Nick Taylor, the top freshman in 3A boys cross country last fall, returns to key the hopes for Colorado Academy in his sophomore season. Unless I miss my guess, that would be Bayfield's Derek Laue, another serious contender this year, just off Taylor's shoulder. Photo by Alan Versaw.
It’s possible that the same five teams could be back at it again this year as places six through nine were each hit pretty hard by losses to graduation.
Among last year’s top five, Lyons felt the sting of graduation the hardest, including four-year standout Andrew Roberts. But, Coach Roberts has proven he can build a consistent contender at one of the smallest schools in the 3A classification, so it will come as no great surprise if Lyons is back in contention this fall.
Lyons must lean heavily on the experience and talent of Dylan Donohoe and Zach Pfeifer for that to happen, however. It’s highly probable that the Lions will struggle some with inexperience early in the season, but they should be a strong contender by the end of October.
Bayfield, last year’s fifth-place team, looked to some to be heading for struggles after the departure of Coach Vernon Kimball. But, a solid cross country season followed by a solid track season under the guidance of distance coach Pat Vaughn (do a little research into the history of University of Arkansas track and field/cross country) has the Wolverines’ hopes riding high. The guys in the bright yellow knee socks will be back. Derek Laue, now a proven senior, must provide leadership for Bayfield.
Like Bayfield and Lyons, The Classical Academy also lost their top harrier to graduation. Perhaps more so than those two teams, however, TCA has an obvious core of a solid team coming back. Senior leader John Metzger will get solid help from fellow senior Jacob Mueller and junior Josh Simkins and possibly from a strong rising sophomore class as well.
The other two teams battling for last year’s state title have this much in common: their top runner—at state, at least—was a freshman. Colorado Academy and Faith Christian both lost an important senior, but both should be coming back with hopes reignited.
For Colorado Academy, the track season turned in by Hondo Katz and his decision to focus solely on cross country this fall are only further justification for an optimistic outlook on things. Katz has the right bloodlines, too; he is a cousin to graduated Mullen star Andrew Berberick. Katz joins rising sophomore Nick Taylor to give CA as solid of a 1-2 as any school in the classification. Russell Mott makes it a 1-2-3.
For Faith Christian, it looks like three solid years ahead with Evan Fortney leading the way. Faith was the deepest team in 3A through the top six runners last fall and little about that seems to be changing for this fall.
A pre-season favorite among these five? You must be kidding!
If there is a dark horse that could join last year’s big five, Salida is the hands-down favorite to occupy that role. Salida’s top five return and the Salida program has been on a steady curve of improvement since Kenny Wilcox took over the coaching responsibilities.
The 3A boys individual race will definitely have a new look this year as Joseph DeMoor and Andrew Roberts have both departed by way of graduation. They leave a huge hole, but candidates to fill the hole are already lining up.
Brush’s Amos Bowen is the top returning runner from state cross country, but will have to refind his rhythm to hold off the challenges coming up. Those challenges have names like Gabe Toepel (Brighton Collegiate), Nick Taylor, Dylan Donohoe, Derek Laue, John Metzger, Ryan Poland (Denver Christian), Josh Noriega (Salida), Conner Roper (Basalt), and Evan Fortney.
If track season tells the story, Ryan Poland just might have moved into the driver’s seat, but there’s still a great deal of opportunity for things to change prior to October 31.