Heriberto Munoz gets to run in front of the home crowd tomorrow as Fort Morgan looks to impress yet again. Photo by Alan Versaw.
As I get start lists for this weekend's meet they will be linked here:
Arvada West Invitational
With cool temps forecasted and a flat course a certainty, this one could be turning up some exceptionally good times. Except for the fact that Ben Butler is supposed to be running in the World Junior Mountain Running Championships this weekend, he would be the heavy favorite to win this race (but he is entered in the race). Assuming Butler's entry is an apparition, that probably leaves Harrison Scudamore and Alec Hornecker to duel it out with a time that should end up below 16 minutes. But, there are a couple other guys you don't want to be too hasty to rule out...
Look for Arvada West's boys to be aiming at sending a message at their home meet.
We hope to see Lexi Reed at this race (and she is on the entry list!). I'm guessing that 26-something from the JV race at Cherry Creek was not really Lexi, regardless of what the results say. If that assumption is correct, this race marks her season debut. A Lexi Reed-Reagan Hausmann showdown could prove to be interesting.
Broomfield Invitational
Although Broomfield is no longer part of Boulder County, this meet looks a lot like a "best of Boulder County" kind of convergence, with a few more not-quite-as-local teams thrown in for good measure. Last year, Fairview's boys and girls rolled the field at this meet, with the girls being one person away from posting a perfect score. We'll see if they can repeat the feat this year. Broomfield is listing their big guns for this meet--if that happens, a repeat of Fairview's domination from last year seems highly unlikely.
Fort Morgan Invitational
Lots of teams are pointed toward this flat course at low elevation. It's not quite Liberty Bell, but is was a screamer last year nevertheless. The matchup between Conifer, Elizabeth, and host school Fort Morgan has the potential to tell us a bundle about how these rising 4A programs sort out with respect to one another.
Platte Valley Invitational
This one offers a nice preview of the Patriot League meet for a couple of reasons. One, most of the Patriot League teams will be there (though University and Frontier Academy have other plans). Two, it should be the same course as the Patriot League meet. Unlike Ben Butler, Lily Tomasula-Martin is not registered for this race. Although Estes Park will be there, their commanding presence at the front won't be. For Roosevelt, this meet will be almost like the good old days of running in the Patriot League. And, watch out for Jefferson Academy here...
Rock Canyon Invitational
Part of the draw for this one is that it previews the 5A Region 5 course for next month. As such, it's heavy on El Paso and Douglas County 5A programs. And, save for Monarch and Mountain Vista, the teams coming look to be bringing varsity teams (again, not surprising for a regional preview meet, though not all the teams coming belong to the region).
Traditionally, the course here rolls a little (or a lot), so this probably isn't your first choice of a place to post a PR, though there is some hard surface that tends to speed things up a little.