Eric Hamer rounds the final turn before the finish with a Worlds qualifer in view. Photo by Alan Versaw.
It's doubtful that things could have gone better for the Colorado contingent in the Junior Championship races at today's USA Cross Country Championships if you'd written the script according to your wildest dreams.
Out of 12 slots to represent the United States in the World Cross Country Championships in China next month, eight went to current Colorado high schoolers or alumni.
For almost 4K of the Junior Women's 6K, not much of anybody could tell what the eventual outcome would be. A large lead pack moved around the course with nobody making a move at trying to break away. Colorado Buffalo teammates Kaitlyn Benner and Valerie Constien, however, put an end to any mystery about who was in the best condition to roll up the last 2K when they made a break from the pack shortly before the end of the second circuit.
Nobody answered the call, so Benner and Constien enjoyed the final circuit to themselves.
For a couple minutes early in the third circuit, it appeared as if the collegiate women might make a clean sweep of the six qualifying positions for World Cross Country. The high schoolers in the chase pack seemed to be struggling to keep the pace. But, the pursuit pack had underestimated the rigors of finishing the final 2K of 6K at altitude.
As the gorilla jumped on the backs of an assortment of college freshmen from lower elevations, Katie Rainsberger and Lauren Gregory attacked. One by one, Rainsberger and Gregory slipped past members of the dwindling remnant of the chase pack.
With 600 meters to go, the first four places were settled. Benner had broken from Constien; and Rainsberger was starting to pull away from Gregory. It was clear that fifth place didn't have the wheels left to chase down Gregory.
And so it was that the first four places became a Colorado sweep, starting with Benner's 21:48. Next month's world cross country race in China won't be the first race day these four have shared.
The men took an extra 2K to write their story. And, the ending of the the Junior Men's race came with a few more twists to the plot.
The first 2K was spent as a staredown between Cerake Geberkidane, John Dressel, Conner Mantz, Paul Roberts, and a few others. Nobody wanted to take the lead. Lurking behind a little out of the spotlight of attention, and even less inclined to take the lead, was Eric Hamer.
By 3K, Roberts had assumed the lead, but, if he'd stopped to take notice, he probably could have felt the breath of Geberkidane and Mantz on either shoulder.
Between 3 and 4K, Geberkidane made his big move and took control of the lead. Not content merely with a lead, Geberkidane opened a gap of about 20 meters, and the race appeared headed to a foregone conclusion.
Meanwhile, Roberts fell all the way off the the back end of the lead group, though Eric Hamer began his advance toward the front even as the wheels threatened to come off the Roberts wagon.
For most of the third circuit, Geberkidane held his lead, but there was one guy from Utah who refused to let Geberkidane put him away.
That one guy was Conner Mantz. Mantz had suffered a disappointing ending to his regular cross country season, largely the doing of an injury. He did manage to rally back in time to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals, but his race there was probably not what it might have been under better circumstances.
So, in a very real sense, USA Cross Country was a chance for Mantz to rewrite the ending to his dream season that he missed out on in November and December.
Right at 6K, Mantz assumed the lead. Geberkidane did not have the remaining strength of will to do anything about the pass.
Over the final 2000 meters, Mantz would open a lead of 25 seconds, eventually stopping the clock at 25:12. Geberkidane held on for second at 25:37, barely holding off a late surge from John Dressel.
And then it got interesting.
CU's Paul Miller (Poudre High School alum) rounded the final bend to the finish in fourth, followed by Obsa Ali of Minnesota. Ali, however, was a bit done in by some combination of heat, altitude, and exertion, and was working on decidedly wobbly legs.
Ali stumbled to the turf in the final 100 meters and was quickly overtaken by Eric Hamer. Hamer continued his pursuit and caught Miller before the finish.
In seventh around the final bend was Paul Roberts. To get there, Roberts had pulled out something of a minor miracle on the final 2K, retaking most of the places he had let slip to others between 3K and 6K.
With Ali still struggling to regain his feet, Roberts shot by him, claiming the sixth, and final, qualifying position for China at 25:58.
Roberts had made a better reckoning on what the final 2K would require than those who has dispatched him to the tail end of the chase pack: "I kind of fell off when Cerake made his move. But then with 3K left, people starting coming back to me. I found I had a little more left than I thought I did."
And so it is that eight of the twelve Juniors going to China go there with a Colorado pedigree.
