story special to Colorado Track XC by Karen Birch Don't be fooled by the apparently pedestrian times earned at Denver East's Invitational on Saturday, September 20, at Ruby Hill Park. One quick glance at the terrain blew any preconceptions that fast times would be run. The extremely spectator-friendly course had many winding fingers that allowed coaches and parents the opportunity to watch many views of the race, as long as they were willing to navigate the challenging hills that the course offered. Only 13 runners broke 20 minutes (all in the varsity boys race) on a course that most runners reported added almost 2 full minutes to their season's best times. Fulton later commented that the course was "slow but fun" and explained that she trained through the race in an effort to realize her goal of placing in the top 3 in the State Meet next month. Coach Katie Clifford concurred, stating that the course was tough and that overall, the "kids did well." She praised the team's training and race efforts and perceived the course as great mental preparation, especially for their upcoming league meet at the challenging Renaissance Run course. Denver East coach and race director Steve Kohuth beamed when asked about Toaspern's race, expressing how happy he was that the DE soccer-playing junior was "so close to Fulton" in the race. Like Fulton, Toaspern was coming off a hard week of training. Kohuth aptly described the course as a "pure guts course" that Prefontaine would be proud of. On the boys' varsity side, Highlands Ranch came close to the standard of the girls by placing their 5 scorers in the top 10 for a total of 30 points. Arvada West held off Regis for runner-up honors with 90 points to Regis's 97. HR senior Garrett Wilson hammered through the first mile at 5:10, taking complete charge of the race. Arvada West's Drew Ryther passed George Washington's Emiliano Rodriquez-Warner as they crossed the mile mark at an impressive 5:20 split. At the halfway mark, Wilson had gapped Ryther by 24 seconds who, in turn, was followed close behind by Rodriquez-Warner with HR's Tyler Nelson and AW's Alex Nelson poised to challenge for third. The Highlands Ranch Nelson successfully took over third and set his sights on Ryther for runner-up. In the end, Wilson was victorious in 18:00 with Ryther holding off HR's Nelson for runner-up at 18:44. HR cemented their victory with 7th place Kyle Rhodes, 9th place Cameron Kilcullen and 10th place Colin Best. Rounding out the top 10: GW's Rodriquez-Warner (4th) AW's Nelson 5th, Standley Lake's Chris Tarket (6th), and Abraham Lincoln's Victor Salvatierra (8th). Wilson described the couse as tough, challenging and a "good hill workout." Wilson noted that his teammates ran very well and expressed his excitement for the young freshmen and sophomores coming up. Teammate Nelson concurred that the course was tough and felt like an "actual cross country course." HR coach Nicky DeBolt commented that the "boys ran well and did exactly what" they had planned, taking into account that they trained through the race and ran a tough course. Drew Ryther, race runner-up, explained that he was really happy with his place, as he was coming off a heavy mileage week and twisted ankle from Tuesday. Ryther stated that he was more excited about how his team finished (2nd) and how teammate, Alex Nelson (Fr), is improving. Congratulations to all runners that participated and conquered the hills at Ruby Park.
The Highlands Ranch girls' varsity team placed 5 in the top 7 to earn 19 points. Not surprisingly, HR sophomore Eleanor Fulton (at left, turning a few heads on her way to the meet title, photos by Rick Wilson) commanded the lead throughout, pacing through the first mile in 6:05 with teammate Kristen Kientz not far behind. Denver East's Lillie Toaspern was at 6:13, keeping in close contact to the lead duo with HR's next runners crossing 26 seconds later. At the halfway mark, Fulton began to lengthen her lead over Kientz by 7 seconds, with Toaspern still in contact 12 seconds later and the pack following 35 seconds later. Positions remained mostly the same from that point through the finish, with Fulton (20:43), Kientz (21:11), and Toaspern (21:54) finishing 1-2-3, HR scorers McLane Ritzel (4th), Biz Goodbarn (5th), and Caitlyn Hawkins (7th) finished strong, making for a near-perfect 19 points. Rounding out the top 10 were Ponderosa's Maggie Kroskob (6th), Regis's Erin Dempsey (8th) and Standley Lake teammates Zoe Tillman and Lauren Heil (9th and 10th). Regis's tightly bunched scorers (8-11-15-17-18) solidified runner-up honors with 69 points, while Ponderosa took third with 93 points.