Cerake Geberkidane won't be around to run this year's Arapahoe Warrior Invitational, but his meet record of 15:12 will toe the starting line with the rest of the field. Colorado Track XC file photo by Ashley Green.
I believe the old saying goes, "Everybody who is somebody will be there." And it's almost like that for Friday's running of the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational.
At last count, there were 58 teams coming to the meet--easily the largest field in recent memory--and almost all of the top teams in 5A. Meet director Chuck Lutz commented, "If we can keep everyone upright, I think it will be an awesome sight to see at the start of the race."
Indeed.
Race timing is being handled by Running Bears out of Boulder, and they're bringing in shoe chips to help handle the extra load at the finish line. My understanding is that in these cases a back-up camera is also used to review close finishes as shoe chips are subject to some variability (though less so than bib chips) in where they are picked up by the sensor.
This year's version of the meet is the 48th in succession. The meet has long enjoyed its status as one of the largest and most prestigious meets in Colorado, but the jump in numbers this year also owes something to the change in the calendar for this season that allowed the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede to move a week forward and no longer compete with the Arapahoe Warrior meet for the crowd.
The course layout in use this year is the same as it has been the last two years. Course records on the new layout belong to Cerake Geberkidane (15:12) and Katie Rainsberger (18:04). Rainsberger comes back this year to take another crack at her mark, but Lauren Gregory may be harboring some intentions of her own. This race should also mark the high school debut of Allie Chipman (photo, below), winner of last year's middle school state race (a race previously won by none other than Rainsberger and Gregory!).
Top male contenders would appear to include Isaac Green, Satchel Caldwell, Paxton Smith, Eric Hamer, Adam Egger, Zachary Alhamra, Taylor Stack, Blake Yount, Kaleb Simington, Paul Moore, and, of course, many more.
Among the 5A programs lining up at the starting line are Mountain Vista, Cherry Creek, Fort Collins, Monarch, Smoky Hill, and Fairview. Most of these schools appear to be suiting up their top squads, though the list of Cherry Creek's entries suggest that they are holding out the top teams for at least another week. Regardless, there is plenty of talent to go around at this meet. There will be no easy passes to the front of the field.
4A powers in attendance will include Thompson Valley, Palmer Ridge, Air Academy, Pueblo West, and several more. 3A contributes Salida and Faith Christian.
Make no mistake, there will be some serious early-season bragging rights on the line at this one--and a steep premium on good parking spaces.
The race has three divisions: a freshman/sophomore division, a junior/senior division, and a varsity division. Racing begins with the freshman/sophomore division at 4 PM, moves to the varsity division at 4:50, and kicks of the junior/senior races at 5:55. As we learned last year, if lightning moves in, all that is subject to change.
Don't be too quick to dismiss the freshman/sophomore and junior/senior races as irrelevant. Many a promising high school career has been unveiled in those races and every year some schools opt to hide out an otherwise varsity team member or two in one or both of these races. The careful observer will pay nearly as much attention to what happens in those races as to what happens in the varsity races. Count on it being so.
Colorado Track XC will be on-hand for coverage of this meet. Photos and written coverage are part of the package, and we hope to have some video clips to share as well. Check back later on Friday evening as coverage should start to appear then. Undoubtedly, however, coverage will continue to go up through Saturday.
Arapahoe Warrior meet page