Cross Country Preview: 3A Girls

For a small-school classification, 3A girls boasts an inordinate level of talent. If you take the track times for 800, 1600, and 3200 meters this past spring, 3A girls claim a disproportionate share of the top times in the state for each of these events. And it looks like the trend could continue for a while as most of the prime suspects, including Samantha Berggren, Kara Slavoski, and Kaitlin Hanenburg, have at least two years of remaining eligibility.

Expect this fall's cross country season to be full of excitement with overall times creeping lower, perhaps, than they have ever been before.

Top returning athletes:

Kaitlin Hanenburg, The Classical Academy – last year’s Gatorade Runner of the Year, 3A state XC, 1600, and 3200 champion

Samantha Berggren, Middle Park – a solid distance runner who has proven herself in track to be among the nation’s elite at middle and shorter distances as well.

Chiara DelPiccolo, Basalt – The diminutive junior-to-be, at left, encored her solid finish in state cross country with a second-place finish in the 3A 3200.

Emily Husted, The Classical Academy – earned third at last year’s state meet by outkicking Emma Coburn across the soccer fields at El Pomar, just missing 20-flat

Annette Stenstadvold, Basalt – Last year’s fifth-place XC finisher played soccer in the spring but comes back this fall highly regarded nevertheless.

Kara Slavoski, St. Mary’s – Ignore last year’s state XC results, the real Kara Slavoski ran in the 800 and 1600 at the state track meet.

Jhenya Nahreini, Peak to Peak – Although most of the supporting cast graduated, Nahreini remains a solid competitor, as evidenced by her state 3200.

Sydney Harris, St. Mary’s – quietly puts up solid results race after race after race

Melissa Roberts, Lyons – 2A state champion at 3200 meters comes up to 3A this fall, finished tenth at state XC last fall but has improved since that time

Kassie Mazzocco, The Classical Academy – consistently competitive, in three previous state XC meet races she has placed 14, 11, and 7

 

Last year’s powerhouse teams:

The Classical Academy – The state team returns intact with more depth than in previous years.

Peak to Peak – Although graduation took a heavy toll, a good bit of talent returns. The quality of coaching the Pumas enjoy should keep them among the contenders.

Roosevelt – departs to 4A

Pagosa Springs – Last year’s fourth-place finish was perhaps a bit of an aberration; the Pirates always contend.

Crested Butte – departs to wreak havoc within the 2A classification

St. Mary’s – a disappointing state meet last year for the Pirates, but this is a team with firepower (check out the distance results from the state track meet)

 

Waiting in the wings:

Brush – loses only Jamie Christensen from last year’s team. Finished as state runner-up in 2005 and has the potential to revisit that level of success

Aspen, Gunnison – seems to be a numbers game for both schools. The talent is there, but depth to at least the fourth scoring position is needed

Salida – will miss Katie Dreher, but the Spartans have been on a steady incline for the last two years. Expect nothing about that trend to change this year.

Platte Canyon, Holy Family – never far out of the picture, two schools with strong links to the glory days of the old Metro League

 

Changes coming:

The start line at the 3A state race will be a little less crowded this year as substantially fewer teams will qualify for state. This is because 2A now has its own classification and the qualifying percentage out of 3A regional meets has dropped from 45% to 40%. Larger programs will breathe a huge sigh of relief over getting a sixth runner at state.

 

Key questions to be answered:

Will Samantha Berggren continue her amazing progression? How much faster can she get?

Who will fill the void of dominance left in the Patriot League by the departure of Roosevelt? Will it be Lyons, Erie, Eaton, Brush, or someone else?

Basalt continues the tradition begun by coach Ron Lund at now-defunct Alpine Christian High School. Will the Longhorns develop solid third and fourth runners to become serious contenders in the team race once again?

How will Bayfield’s girls respond to their new coach?