Ben Morrin goes hunting off the shoulder of Miles Mena a little before the two-mile mark of the race.
Boys Race: Welcome Back, Ben Morrin
As if the rest of 5A Boys didn't have enough to be concerned about with Mark Stenbeck's Dakota Ridge team already, Ben Morrin made his way back into meet action today. Morrin has been out of commission all season but had his debut performance today.
Honestly, it looked a little rusty, but you have to start somewhere and state is still three weeks out. A lot can happen in three weeks. And a Dakota Ridge team with Ben Morrin running #6 on October 6 might be a DR team with Ben Morrin running a notch or two or three higher come the end of the season.
The usual Eagle 1-2 of Austin Vancil and Connor Ohlson was out front again today, doing their usual thing. The tandem didn't seem to be in any particular hurry to take over the race, but their relentless pace eventually made it happen even so. On a middling kind of course for speed, both slipped under 16:10.
Widefield's Ryan Outler was first to break up a Dakota Ridge perfect score with a 16:30 for third.
Serving notice that he is not to be dismissed in any 2A individual discussions, Custer County's Micah Zeller struck a blow for all aspiring small-school programs with a 16:38 and fourth place. Right behind him was Montrose's Sean Graff.
Not long after, Jacob White, Benjamin Piegat, and Riley Abrashoff finished off the DR scoring in 7-8-9. Had Morrin's points been needed, he was in 11th.
Taking a distance second to DR's 24 team points was Widefield. Cross-district rival Mesa Ridge was close behind Widefield in third.