Denver XC, or better known as Mountain Vista, lead Colorado's best girl's teams to Portland.
The deliberating is over, in addition to Colorado's automatic qualifiers, the Centennial State will send a few more to Saturday's Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore.
The new At-Large process looked favorably for Colorado in both girls and boys competitions.
BOYS
Of the individual automatic qualifiers Valor Christian's Cole Sprout leads the way as the No.1 runner in the country, and he'll be joined by Niwot's Ares Reading, and Thompson Valley's Dylan Schubert.
The Dakota Ridge duo of Austin Vancil and Connor Ohlson finished high enough to earn individual qualifiers, though they didn't need it, as the Dakota Ridge - racing as "Hogback XC" won NXR and took one of two automatic qualifying team spots.
Schubert had a unique situation, because he had to wait-and-see if Mountain Vista nabbed an At-Larger bid, as Easton Allred finished second at NXR-Southwest. Allred wouldn't need the individual ticket, however, as Mountain Vista claimed one of the four At-Large spots. This opened the door for Schubert, sending three Colorado individuals to Portland, along with Dakota Ridge and Mountain Vista squads.
GIRLS
Of the individual automatic qualifiers Peak to Peak's Quinn McConnell was the lone Colorado girl, though she's headed to Portland with a lot of company.
Mountain Vista and Battle Mountain went 1-2 at NXR, giving them automatic berths, and Niwot nabbed the final At-Large berth, giving Colorado three girl's squads.
Adding to Colorado's good karma with the At-Large process, Cherry Creek freshman Riley Stewart picked up an At-Large ticket as well.
Stewart, along with Reading, also qualified for Footlocker Nationals in San Diego the following week (Dec. 8). They are the only two from Colorado to achieve the feat this year.
All In The Numbers
Colorado's NXN party includes:
BOYS:
- Cole Sprout (JR; Valor Christian)
- Ares Reading (SR; Niwot)
- Dylan Schubert (JR; Thompson Valley
- Dakota Ridge (Hogback XC)
- Mountain Vista (Denver XC)
GIRLS:
- Quinn McConnell (SR; Peak to Peak)
- Riley Stewart (FR; Cherry Creek)
- Mountain Vista (Denver XC)
- Battle Mountain (Vail Valley XC)
- Niwot (REAL Training XC)
Next Page: Meet the teams headed to NXN...