Five Bold Predictions For The Season Ahead


A Sub 9 In Colorado

A year ago Valor Christian sophomore Cole Sprout gave distance fans in Colorado the biggest tease by nearly cracking 9 minutes in the 3,200 in Colorado.

That's nearly a Sub 9 run at 5,551 feet.

His 9:01.53 clocking was a new Colorado record, and just a second and a half shy of a jaw-dropping 8:59.99.

A few years ago imaging a Sub 9 clocking in Colorado would've sounded absolutely nuts, as only a handful of Colorado's rich history of distance runners have come anywhere near the mark. 

But like Roger Bannister's first Sub 4 clocking in the mile, Sprout's run changed the landscape drastically. Now we're talking about it happening. When a sophomore runs 9:01, it's hard not get to excited because it means we've got two big years ahead of us.

And while Sprout is the obvious candidate to crack the mark first, he's not alone in the conversation.

There's the Dakota Ridge duo of Austin Vancil and Connor Ohlson

There's the Niwot duo of Ares Reading and Cruz Culpepper

Colorado had five crack 15 minutes in the 5k this past fall, and while it's unlikely that all five concentrate on the 3,200 this spring or next, it's very possible that one of these five will crack 9.

With that sort of quality and quantity existing, I predict Colorado will see its first Sub 9 this spring.

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