Megan Levine goes from chasing Telluride maroon one week to Alamosa maroon the next. Photo by Alan Versaw.
You'll get a lot of bang for your travel buck by heading to this year's Joe Vigil Open. In addition to a solid small-school field, you get both collegiate/open and middle school fields as well.
We'll focus here on the high school races, but I did want to acknowledge that there's a lot more to this meet than just the high school part.
While this meet is arguably stronger on the boys side than the girls this year, there still should be plenty to keep your attention among the girls teams.
We'll start with the fact that Alamosa and Taos are both slated to toe the start line at this race. Alamosa is Colorado's defending 2014 3A state champ, and Taos is New Mexico's defending 2014 4A state champ. Both teams lost something to graduation, but both teams also bring a lot back.
For Alamosa, this will be the second meet of the season. The Mean Moose come off an unspectacular performance at last week's Cheyenne Mountain Stampede with perhaps a bit of something to show and a bit more confidence at their home meet. Brianna Molina and Tara Sowards figure to be up front for the team in maroon (incidentally, "Maroons" is the former official mascot of Alamosa High School).
Taos counters with a very fast trio of Elizabeth Reyes, Cora Cannedy, and Isabella Padilla. Assuming these three remain healthy, the story of the Taos season will be told in what happens at 4 and 5. We get our first glimpse at the unfolding of that story on Saturday morning.
It should be a very interesting showdown between the depth of Alamosa and the front running speed of Taos.
While Sargent is outsized in a meaningful way by both Alamosa and Taos, the Farmers have plenty to look forward to in their season opener. Maria Montes and Makayla Garcia are both potential top ten finishers in this field. And, Sargent starts their march toward another 2A state berth with this event.
Lake City's Megan Levine had a nice start to her season last week at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede and is another individual who has an excellent shot at a top ten finish.
Santa Fe, the largest school attending this meet, figures to be the team most likely to give Alamosa and Taos a run for their money.
Although they are not currently listed on the meet registration, I'm going to guess that Pagosa Springs will be coming over Wolf Creek Pass for this meet. The Pirates have certainly done that in the past. If that does turn out to be the case, we should look for a strong representation from the Pagosa girls as well. Pagosa was 35 points back of Alamosa at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede, but still turned in a solid showing. Assuming they show, this meet figures as a golden opportunity to make a nice step forward in their season.
Below is a link to virtual meet for Saturday's high school girls race to give you a starting idea of how things could play out and a link to the meet page. Please note that the virtual meet is accessible only to MileSplit Insiders.
2015 Joe Vigil Invitational High School Girls Virtual Meet
2015 Joe Vigil Inviational Meet Page, Including High School Course Map