The Pat Patten Invitational this coming Saturday could be a fast one with both meet records at risk.
We have some of the fastest runners in the state heading to Boulder this weekend to compete on a solid course - let's take a look at who they are.
Boys Preview
On the boys side, we have two seeds under 15-minutes. The top seed coming in at 14:41.05 is Kaden Levings of Cheyenne Mountain.
He's had a solid season so far, running 16:09.30 at last week's Dave Sanders Invitational, but let's see if he'll find his stride this weekend - he is coming off injury last Spring. He won this race last year, running 15:36, so he clearly knows his way around this course.
The second seed comes in at 14:56.42 from Max Heins of Centaurus. Heins has already had two consecutive wins this season, including his 15:59.80 victory at last week's NW Open Space 5k PR Challenge.
Jacob Bach of Palmer Ridge will stay in the mix and could potentially take the win based off of this season's rankings. He comes in seeded at 15:05.50, but has already thrown down a 15:15.70 this season, as well as two consecutive wins, including last week's big victory at the Coronado Cougar Classic, where he ran one-second off the course record. He's currently sitting No. 13 in Colorado.
Lucas Bossinger, also of Palmer Ridge, comes in seeded at 15:09.30. He just recently ran this time a few weeks ago and is ranked No. 9 in Colorado.
Bossinger has yet to clinch a high school cross country win, and from the looks of it, he will definitely be in the mix to do so this weekend.
William Wachter of Mountain Vista is seeded at 15:29.99, with Cy Teruel of Fossil Ridge sitting close with a seed of 15:30.00.
Teruel just ran this time a few weeks ago and is sitting No. 24 in Colorado.
The meet record is 15:15.00 set in 2020 by Connor Ohlson - let's see if anyone can tackle it. Currently the weather is looking ideal for some fast times!
The UNC-commit ran her seed time just a few weeks ago when she placed eighth at the Liberty Bell Invite. She's coming off a runner-up finish at the NW Open Space 5k PR Challenge, where she ran 18:13 - that's the third-fastest ever on the course. She's currently ranked No. 9 in Colorado.
On paper it looks like Mountain Vista has the potential to sweep the individual and the team race.
Mountain Vista's Adams' sisters Brooke Adams and Peyton Adams are on the entry list. These two are coming off their 1-2 finish at the Dave Sanders Invitational last week, where Brooke ran 18:11. Peyton was four-seconds back in 18:15.
At last year's Pat Pattern Invite, Brooke finished eighth, and Peyton finished 11th. It's looking like we should see a big improvement from both girls this year, as both could be in the mix to take the win.
Adding to Mountain Vista's fire-power up front is Keira Gamily, who is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Dave Sanders Invitational.
Rosie Mucharsky of Denver East is seeded third based on time in 17:36.70 from the Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational. She's coming off an eighth-place finish at the Rim Rock Classic. Fossil Ridge's Tatum Berg could be in the mix as well. She's run 17:51.60 so far this season, and finished sixth, behind the Adams sisters and Gamily at the Dave Sanders Invitational last week.
The girl's field is loaded with
The meet record sits at 18:07.00 set back in 2014 by Isabelle Kennedy, and it could potentially be up for grabs this weekend.
Team MileSplit Colorado will be on site providing extensive coverage of the meet, including recaps, race videos, interviews, and photos!
Additionally, we'll be on the hunt for a new team to do the intro for MileSplit Shorts, so make sure to pack a load of extra energy when you see us!