Colorado Track XC athletes of the week: September 15 - 21

<h3 style="text-align: center;"> celebrating top performances week after week...</h3>

Paxton Smith and Kayla Young both ran to big wins last week. Photos by Tim Hilt and Ashley Green.

This week, Colorado Track XC honors Paxton Smith of Mountain Vista and Kayla Young of Denver North as the athletes of the week.
 
Paxton Smith ran away with the boys title at the Coronado Cougar Classic on Thursday. The junior was the first to the finish line out of a competitive group, finishing in 16:23.6.
  
“I definitely wanted to go in and try to win it,” Smith affirmed, “I knew it would be a competitive field and I was just going to take it out and let people pull me along through the first two miles. I made a move with a kilometer to go and it all worked out.”
 
Always racing in the competitive 5A division, this was the first major win of Paxton’s high school career. “I felt it from the beginning,” he said. “The pace at the start was somewhat easy, so I knew I would be in a good position to win. It’s very exciting, it’s what you work for every day, getting up early to train and getting up early in the summer... to compete well and win races.”
 
Half way through his high school career, Smith is now among the more experienced runners in the field. Learning from past races in large, fast fields, Smith is now beginning to make a name for himself as one of the standouts in 5A. “It’s been a great season so far,” Smith said. “My coach has put me in a great position of fitness and it’s really exciting. We’re starting to taper off in the next few weeks, some big races are coming up. Right now though, I feel in great shape--it’s definitely the best shape I’ve ever been in.”
 
However, Smith’s focus remains on his team rather than more individual wins. An important team leader, Smith hopes to continue to play an big role for his fellow teammates. “I’m excited to be able to get a low score for the team,” he said.  “I really want the team to do well- that’s the ultimate goal. I want to keep being a strong front runner for the team. I want to be as much of a help to them as I can.”
 
So, for now, Smith continues to be diligent in his daily training, focusing on the often overlooked training elements such as diet and sleep to ensure the success keeps coming. “I really want to place top five at state,” Smith said. “I think that’s where my fitness level can be. There are a lot of great guys out there but I think top five can be done.”
 
Another big success story from last week belonged to Kayla Young. Young won two races in the past week, first on Monday at the Denver North Viking Invitational in 18:54 and then on Saturday at the Brush Invitational. Saturday’s performance was definitely the standout, however, as the sophomore from Denver North High School finished in a speedy time of 18:03.99 with no one in sight.
 
“My goal going in was to break 18 minutes,” Young confided. “I knew how I had to go into the race, and I felt really good about my performance. I was a little bit disappointed that I was just barely above 18 minutes but my coach told me the course was a little bit above a 5K and that I probably had actually done it. It really hurt at the end, but I wanted it so I kept pushing.”
 
Young’s biggest challenge of the day was keeping up her quick pace with help from nobody. She finished over a minute and a half ahead of the rest of the field, making her claim as the day’s clear victor.  “That was really hard,” Smith admitted, “I had my coach yelling the mile splits to me, so I knew I was on track. Once I knew I had a good pace I just stayed there and made sure I didn’t slow down.” 
 
Plagued by injuries during her first cross country season last year, Young is finally healthy and running some very promising times for being just a sophomore. She has already smashed her previous PR and the season is looking to be very exciting. “It feels really good,” Young said. “I’m so happy because last year I had a lot of injuries but I’ve been training a lot better. I’m ready to get my times down.” 
 
Young is the best she’s ever been and is focused on continuing to learn and improve this year. She’s injury free and mentally stronger than she’s ever been as well. “I’ve been more mentally in the races,” Young said. “I had a mental breakthrough this season working in the race and knowing what I have to do. It feels really good and I’m really grateful to be where I am.”
 
It looks like it’s only onward and upward from here. With goals of that sub 17 minute 5K and a top two finish at the 4A cross country championships, Young is on course for a sweet season.
 
Congratulations to both Smith on Young on their successful weeks and best of luck to all of Colorado’s harriers as they press on with their seasons!