Allie Chipman moves into a very early lead at St. Vrain--a race that would set the stage for still bigger things a week later. Photo by Alan Versaw.
2015 didn't begin very well for Allie Chipman.
"Over the winter I was extremely sick with pneumonia and whooping cough, even though I was immunized for both. I didn't have any off season training."
And, if you knew what to expect from Allie Chipman, you saw some of that dismal winter in her early-season track results. 5-teens in the 1600, high 2-teens in the 800. Those are plenty respectable times in the great scheme of things for girls high school track and field, but they weren't the kind of times Chipman was aiming for.
Eventually, the times began to ratchet downward. Eventually, Chipman would post matching 5:04.26s at the Kansas Relays and the Continental League meet, and an 11:14 at Pomona.
But, she seemed to take another step back again at state--running 5:10 and missing a medal in the 1600 and 11:19 for fourth in the 3200. Not at all a bad season ending for a freshman, but neither quite where Chipman felt she could or should be.
"I didn't walk away from Jeffco feeling like I proved myself. This started a real fire and, even that night, I started my extra training."
A lot of shared miles with just-graduated teammate Delaney Fitzsimmons filled Chipman's summer. Chipman also paid attention to her personal iron stores, which had dipped precariously low during the course of the track season.
Nobody knew quite what to make of Chipman's season-opening effort in the fall. A 12:21 two-mile doesn't seem all that fast, but it was on an untested, and somewhat rolling, course. And she won. We tell ourselves that is the big thing with cross country, right? But, she didn't win against any established big names. For those trying to handicap the season, her win was nothing more than a tease.
Chipman didn't race on Labor Day weekend, leaving the St. Vrain Invitational to fall as her first stern test of the cross country season. A showdown with Legend's Catherine Liggett seemed to loom, but Liggett turned in her entry and didn't appear at the start line.
That left the pool of established contenders in somewhat short supply, with Poudre's Luna Slater and Estes Park's Lily Tomasula-Martin surfacing as the most recognizable names. Based on what we'd seen over the preceding year, both appeared to be in Chipman's league.
Appearances, however, can be deceiving.
The race was barely 800 meters old when it became clear nobody would be staying with Allie Chipman. In addition to opening a monstrous 48-second gap on the field, Chipman obliterated Katie Rainsberger's standing course record (the current variation of the St. Vrain course) with a 17:55.
When Katie Rainsberger owned-and-operated records fall, you start taking notice. And, the significance of the effort wasn't lost on Chipman, "St. Vrain was a major confidence booster. Before that race I didn't even know if I could go to nationals or do anything special during the season. At St. Vrain, I was able to see the potential of my season."
The potential of her season glimpsed, Chipman boarded a plane with her Mountain Vista teammates to Irvine, California, for the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic.
"When I went to California, I was confident that I could win, but not expecting it. I didn't look at any of the girls times or the teams who were in the race just so I wouldn't be intimidated. Looking back, I know that was a smart move because certain girls in that race would have definitely lowered my confidence if I knew they were running. My main goal was to be as close to first place as I possibly could be.... It seemed like everyone there was expecting to win except for me."
With that bundle of mismatched expectations in place, Chipman toed the starting line, eager to see what the featured race of the evening, and entire weekend, would hold.
" At the beginning of the race, it felt extremely fast, and I was trying to stay close to the front pack. Then, all of the sudden, the leaders slowed way down and I found myself in the lead. This was a major shock."
But Chipman really didn't have time to let the shock settle in. She was on a pace, and the pace was in control.
"During the entire race I was wondering who was behind me and still holding on. I didn't know if she had a crazy kick, or even just a crazy start. It wasn't until the 2-mile marker when I decided that I was going to do everything in my power to win. I was still expecting a major fight from the pack behind. It wasn't till I finished when I realized that I actually did win."
Chipman's 16:31.1 time for three miles would put Tesoro's Amanda Gehrlich back in second by more than six seconds. And a few more of those names that would have left Chipman intimidated, had she known they were in the race, trailed at greater distances.
And so it is that now a whole new set of questions begins to surround the remainder of Chipman's season (photo, left, by Lizette Adams).
A few days ago, more or less everyone had the Colorado 5A girls state title signed off to Lauren Gregory. Now, a whole lot of people have begun rethinking that scenario. It could be a very interesting battle of former middle school state champions this time around, and "foregone conclusion" seems now a very dated assessment.
Beyond state lies NXR-SW and the tantalizing possibility of NXN for Chipman. It should be very interesting to see how the story of this season writes itself out, but, for now, all of Colorado cross country walks a little prouder on account of a stunning upset under the California night sky.
