AURORA — The cross country committee voted on Monday to recommend a proposal where the Class 2A state meet scores four runners in the team race.
Currently, teams at the 2A meet run six athletes, with three of them counting toward the team points. The proposal would be to run six and score four.
It is the second-straight year the committee has forwarded this specific proposal. Last year, the recommendation was voted down at a Legislative Council meeting.
The recommendation will again head to Legislative Council for a vote at its next meeting, set for January.
“This has been a push from some 2A schools for the last few years,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Jenn Roberts-Uhlig. “It’s definitely divided among 2A schools on what’s best moving forward.”
Those behind the proposal plan to communicate with other leagues and Legislative Council members prior to the vote.
Additionally, the committee voted to recommend a second proposal which would allow a fifth team to qualify from each 2A regional. This would bring 2A up to 20 teams at the state meet, in line with the 20 that currently go in 3A, 4A and 5A.
“I think pulling the fifth team into 2A makes them more balanced with 3A, 4A and 5A,” Roberts-Uhlig said.
A roundup of Jeffco prep highlights, interviews and schedules with Dennis Pleuss, Jeffco Public Schools’ Communication Specialist. This month’s edition features action from the Jeffco League cross country championships at Clement Park. Chatfield junior Christian Holmes made history at the Class 5A boys tennis state tournament at Gates Tennis Center in Denver. Arvada West softball swept through the Class 5A Jeffco League this fall and qualified for the 5A state tournament. Ralston Valley football improved it all-time record against rival A-West to 8-0 with a last-second touchdown. Dakota Ridge junior running back Jered Garcia had a monster game in a victory against Golden. Evergreen senior Bridger Tenney placed second in at the 4A boys golf state tournament and the Cougars took second in the team race.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Peak to Peak set out with a lofty goal.
The Pumas finished 1-2-3 in the 3A girls cross country race to go on to win the team title, lead by junior Quinn McConnell.
“We wanted to go 1-2-3. We wanted to make a statement like that,” McConnell said. “We’ve been doing it the past few races. I’m so happy for Tiana (Bradfield) who got it done.”
McConnell entered into the stadium ahead of her teammates, turning in a time of 18:31.6. Teammates Anna Shults and Bradfield followed.
“We’ve worked hard and wanted this all season,” McConnell said. “It was something that we knew we could do. We came here and executed it today.”
Peak to Peak, with three juniors and one freshman running, took the team title with 82 points.
“We have a lot left that we haven’t shown,” McConnell said. “We have some really big goals. This is just a stepping stone, and I’m super excited for what we can do.”
Steamboat Springs (101) and Classical Academy (120) rounded out the top three teams.
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Nederland’s Helen Cross sets meet record in 2A
(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Nederland sophomore Helen Cross didn’t expect to be on top of the podium.
Cross, a sophomore, set a cross country state meet record for Class 2A with a time of 18:52 — beating the record by 55 seconds.
“I really wanted to do that,” Cross said. “I didn’t know that was going to happen this season. I was not expecting that at all. It’s exciting.”
Cross set out to keep up with Telluride senior Soleil Gaylord on the course.
“I thought I would keep up with Soleil,” Cross said. “I was going to try to stay behind her. I didn’t really have a set plan necessarily.”
She kept up with Gaylord, and then turned it up to take the win.
Gaylord finished behind her with a time of 19:09. In third, Cross’ teammate Sarah Davidson finished at 19:29.9 to give Nederland a boost in the team race.
“Sarah, she’s been trying to break 20:00 her whole career,” Cross said. “And now, she’s a senior and she just did it.”
The Panthers won the girls team title with a score of 24. Nederland edged out Paonia (30) and Lyons (33).
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Battle Mountain grabs 4A team title behind Elizabeth Constien
(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Battle Mountain’s Elizabeth Constien and Palmer Ridge’s Isabella Prosceno were tied, unoficially, at the second mile of the 4A girls race.
Constien found something in her to push the last stretch of the race and take the 4A girls title.
“All I had to do was want it and pull ahead,” Constien said. “I managed to go just fast enough to put a gap on me and Isabella. She really made me push. I thought she was going to catch me, and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t get in my head.
“I basically sprinted for 800 meters as fast as I could go.”
It was her sister that gave her the motivation to keep going forward and give it her all.
“My sister was here today,” Constien said. “She stood right before the corner into the woods. She just reminded me how much I wanted this.”
In her senior year, Constien captured the individual and team titles for Battle Mountain.
“I can’t even believe it,” Constien said. “I wanted this so much and I didn’t think I was going to get it. I’m so happy.”
Palmer Ridge (157) finished in second ahead of third-place Durango (165).
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Mountain Vista takes 5A team title with 1-2 finish
(Cannon Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Mountain Vista took the top two spots in the 5A girls race to take the team title.
Sophomore Jenna Fitzsimmons came in first at 18:10.3, followed by her teammate Caroline Eck.
“My legs were burning, but I kept telling myself, ‘Do it for the team. Do it for the team,’” Fitzsimmons said. “I was saying it over and over again in my head.”
Fitzsimmons and Eck embraced next to the finish line.
“It was so good to have them next to me,” Fitzsimmons said. “To all be next to eachother, I don’t think I could have finished without them there.”
Fitzsimmons made a final push after the second mile to get out ahead and cross the finish line in first place.
“One of the hardest parts was, after the two mile, knowing how close you were,” Fitzsimmons. “You had to keep going and really put in the work.”
As a result of Fitzsimmons and Eck’s strong effort, Mountain Vista swept the boys and girls team titles. The girls had a score of 64.
Broomfield (92) came in second, while Rock Canyon (164) finished in third place.
COLORADO SPRINGS — The Vanguard School won the Class 2A Region 2 girls cross country championship to qualify for next week’s state meet. The boys took third at the event, which also featured regional races in 4A and 5A.
Palmer Ridge’s Isabella Prosceno has a solid plan when embarking on her races.
She starts strong, paces herself with the head of the pack and then pulls away for the win. That’s the plan she utilized on Thursday at the Class 4A region 2 cross country meet. She got the desired result.
“I tend to run as hard as I can in every race,” Prosceno said. “Even though it gets hard on certain things, I just go hard every time.”
Prosceno took the win for the Bears, but it was Air Academy who grabbed the overall team win for 4A girls. The Bears didn’t come away empty-handed though as the boys team took first.
It was also a good day for the Vanguard School. The girls team grabbed first place while Nick Lovato won the overall 2A boys race.
“My hope was that I would run my fastest to get my team to state,” Lovato said. “I decided the best way to do that was to take first.”
Peyton won the 2A boys team title.
At the same venue, Mountain Vista swept the 5A team titles.
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Monarch took three of the top four spots at the 5A Region 3 boys cross country meet to win the region.
The Coyotes had 40 team points.
“We wanted our team to win this regional,” Charlie Perry said. “The best way for us to do that is, I have to go out and get one point. So, my mind was on what I’m going to do, because I know the rest of the guys will take care of their job.
“As you just saw, they came through in the spots they needed to as well.”
Perry took first with a time of 15:50.
“I felt pretty good today, so I figured it wouldn’t be too bad to go out on my own for a little bit,” Perry said. “This is a starter for the postseason so it’s a big deal to come out and win.”
In the girls race, Legacy sophomore Brynn Siles beat out the field with a time of 18:28.
Fairview won the team title with 64 points.
The Knights’ Isabella Bowland finished with a time of 19:16, good for a fifth-place finish.
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2A
Region 1: Lyons’ Isaac Roberts took first in the boys race with a time of 17:03. Heritage Christian won the team title. Nederland’s Helen Cross won the girls race with a race of 19:34, helping Nederland to the team title.
Region 3: Cody Danley of Rocky Ford won at 17:24. The Meloneers won both girls and boys team titles. Emilee Haefeli (Del Norte) and Camille Ruggles (Center) tied in the girls race at 21:54.
3A
Region 2: Blake Davis (Lamar) won with a time of 17:10.9. The Classical Academy took both team titles. Colorado Springs Christian’s Rachel Ingram turned in a first place time of 20:19.4.
Region 3: Holy Family’s Kyle McCabe took first with 16:42. Faith Christian won the boys team race. Peak to Peak’s Quinn McConnell won with 18:05. The Pumas took the top three spots to win the team race.
Region 4: Platte Valley’s Andrew King turned in a first-place time of 16:21. Frontier Academy won the team titles at boys and girls. Hannah Ellis’ time of 18:31 gave her the top spot.
4A
Region 1: Wheat Ridge’s Drew Seidel turned in a time of 17:50.18 to win the boys race. Evergreen took the boys team win. Naomi Harding of Battle Mountain paced the Huskies with a time of 19:56.76 to win the team and individual title.
Region 3: Valor Christian’s Cole Sprout topped the field at 16:00. Centaurus won the boys team race. In the girls race, Niwot freshman Taylor James took first with 19:16. Valor Christian won the girls team race.
Region 4: Silver Creek’s Logan Simington turned in a time of 16:14 to push the Raptors to the team title. Kenadi Krueger of Thompson Valley won the girls race with 18:57. Silver Creek won the girls team race.
Region 5: Cole Munoz of Widefield ran to a time of 16:05 to win the boys race. Durango won the boys and girls team races. Durango’s Madeleine Burns won the individual girls race at 19:10.
5A
Region 1: Denver East’s Harrison Scudamore won the boys race at 15:50.2. Dakota Ridge won the boys team race. Stephanie Carrasco of Thornton’s time of 17:58.5 was good for first place. Arvada West took the team race.
Region 2: Gateway’s Yonas Mogos took first at boys with 16:13.7. Grandview took the boys race. Isalina Colsman of Regis Jesuit won the girls race with 18:31.9. Cherokee Trail won the team race.
Region 4: Broomfield’s Michael Mooney won the boys race at 15:28.2. Poudre won the team race. Katelyn Mitchem’s time of 17:59.1 was enough to earn her and the Eagles wins in the girls race.
