Former Rocky Mountain HS standout Ellie Rastall led the Colorado high school graduates at the NCAA Mountain Region women's race, finishing 12th in 20:57.2.
On a day where the front-runners of both the men's and women's races came from well outside the borders of the state of Colorado, graduates of Colorado high school programs were very much in evidence.
On the women's side, the rosters of Colorado, Colorado State, and the University of Colorado are dominated by Colorado high school graduates. While none finished in
the top ten of today's regional qualifying race, several did manage to make the all-region teams. Included on that list were Ellie Rastall (Rocky Mountain), Laura Thweatt (Durango, at left), Nell Rojas (Boulder), and Emily Hanenburg (The Classical Academy, at right), while missing by a scant place was Kirsten Anthony (Liberty).
The women from Texas Tech won the regional title with a team score of 42 points, followed by New Mexico and Arizona. The Colorado women finished fourth and await Sunday's determination to find out if they qualify for an at-large bid to the NCAA championships on November 24. Colorado State finished seventh.
For the men, it was Colorado winning their sixth consecutive regional title. And they did it in typical Colorado fashion--laying off a little in the first half of the race and rolling up through the pack throughout the second half of the race. All five of the Colorado scorers finished in the top 18 to earn the Buffaloes a team score of 42 points. Air Force finished in fifth and Colorado State in seventh.
All-region honors going to Colorado high school graduates included Richard Medina (Grand Junction, at left), Matt Williams (Air Academy, at right), and Seth DeMoor (Buena Vista).
While Medina and DeMoor will advance to nationals representing the University of Colorado, Williams just missed a berth to nationals as an individual, finishing as the sixth runner from a team not qualifying for nationals. Only the first four advance as individuals.