The Vista Nation XC 2-Mile Invitational brought nine teams together in a cross country race hosted by Mountain Vista.
Category: Boys Cross Country
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Buena Vista’s Seth Moss takes on a new challenge with cross country
(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School) As Buena Vista junior Seth Moss took to the starting line for his first cross country race, he noticed a glaring difference between him and the other runners.
It was just that they naturally looked like they belonged at the starting line of a foot race. That much was obvious. It had more to do with the fact that when Moss is typically running in the fall, it’s to deliver a downfield block for his quarterback or running back.
Moss is an offensive lineman now living in a distance runner’s world.
Wanting to maintain a level of competition in the fall, he decided to take on cross country as a new adventure. And as he walked up to the starting line, it was easy to see that he was well outside his comfort zone.
“I was probably the only person over 150 pounds there,” Moss said. “I’m around 180, 185 and I started laughing when I got to the start line.”
But he’s keeping a good attitude about it. Looking at the unique year that’s ahead of him he wanted to do something that would keep his competitive interest alive and potentially serve him well in prepping for the wrestling and football seasons, seasons that he cherishes as a high school athlete.
He even tried to encourage some of his football teammates to go out with him, but it went to no avail.
He did get the opportunity to let Demons head football coach Matt Flavin know that he was going to taking on distance running this fall.
“He thought I was kidding at first,” Moss said. “He was happy that I’m doing it. He thinks it’s going to be great for me. All of the coaches have been supportive which is super cool.”
That’s been the prevalent theme for most coaches throughout the year. With a lot of traditional fall sports being played at a different time of year, coaches just want their kids staying involved with athletics especially if it’s tied to the school.
(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School) Moss sees another added benefit. There is some worry that distance running and a general increase in a cardio sport could lead to him shedding weight for both wrestling and football. He believes that he can get the weight back on once cross country ends, but is excited about what running will do for his overall endurance for those two sports.
“It’s tough,” he said. “With football once the play is over you get into the huddle and get that quick breather. This is just 24 minutes and if you slow down it means you’re losing and if you start too fast you’re not going to have anything left in the tank. But hey, if I can get out and run a 5K, I’m going to be fine come the fourth quarter of a football game.”
Moss spends his spring playing baseball for the Demons so he’s now prideful that he gets to go through this year a four-sport athlete. And he has no regrets over trying something outside of his comfort zone because of the way things have shifted with the calendar this year.
“I would recommend if this situation ever came up again,” he said. “We should try to get as many people as we can doing something like this.”
(Photo courtesy of Buena Vista High School) -
Air Academy, Palmer runners shine in early-season cross country meet
(Photo courtesy of Blue Anderson/Air Academy High School) Air Academy freshman Bethany Michalak wasted no time introducing herself to the cross country landscape.
At this last weekend’s Doherty Early Bird Open, Michalak competed in her first race as a high school runner and also grabbed her first win. She logged a time of 17 minutes, 36.24 seconds besting the rest of the field by nearly two minutes.
Her teammate, Ella Chura, finished second at 19:31.29 but by then Michalak had already caught her breath. The Kadets came away with the team win in the four-team race beginning what they hope is a very successful 2020 season.
Palmer’s Adele Havlick had the best finish for the Terrors at 20:21.48. Doherty junior Kendall Windsor was the top Spartan at 21:46.6 and Coronado junior Allie Leisher was the best Cougar at 22:26.69.
But the performance of the day clearly went to Michalak. Although the course makeup will be vastly different should she run at state, her sub-18 time is faster than what the state championship time was at Norris Penrose last fall.
The boys cross country teams for these same schools were also in action over the weekend. Palmer’s Scott Prieve finished first at 16:07.5.
Coronado junior Zinabu Engstrom finished second while Air Academy’s Alex Maline took third. Like in the girls race it was Air Academy coming away with the top team score. The Kadets had five runners finish in the top 10.
Avery Whitesell posted the best time for Doherty at 18:32.8.
Prieve is looking for a special year of his own. He finished ninth in the Class 5A race at the state cross country meet last year. He was the second Terror across the finish line at Norris Penrose as Gus McIntyre was about 27 seconds faster.
The early-season race at Monument Valley is a long way from the atmosphere that state will provide, but the lesson from the weekend is that there are several kids setting big goals for themselves in 2020.
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Q&A: Assistant commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig on modifications to cross country’s season
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) The cross country season can begin competition on Saturday.
Before that happens, we caught up with Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, the assistant commissioner in charge of the sport, to talk about key modifications to the sport in order to ensure it complies with state guidelines around the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Question: How will things look different this season?
Roberts-Uhlig: Typically, a season will have 11 meets, and that has been reduced to seven. We have shortened the season by two weeks in order to have our state championship event completed prior to the late-fall moratorium.
In working with the Governor’s COVID Response Team and other health agencies, we worked together to get cross country up and running within the established guidelines. These guidelines allow us to have starts in waves of no more than 25, with a minimum of two minutes between the waves starting.
Regular season races can have no more than 50 participants total. At regionals, there will be no more than 75 total. At the state meet, it’s 100 per classification, per gender.
Start and finish lines could look different, and we’ve approved time-trial starts.
Truly, for cross country — and really, for all of our sports — it is very important that coaches, teams and community members abide by the state guidelines to ensure safety and risk minimization for athletes, and to allow us to finish the season. That’s not just for the regular season. Everyone is going to have to follow these guidelines.
This means things like wearing masks, appropriate social distancing, and not congregating in one area. The start and finish areas may look different for spectators, as well.
Q: What about masks?
Roberts-Uhlig: Athletes are going to be required to have a mask at the start line. As they proceed into a part of the course where they aren’t around a mass of people, they can remove the mask, but it must be back on at the finish line.
Spectators are going to be required to wear a mask at all times. They need to social distance outside of their family units. Again, we need everyone to follow these guidelines to ensure we can finish the season.
Q: We’ve already heard about schools moving away from big invitationals and are instead planning dual, triangular, and quad meets. Can you expand on that?
Roberts-Uhlig: Yes, and this is allowed so long as they meet the requirements of 50 athletes per race.
This season, we expect to see more of those types of meets as everyone navigates trying to stay within the maximum athletes allowed, and trying to limit the amount of teams participating.
Also, as league meets and big invitationals navigate this, they are looking at setting up multi-day meets, such as having two races of 50 per day.
Q: What about the postseason? What is that going to look like?
Roberts-Uhlig: Qualifying into regionals will look different. We’ll have more information on this soon.
State will continue to be held at Norris Penrose Event Center on Oct. 17. There will be plenty of time in between races to allow for a transition.
We are now putting classifications together at the state meet, so, for example, 4A girls and 4A boys will run back-to-back. As soon as those races are over, those participants, coaches and spectators will exit the venue, and the next classification will come in following a buffer of at least an hour. We need to be sure they’re cleared out between races.
Doing this will allow us to have 100 participants, per classification, per gender at the state event.
Q: Are you seeing schools add cross country this fall?
Roberts-Uhlig: Yes, we have had about 10 schools add a program. In addition, existing programs are seeing a lot more kids come out within their school.
In general, the cross country community is growing as kids are finding that this is a way to participate this fall, and that’s exciting to see.
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Sierra Grande hires Ben Sandy as boys and girls cross country coach
(Photo courtesy of Sierra Grande High School) With a new cross country season comes a new coach for Sierra Grande. The school announced in an email to CHSAANow.com that it has hired Ben Sandy as the new cross country coach for both the boys and girls teams.
Sandy is also a physical education teacher at Sierra Grande.
His last coaching stop came at Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana. He competed in both high school and in college. He was a Class 3A state champion in Wyoming his junior year and won nine Nebraska Iowa Athletic Conference titles while competing collegiately.
At the end of his career, he was a two-time NAIA All-American.
“We at Sierra Grande feel very fortunate to have such an outstanding mentor for our students and athletes,” athletic director Matt Lucero said in the email. “We are proud and fortunate to have him join our Panther Community.”
Practice for all cross country teams began this week and competition is slated to begin on Saturday.
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Cross country practice begins Wednesday; competition can start Saturday
(David Harvey/ImageProPhotography.com) AURORA — All sports in Season A are now underway with the start of boy and girls cross country practice on Wednesday.
Teams can begin competition on Saturday. They will wrap up their regular season on Oct. 3, and regionals by Oct. 10. The state meet is scheduled for Oct. 17.
Of course, the season will look different due to modifications which align with current COVID-19 guidelines from the state.
The number of regular season meets has been reduced from 11 to 7. During the regular season, 3A-5A teams can run seven runners, with five scoring. In 2A, they can run six and score four.
In the postseason, 2A teams will run five and score four, and 3A-5A will run six and score five.
No JV or open races are permitted to be run at varsity meets, but schools can host a JV meet or an open race separate from the varsity meet.
The biggest change is the number of athletes permitted at each meet. During the regular season, 50 athletes per gender are allowed, and they must start in waves of no more than 25.
At regionals, 75 athletes per gender will be allowed. At the state meet, 100 athletes per gender, per classification are allowed.
Also playing in Season A are boys golf, boys tennis and softball.
All other sports will begin after Jan. 4 as part of the modified 2020-21 sports calendar.
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Valor Christian’s Cole Sprout named boys cross country runner of the year by Gatorade
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) Valor Christian senior Cole Sprout was named Colorado’s boys cross country runner of the year by Gatorade on Monday.
This marks the third consecutive season that Sprout has won the award. He has also been named the boys track athlete of the year by Gatorade the past two seasons.
Sprout won his third-straight Class 5A championship last fall, setting a course record with a time of 15:12.7. He won the Nike Cross Nationals Southwest Regional championship (14:41.38), and was seventh at the NXN Final.
Sprout, who has a 3.98 GPA, has volunteered at the Denver Rescue Mission, and participated in a service-mission trip to Ethiopia.
“Cole is just a more complete version of what he’s always been,” said Valor Christian coach Greg Coplen. “Hard-working, high-character, selfless and the grittiest athlete I’ve ever coached.”
Sprout has signed to compete in cross country and track at Stanford, beginning this fall.
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Jeffco student-athletes busy on National Letter of Intent Signing Day
JEFFERSON COUNTY — It was a day for celebrations across Jeffco on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Nearly 100 student-athletes from 11 different schools across the school district signed their National Letter of Intent on Wednesday. Feb. 5 marked the start of the Division I and II, along with the football regular signing period.
There is still one more signing period ahead that begins on April 15.
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Arvada West High School
Conner Bickford, soccer, Northeast Community College
Shayla Erickson, softball, Otero Junior College
Olivia Henkel, volleyball, Cornell College
Jay Lambert, baseball, Midland University
Justin Lepke, football, Western Colorado University
Noah McCandless, baseball, Garden City Community College
Nicholas Nuher, track, University of Colorado
Shelby Robb, softball, Metro State University
Isabelle Schwein, softball, Friends University
Addison Southwick, baseball, Augustana College
Braden Thomson, baseball, Feather River College
Josh Yago, lacrosse, Air Force Academy — Preparatory SchoolBear Creek High School
Jose Ramos, football, Colorado State University-Pueblo
Josh Alejo, football, Harding UniversityChatfield High School
Daniel Moore, baseball, University of Dubuque
Hayden Cross, baseball, McCook Community College
Cole Nash, cross country & track, University of Alaska-Anchorage
Abby Wilkinson, soccer, North Dakota State
Jacob Roybal, baseball, Mesa Community College
Jordan Ramirez, baseball, Northeastern Junior College
Garrick Levesque, baseball, Ventura Community College
Kyle Koppelmaa, baseball, Orange Coast CollegeColumbine High School
Ally Distler, softball, Colorado Mesa University
Annika Schooler, golf, South Dakota School of Mines
Makenna Riotte, lacrosse, Adams State University
Jackie Mudd, swimming, Biola University
Aden Sievert, lacrosse, Hood College
Adam Harrington, football, Middlebury College
Andrew Gentry, football, University of Virginia
Andrew Lauritzen, football, Missouri Western State
Braeden Hogan, football, Western Colorado University
Justin Lohrenz, football, Washington State University
Justyn Classen, football, St. Olaf College
Tanner Hollens, football, Colorado State University
Stephen Hughes, football, Concordia University-Nebraska
Joel Basile, baseball, Scottsdale Community College
Evan Johnson, volleyball, Trinity Christian College
Mark Thurman, baseball, Northeastern Junior College
Erica Mock, tennis, Whitman CollegeConifer High School
Josey Nichols, softball, West Texas A&M
Kassidy Butler, lacrosse, Florida Southern College
Jordyn West, soccer, University of Nebraska-Omaha
Adie Brake, softball, Vernon College
Megan Wilkins, swimming, Arcadia University
Denali Douglas, volleyball, Union CollegeDakota Ridge High School
Caley Akiyama, softball, Cottey College
Brianna Binder, volleyball, McKendree University
Luke Brandt, football, Bethel University
Kyle Cannon, football & track, Dakota State University
Matthew Heitmann, football, Air Force Academy
James Hess, football, Colorado School of Mines
Tia Krats, lacrosse, Regis University
Faith Lawson, softball, Oklahoma Wesleyan
Izaak McWilliams, football, Bethel University
Madeleine Nightengale-Luhan, volleyball, Colorado School of Mines
Connor Ohlson, cross country & track, Air Force Academy
Adam Rodriguez, golf, Loras College
Samantha Schmidt, lacrosse, Colorado State University-PuebloGreen Mountain High School
Hunter Grogan, fencing, Vassar College
Kasey Klocek, cross country & track, South Dakota State
Sofia Parisi, beach volleyball, Concordia University
Braydon Schulz, baseball, North Dakota University of Jamestown
Trey Towndrow, football, Colorado Mesa UniversityLakewood High School
Josh Beattie, baseball, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Olivia Desso, tennis, Chapman University
Caden Link, baseball, Pacific University
Faith Zehnder, volleyball, Holy Family UniversityPomona High School
Sanjay Strickland, football, Colorado State University
Garrett Bishop, football, New Mexico State University
Adam Karas, football, Air Force Academy
Kyle Moretti, football, Central Michigan University
Chase Lopez, football, University of South Dakota
Trevor Baskin, basketball, Colorado Mesa University
Zoe Hendrix, soccer, Doane University
Ashlyn Mathers, softball, Augustana-Illinois
Bethany Tiscareno, softball, Otero Junior CollegeRalston Valley High School
Payton Roberts, diving, University of Idaho
Riley Dmytriw, cross country & track, Colorado Christian University
William Wall, baseball, Whitman College
Paul Stone, swimming, Midland College
Braden Siders, football, University of Wyoming
Chase Wilson, football, Colorado State University
Caleb Rillos, football, Air Force Academy
Alexandrya Jacobs, soccer, Hastings College
JJ Galbreath, football, University of South Dakota
Ben Lenahan, golf, Whitman College
Ben Takata, football, Colorado School of Mines
Mitchell Morehead, football, Colorado School of Mines
Tanner Lallman, volleyball, University of the Southwest
Elizabeth Schweiker, cross country & track, Rice University
Parker Dorrance, baseball, Northeastern Community College
Walker Brickle, football, Colorado State University
Kaleb Tischler, football, South Dakota School of Mines
Ben Sampson, swimming, Colorado Mesa UniversityStandley Lake High School
Julianne Pelletier, cross country, Regis University
Jaren Cosby, football, Western Colorado University
Kevin Starnes, football, Nebraska Wesleyan University[divider]
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Video: Jeffco Preps With Pleuss (January)
Jeffco Preps With Pleuss is a monthly roundup of Jeffco prep highlights hosted by Dennis Pleuss, Jeffco Public Schools’ sports information director. This month’s edition features one final look back at the 2019 football season that concluded with Columbine facing Cherry Creek in the Class 5A state championship game. Dakota Ridge boys cross country team was honored for its back-to-back 5A team state titles with an all-school assembly. The basketball season got going in a hurry. Green Mountain hosted the annual Paul Davis Classic, along with Wheat Ridge boys and girls hoopsters squaring off against Lakewood and Alameda International. The first National Letter of Intent Signing Day was also a topic before the calendar turned to 2020.
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Cross country committee recommends new scoring format for 2A
(David Harvey/ImageProPhotography.com) AURORA — The cross country committee is recommending a new scoring format for the Class 2A state meet, one where teams can get points for their top four runners.
Currently, 2A teams can run six athletes with three of them scoring. The proposal is to run six and score four.
The recommendation, which was unanimous, came out of the committee meeting which was held last week.
This is the third time since 2016 that the committee has voted in favor of the proposals. The past two recommendations have been voted down at Legislative Council.
This approved proposal, too, needs to be approved by Legislative Council when it meets next April.
“We encourage the 2A schools to continue the conversation and outreach to ensure the Legislative Council can make an informed decision on what’s best for 2A,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, who oversees cross country.
“This time around, the scoring proposal sparked a second conversation around whether or not it is time to add a 1A classification of cross country,” she added.
Additionally, the committee voted to extend the Norris-Penrose Event Center/Bear Creek Park as the site of the state meet for an additional four years, which would keep the event there through at least 2023.
“We are excited to partner with the Cheyenne Mountain and Colorado Springs communities for the next four years,” Roberts-Uhlig said. “Norris-Penrose and Bear Creek Park continue to elevate the event and be an outstanding venue to showcase student-athletes, schools and the sport of cross country.”