In this week's edition of Colorado Future Stars we're going to break the cycle and circle back on the freshmen class, because there were quite a few mind-boggling performances that came out of the weekend - performances soo good, that we couldn't wait another week to put a spotlight on them...
On that note, Colorado, meet Chamorra Cooper.
The Air Academy freshman recently sliced nearly a minute-and-a-half off her 5k personal best at the Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational.
Cooper went from running 19:18 at the Arapahoe Warrior XC Invitational (where she finished third), to 17:45 at LB.
She was meet champ Air Academy's fourth-runner.
Air Academy was recently ranked a US No. 4 in the MileSplit Pre-Season Rankings - without knowledge of Cooper. Basically, this means her presence has made Air Academy all the more dangerous on the course...
Back to Cooper...
She opened up her high school career with a 11:48 runner-up finish in the Fr/So race at the Vista Nation XC 2-Mile Invitational (behind sophomore teammate Jordan Banta.)
Last spring (actually, it was more like Summer) Cooper ran 5:09 in the 1,600 at the Brooks PR Invitational (Seattle - lower elevations.)
And perhaps a more revealing performance came a week later - in late June - where she ran 10:03 in the 3,000 at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championship, where she was the runner-up.
Moving further back in time, she was Colorado Middle School State Cross Country Championship runner-up last fall, running 13:43 for 3,500-meters. And she later went on to finish fifth at the USATF National JO XC Championship, running 14:41 for 4,000-meters.
Quick Takes
Oliver Horton - Coronado - We'll expand a little on this one, because this one deserves more than a "Quick Take." - Horton recently torched the Coronado school record, running 15:10 at the Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational. His previous best was a 16:15 runner-up finish at the Pueblo Central Pete Felleta Cross Country Invitational.
Of additional note, his 15:10 at LB makes him the fastest freshmen on the course - ever.
Last year he won the Colorado Middle School State Cross Country Championship, running 11:32 for 3,500-meters. He went on to run eight-grade PRs of 4:28 in the 1,600 at lower elevations.
Like Air Academy, Coronado was already entering the 2023 season with a ton of firepower. With the addition of Horton, Coronado looks even stronger...
Jay McDonald - Summit - He finished 24th at Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational, running 15:31.
Kylee Hu - Cherry Creek - She finished 24th at Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational, running 18:19.