It's been a busy month for Zane Bergen and Riley Stewart...
The two Stanford-commits endured three consecutive weeks of travel, and racing.
Two weeks ago they flew to Wisconsin. Last week it was Alabama. And this week it was California for the 2021 Eastbay Championships.
Both capped their long cross country seasons with stellar performances - Bergen tallied his second-consecutive fourth-place finish at a national meet, and Stewart finished fifth - her second consecutive top-five finish at a national meet.
In the boy's championship Bergen ran patiently, and was in the mix through much of the race. A pack of five separated early and ran tight into the final mile. With 1k to go it looked like anyone's race. Though it was the Midwest Champion, Riley Hough, who kicked last to win the race in 15:11.
Bergen held on for fourth, running 15:20.
"It was definitely a learning race," Bergen reflected of his performance.
The Niwot senior was coming off his third big race spanning three weeks, which included his 14:09 fourth-place finish from Garmin RunningLane Championships last week.
"It was a fast turnaround," he said of going from breaking the previous national record one day, to waking up and looking ahead at Eastbay the next. "It was a little challenging to refocus after each race. Sunday rolled around, and it was back to the grindstone."
Likewise, Stewart expressed similar thoughts.
"It definitely was exhausting," she shared. "But it was fun to come back each week and race. It was a new shot to race good girls. I'm happy I got to do it, since we didn't have this last year."
For Stewart, Saturday's Eastbay Cross Country Championships was the culmination of a incredible senior season - and high school cross country career.
"It's been a dream season," Stewart shared. "Never in my dreams would I have imagined I'd be here."
The three-time 5A Colorado state cross country champion, and Midwest Champion, achieved a rarity in Eastbay history -- qualifying every year there was a meet. As a freshman Stewart finished 21st, and as a sophomore she was 17th.
Editor's Note: There was no 2020 Eastbay (Footlocker) Championship race.
The race itself played out very similarly to last week's RunningLane Championships. Natalie Cook replicated last weekend's race plan by pressing the second mile. Stewart chased from several meters back. Cook went on to sweep the national cross country championships circuit, running 17:15.
Stewart held on for fifth, finishing in 17:30.
"It feels pretty amazing," Stewart noted of qualifying every race she's competed. "I'm really excited about the progression. I couldn't think of a better way to end the season."
For Bergen, the season didn't end exactly as he wanted, though he was able to reflect on the positive takeaways.
"There were definitely a lot of highs, and some lows," he shared. "It's the first time the expectation was to win, and what to do when the results don't happen the way you want. There's definitely a learning curve."
While the two-time 4A Colorado state cross country champion didn't win the final two races of his season, he did run the fastest cross country 5k ever by a Coloradan, break the previous national record, and tally two fourth-place finishes at national meets.
"New fires were lit this morning," Bergen shared of his Eastbay finish. "But I'll take a break, as much as I don't want to. Then I'll get back to it."
