seconds faster than Palmer Ridge Colby Schultz.

    But the star of the day was Michalak who is quickly emerging as one of the top freshmen not just in Colorado, but the entire country.

    Her win at Norris Penrose gave her plenty of confidence not just in her ability to run the course at a winning speed, but also maintain a pace that keeps other competitors at a comfortable distance behind her.

    She’s looking forward to running the trail again next month.

    “I would love to hit that time, if not faster, at state,” she said. “I was not expecting that at all today so I’m just hoping I can be right there.”

    The Cheyenne Mountain Stampede continues on Saturday as teams across the state will get their preview of how the course will be laid out in October. Saturday’s slate will kick off at 9:45 a.m. with the 4A boys run.

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Custer County cross country’s Micah Zeller finds motivation to never stop running

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

    COLORADO SPRINGS — When Custer County’s Micah Zeller crossed the finish line at the Norris Penrose Event Center, he looked like one of the healthiest runners in the entire Class 2A boys cross country field.

    He’s come a long way.

    Born in Ethiopia, it’s a wonder he survived his journey to the United States let alone became one of the top runners in the entire state of Colorado.

    “I was very unhealthy when I was young,” Zeller said. “I think my parents said when I was two years old I weighed around 14 pounds. I was not in great condition when I came over.”

    Once he got to the states, he said was lucky to have a family that fed him and loved him. And eventually encouraged him to run toward his dreams.

    As Zeller began his athletic career as a kid, he felt his running abilities were more suited from sprinting, not necessarily for distance. That all changed he was talked into joining a cross country team.

    “I was in eighth grade,” he said. “I was thinking I was more of a sprinter but one of my really good friends at that time said he was going to coach cross country and he wanted me on the team.”

    Now he’s in his senior season and has two main goals that he’s still running toward. He wants to keep improving so that he can win a state title and he wants to carry that momentum into a chance to run at the collegiate level.

    “I expect to climb and succeed,” he said. “This is my last high school season and I’m hoping to win this year. That would mean a lot to me. I’ve been running on this course for four years and I think ending my high school career with a W would be awesome.”

    He hasn’t made up his mind on a college yet, but he’s had conversations with West Texas A&M and other schools in the Lone Star State.

    He still has hope that he can make his way to his dream school, even if he knows it’s a tall task.

    “This would be way out of the blue,” he said. “I’m hoping I could run for the University of Oregon.”

    Surviving a trip across an ocean and a malnourished childhood just goes to show that he shouldn’t count Oregon out. His times this year indicate that he’s more than able to compete at the next level.

    And judging from the way he’s grown into a standout athlete, it’s obvious that he’s capable of whatever he wants to do.

    (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

  • Cross country: Eaton grabs wins at Wolverine Invitational

    The cold weather didn’t slow things down too much as Eaton’s Logan Gullett and Andie Rasmussen set the tone for all cross country runners at Wednesday’s Frontier Academy Wolverine Invite.

    Gullett cleared the finish line in 16 minutes, 55.2 seconds to win the boys race while Rasmussen finished in 20:04.9 to take the girls title.

    Although Eaton got first place finishes in both races, it was unable to grab team win in the event.

    Heritage Christian Academy got a second-place finish from Xander Stanton and teammate Ryan O’Loughlin finished sixth to get the Eagles the overall team win.

    Estes Park’s Nolan Marske took third at 17:18.8 while Northridge had Colton Magnuson and Jaeden Nelson finish fourth and fifth, respectively.

    Northridge had a much better showing in the girls race as Victoria Perales took fourth and Karley Beck took sixth. Overall the Grizzlies had four girls finish in the top 10 which gave them enough points to get a team victory.

    Estes Park lost a close battle for that top team spot but got a solid showing from its top runners. Freshman Heather Russell took fifth at 21:55.2 and Charlotte Raymond’s 22:16.8 was good for eighth.

    Heritage Christian’s Ainsley Stanton finished second overall at 20:45.3 and Severance’s Hannah Schissler finished third at 20:56.7.

  • SMAC information regarding poor air quality from smoke

    As wildfires across Colorado continue to burn, the air quality across the state is a concern. Please see the following information from the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

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    ATTENTION ATHLETIC TRAINERS

    As you may be aware, our state is currently experiencing wildfires in various locations throughout the state.  As a result, air quality throughout our state, and in the affected areas specifically, has been impacted.  We urge you to visit the SMAC Handbook and Air Quality section of the Sports Medicine page on CHSAANow for helpful information.

    As referenced from the CHSAA Sports Medicine Handbook:

    AIR QUALITY INDEX (AQI)

    The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you.

    MANAGEMENT

    • Distance runners should avoid running next to busy roadways.
    • Ozone exposure can be lessened by early morning work outs.
    • Athletes with asthma must be carefully monitored when AQI is above 100.
    • Athletes with asthma should always have a rescue inhaler readily available.
    • Practices, contests, and outdoor activities should be modified or moved indoors when AQI is above 100 and consideration given to rescheduling or moving them when AQI is greater than 200.

    In order to quickly assess the daily AQI in your area, please refer to this website:

    Detailed Air Quality Summary

    Other resources for information on air quality:

  • Photos: George Washington girls, Bear Creek boys win the SkyView Academy cross country invite

    George Washington’s girls team and Bear Creek’s boys team won the SkyView Academy cross country invite on Saturday.

  • Standley Lake’s Abernethy claims Ralston Valley cross country invite title

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Sophia Abernethy could cross the finish line and not have to worry about what was happening immediately behind her.

    The Standley Lake senior had pulled well ahead of the field and crossed the finish line in 20 minutes, 53.3 seconds to take the win at the Ralston Valley cross country invite. Arvada West’s Amelie Bauer finished in 22:17.3 to take second place.

    Ralston Valley claimed first place as a team thanks to getting five finishers in the top 10, including freshmen Teya Varela and Ainsley Kelver.

    The boys race was dominated by Arvada West. Senior Logan Deison crossed the finish line in 17:27.1 and was only in danger of getting caught by two of his teammates.

    Overall, the Wildcats had six runners finish in the top 10 of the race. Since only four get scored, Deison, David Rhoades, Dominic Danborn and Gabe Schultz gave the team 10 points, the absolute best score a team can record.

    Pomona got two top-10 finishers to take second place and host Ralston Valley finished third. Pomona junior Dylan Jenkins was the top non-Arvada West finisher at 18:28.3.

  • Arvada West boys and Chatfield girls win XC team titles at D’Evelyn Dash

    DENVER — The annual D’Evelyn Dash Cross Country Invite looks a lot different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    With new guidelines restricting the number of teams and runners allowed at cross country races, D’Evelyn split its cross country invite into two days. The first day of the varsity-only event featured seven teams — Arvada West, Bear Creek, Chatfield, Columbine, D’Evelyn, Longmont and Lutheran.

    Chatfield girls cruised to the team title led by a pair of impressive freshmen. Chatfield freshman Reese Tucker won the individual title with a time of 18 minutes, 28.4 seconds. Her mile pace with under six minutes. Teammate and fellow freshman Aspen Webb placed second with a time of 19:10.4.

    Columbine junior Elizabeth Fender placed third and a pair of D’Evelyn seniors — Sonja Morin and Kati Livingood — rounded out the top-5.

    On the boys side, Arvada West took the team title. A-West senior Logan Deison, junior David Rhoades and senior Gabe Schultz placed in the top-5 to pace the Wildcats. Longmont junior Connor McCormick won the boys individual title with a time of 16:26.