There’s no denying the challenge.
Thompson Valley’s girls cross country team is well aware that history is not with them. Others have tried and for the past decade others have failed.
Winning back-to-back state championships just isn’t something cross country teams have accomplished across the state, not since the Eagles’ primary rivals Mountain View did it in 2003 and 2004.
“We want it really bad. There’s only one team, Mountain View, that’s had back-to-back state titles in a long time and I think we all want to be that next team,” senior Kendra Larson said. “We are definitely thinking about it and know we can do it, we have all the potential to do it. But I try not to think about massive goals because you can’t control it. Coach (Matt Norton) is always telling us to focus on things we can control.”
Those things the Eagles can control are of course their training, which is the single most important factor between winning and losing in cross country.
Norton likes the way his girls have attacked their preseason, but these girls are proven champions; some of them twice over from Thompson Valley’s 2011 championship. You’d expect nothing less.
The Eagles lost just one key contributor from last season’s team, Hayley Berg. Seniors Ellie Colpitts, Kacie Kaufman and Larson are all back, not including Megan Irvine who’s out with an injury. There are also very talented sophomores Emily Leidig and Helena Ernst.
All five healthy returnees ran in the state championships on Colorado Springs’ Norris Penrose course last fall.
“That (experience) is invaluable because the (state) course adds another layer of uncertainty and stress for most kids who run it and we’ve demonstrated that we can run that course well,” Norton said. “Anytime you’re coming into a season with a lot of kids with state experience, and who have had success there, we like our chances.”
Thompson Valley also has a bright season in store for 2014 with six of its seven top boys coming back. Senior Kaleb Simington – last year’s RH cross country Athlete of the Year – headlines the Eagles along with last year’s regional winner junior Jarrett Thollot.
The Eagles finished their season in 13th at state on the boys side, leaving plenty of room for improvement.
“I think our boys will be a little under-ranked coming in,” Norton said. “I think they’re going to surprise some folks.”
That’s the plan, Simington agrees.
“We only graduated one guy, so I think we’re definitely planning on moving up quite a bit,” he said. “With the course that (state) is, experience is definitely helpful, so we’ll have an advantage over quite a few teams.”
Contact Reporter-Herald Sports Writer Cris Tiller at 970-669-5050 ext. 511, tillerc@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/rhpreps
