Hornet, Cañon City, Air Academy, and Fountain meets
HORNET
We did surprisingly well at our own meet. Steve won fairly easily last year but on this scorching hot day, he had to battle for second in 18:54, 1:14 slower than last year on a cooler day. Chad was third in 19:19, an 18 second and 9 place improvement from last year. Brad was 14th in 20:57, a 5:34 and 44 place improvement. (Remember, don’t do a heavy weight workout with legs the day before or especially the day of a race.) Kyle, in just his second high school race after long recovery from injury, was 15th in 21:02, 1:38 slower than last year but only 4 places back. It was hot. Adam was 37th in 24:33. He didn’t run this race last year. Jon Todd didn’t run this year because he had a soccer match and I knew we had five runners.
It turned out to be surprisingly close in the team race with La Junta first with 68 points, Centennial second 69 and County third with 70. Widefield was fourth with 88, Central fifth with 125 and Mesa Ridge sixth with 165. The other teams didn’t score because blind scoring has been eliminated this year. The top ten individuals were 1 James Sandoval Widefield 18:09 (18:31), 2 Steve 18:54 (17:40), 3 Chad 19:13 (19: 37), 4 Russell Coates La Junta 19:17 (21:43), 5 Kalin Mellars Widefield 19:31 (20:32), 6 Nick Martinez Central 19:42 (20:59), 7 Matt Bowmar La Junta 19:52 (19:22), 8 Ryan Singleton Centennial 19:55 (21:05), 9 Lupe Case Central 20:26 (20:01), 10 Tait Norton Primero 20:43.
We could not score in the women’s race but we had an impressive new runner, Jessica Lowe who finished her first high school race in 16th place in 26:56. Crystal Berndt was 6th in 24:16 compared to 19th in 26:04 last year. Tiffany Reno was really blasted by the heat but didn’t quit. She finished 26th in 31:50.
The team scores were 1 Widefield 46, 2 Centennial 85, 3 La Junta 105, 4 Sierra 112, 5 Pueblo West 124, 6 Mesa Ridge 159. The top ten individuals were 1 Beth Alfonso Central 22:04*1 (25:06) 2 Ashlee Vellez La Junta 22:57 (new), 3 Sarah French Widefield 23:19 (23:19, no kidding), 4 Katie Hurtado Central 23:52 (23:56), 5 Mary French Widefield 24:00 (25:21), 6 Crystal 24:16 (26:04), 7 Emma O’Connor Centennial 24:43 (26:22), 8 Jamie Howard Pueblo West 24:53 (23:31), 9 Melissa Lemons Widefield 25:05 (24:47), 10 Jessica Driscol Centennial 25:09 (new).
CAÑON CITY
We had two people get ribbons, Chad in 18th and Crystal in 19th. That’s commendable, and better than we’ve done many years, but both of those runners a just a bit of belief away from being in the very front group. It was pretty warm and crowded of course for thos not absolutely in the lead.
Chad’s time was 18:59 (19:14). Brad placed 40th in a PR 20:05 (23:12). Kyle was 42nd in 20:07 (20:02). Jon Todd was 63rd in a PR 22:05 (23:20). Adam was 66th in 22:26 (didn’t run last year).
Crystal was 23:00 (23:39). Jessica had a PR 26:08, finishing 47th. Tiffany had a big breakthrough and ran 26:55 to finish 55th.
AIR ACADEMY
For the first time all year we had enough women to score. Unfortunately, with Kyle injured we didn’t have enough men. We had some good efforts but so did dozens of other people so ours didn’t particularly stand out. The course was modified slightly but I don’t think it affected times much. It was a higher quality field though.
Chad finished 37th in 19:07 (19:17). Brad was 69th in 20:29 (23:31). Jon Todd was 108th in 22:19 (23:00). Adam was 110th in 22:51 (23:15).
Crystal was 23rd in 23:02 (23:31). Jessica was probably spooked by the hill. She finished 85th in 27:07. Tiffany had a bigger case of hill fright. She finished 103rd in 29:14. Emily did her first high school race in 34:19, finishing 112th. Adrian also made her debu, finishing 114th om 35:10.
FOUNTAIN
The first thing that comes to mind is the change in weather. it was cool and drizzly with a noticeable breeze. Most of our runners had season best times. The other big change was Centennial women’s team; they nearly beat Cañon City. Fountain men’s team was new to us and they are very strong too. At this point it is clear that unless things change pretty dramatically Cañon, South, Centennial and probably Widefield wIll be the state qualifiers for women, and that Cañon City, South, and Fountain will be the top three for boys. We’ll have a better look after the Central Invitational.
The men’s race went first. Chad went out strong and kept moving up and got as high as eighth place before finishing 10th in 18:34 (18:55). Kyle went out much more conservatively but moved up for his best race of the season. He finished 35th in 19:47 (18:39). Brad didn’t have his best day but he was reliable as usual. He finished 51st in 20:27 (21:40). Jon Todd had a PR, finishing 76th with a nice kick at the end in 21:49 (22:10). Adam also had a stunning kick to finish 82nd in 22:21 (21:45).
The team scores were Cañon 87, Woodland Park 87 (Cañon first with a faster 6th runner), Fountain 89, Colo. Spgs Christian 115, Falcon 131, La Junta 168, Sand Creek 184, Centennial 213, Harrison 222, County 254, Buena Vista 262, Siearra 368, Mesa Ridge 397.
The women’s race was exciting but showed that Fountain’s Bylander is for real. Jenna Bimbi ran away early but a trio of Brianna Berry from Cañon, Stephanie Bylander of Fountain, and Jessica Urban of Woodland Park were even farther away from the field than Bimbi was ahead of them. Crystal moved up to about 10th before asthma began restricting her breathing. She finished in 23rd at 23:30 (23:07). Jessica Lowe started perhaps a bit too easy for her and finished 43rd with a big PR 24:59. Rebekah ran 24:13 on the same course last year. Tiffany also had an impressive PR, finishing 50th in 25:31. Adrian and Emily ran toghether most of the way but Adrian found a kick at the end to finish 80th in 33:47. Emily was 81st in 33:53.