Erin Kelly of Crested Butte and Ty Williams of Telluride give the 2A All-State teams a distinctly western slope feel. All photos by Paul Jaeger and Alan Versaw.
Please note that these all-state teams and each of the ones to follow were voted on by a panel of coaches. While you may expect all-state teams to generally follow the order of state finishes, they are not required to do so. If coaches felt strongly enough that the state meet was not a fair indicator of an athlete's season, that athlete may well appear on an all-state team even without a top 10, top 12, or top 14 finish at state.
2A Girls
Erin Kelly, Crested Butte
Posted an undefeated season en route to winning the state meet in 18:41. The junior from one of the smaller schools in Colorado to compete in cross country finished second at the 2008 2A state meet.
Kelley Robinson, Nederland
The sophomore from Nederland High School was last year's state champion. Both last year and this she led her team to a dominating run to a state championship. Her season-best time of 19:30 was posted at the St. Vrain Invitational.
Kelsey Corbin, Mancos
Dominated competition in the SW corner of the state all season long. The junior finished third at the state meet with a season-best time of 19:42.
Rachel Hampton, Telluride
Ran in the "shadow" of western slope top runners Erin Kelly and Kelsey Corbin all season long, but the freshman posted a very nice 19:46 at state to claim fourth place and lay a foundation for future success.
Kelly Lamb, Creede
Came on strong late in the season to win her regional and then close out her high school cross country career with an enormous PR of 19:58 at the state meet.
Second Team - Kat Robinson, Nederland; Chelsea Kilgore, Vanguard; Rebecca Hermann, Nederland; Rachel Beverlin, Mancos; Birdie Hutton, Shining Mountain Waldorf, Nicole O`Dwyer, Limon
2A Boys
Ty Williams, Telluride
A dominating season for this sophomore ended with a 16:34 and a state title. Williams attends Norwood High School, but runs for Telluride.
Joel Villagomez, Center
The Center senior falls in a long line of brothers who have had solid cross country careers under coach Dennis Schoenfelder. Villagomez won his regional meet and then came back at state to post a season-best time of 17:05 and finish second.
Eric Lewis, Mancos
Ran many of his meets just behind Ty Williams, but also won a few meets outright during the course of the season. The Mancos junior ran 17:15 at state for third.
Jeremiah Evangelista, Vanguard
Due to his school's location in Colorado Springs, senior Jeremiah Evangelista probably came to the state meet with as much large-meet experience as any of the 2A runners. Capitalizing on that experience, Evangelista finished fourth at state.
Jacques deGenistel, Custer County
The senior was a reliable performer for the Bobcats all season long, but saved his best for last, running 17:42 at the state meet for fifth.
Second Team - Kyle Headrick, Nederland; Michael Estrada, Rocky Ford; Angel Ramos, Rocky Ford; Dan Johnson, Nederland; Mike Sparks, Alexander Dawson