Cross country's opening weekend (updated)

When the gun goes off at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede, folks start heading for the barns. Colorado Track XC file photo by Alan Versaw.

We've waited for it long enough. It's close enough to taste--opening weekend of cross country, 2014.

It would appear there are a couple of scrimmage meets being held around the state this weekend, but there are also three fully-fledged invitational meets coming up this weekend. It is cross country season at last!

There is, of course, the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede on Thursday. We know that meet will draw approximately half of the cross country teams in the state. It will feature a water crossing, an energy-sapping, two-stage hill climb of 150 feet, and a stadium finish. It also figures to feature 17 separate races, assuming the weather cooperates (there is some risk of thunderstorms on Thursday, though the biggest threat this week for that kind of weather appears to be shifting to Wednesday). 

Among the intriguing programs we figure to get a great first look at at the Stampede are Mancos, Heritage Christian Academy, SkyView Academy, Liberty Common, Discovery Canyon, Niwot, Palmer Ridge, Widefield, Cherokee Trail, Cherry Creek, and Smoky Hill. Each of these teams could be poised for significant moves forward and this is our first chance to see what they can deliver. And, it would appear that Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy is back for more.

Newly arrived on my radar screen is a new cross country event for Colorado--the New Balance Valmont Cross Country Invitational on the east side of Boulder at Valmont Bike Park. In case you're wondering where Lyons, Longmont, Centaurus, Broomfield, Shining Mountain, Dakota Ridge, and Mountain Ridge are hanging out on Friday afternoon, this would be the place. It's a three-circuit 4K course, so spectators should get to see the competitors many times over. And, I'm told, it's heavy on terrain, plus some artificial terrain in the form of hay bales.

Two more meets follow on Saturday--the Sterling and Central Warrior Invitationals. These meets are about as far away as two meets can get in Colorado.

The list of teams for Central Warrior includes a nice cross-section of Western Slope schools. One team of particular interest on the list of schools attending would be Soroco. If indeed the Rams are coming, this would mark the debut event for Soroco cross country. And I hope they're coming a little heat acclimated, because Grand Junction is a good deal more torrid than Oak Creek. You might also want to pay attention to the results for Rifle's Brenden Wagler; rumors reaching my ears say the young man has had a nice summer, including a big win in the Cheatin' Woodchuck race (a five-mile affair), and could be poised for a breakout season. This would be a nice place to show it if he has something in the bank.

The Central Warrior Invitational promises a horse jump (I'm pretty sure I don't know exactly what that is right now, but I suspect I will know by the end of the week) hay bales, lots of winding trails, and no hard surface--something of a novelty for Grand Junction area cross country courses. There are lots of folks hoping that the idea catches on. If you live on the Western Slope, find your way there. Matchett Park is the place That's 28 1/4 Road and Patterson, if you know Grand Junction--online maps or your GPS will take you right there if you don't know Grand Junction. An expansive view of the Bookcliffs and Mount Garfield awaits you.

For Sterling, we know very little about the teams coming, but it's a relatively short list of cross country teams that are a fairly reasonable drive away from Sterling, to include Brush, Fort Morgan, Yuma, Wiggins, Merino, and not much else. Perhaps they draw from as far away as the Kersey/Greeley/Eaton area? Perhaps they draw from Nebraska or Kansas (though it seems unlikely either state is opening their season as early as Colorado this year)? In any case, this much we do know about Sterling and the Pioneer Park venue: there are no monster hills, and barely any molehills. The elevation of less than 4000 feet makes it one of the lowest cross country venues in all of Colorado. It could be fast.

We'll bring you results of each of these meets as soon as they become available. Colorado Track XC will have on-site coverage at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede (Tim Hilt, Alan Versaw, plus the video team for part of the event) and at the Central Warrior Invitational (Michele Bisbee). 

As a special feature, we will be collecting photos from all of the weekend's action and creating a slideshow of our favorite images on Sunday evening. If you have a photo you would like to submit for consideration, please e-mail it as an attachment to the address in the bottom left corner of this page. I would love to include several of your images.

Meet coverage will be Insider content. The slideshow of favorite images will be free content.

A more comprehensive preview of the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede, perhaps broken into two parts, will follow later in the week.

I'll experiment with posting a live tweets article on Thursday for the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede, though it remains to be seen how successful that will be with just one meet feeding the stream of tweets. At the very least, I'll learn something useful for later on.