Will 2023 be the year that a Colorado squad finally captures a Nike Cross Nationals team title?
For as stellar as the state has been in recent years, a NXN title has eluded quite a few squads.
Last year the Niwot girls finished second. Air Academy girls finished seventh.
In 2019 Niwot finished third.
In 2018 the Dakota Ridge boys finished third. That same year the Niwot girls finished fifth.
In 2017 the Mountain Vista boys and the Battle Mountain girls finished third.
In the first year of NXN - 2004 - Smoky Hill finished second.
There have been plenty of thirds, but second has been the highest any Colorado squad has been on the podium in the 18 years of NXN's existence.
Could this year be the year a squad from the Centennial State finally climbs all the way to the top?
If the season has told us anything, it's that the answer to the question could be: Yes.
What's additionally exciting is the potential for Colorado to go 1-2.
A state taking the top-two spots has happened rarely in NXN history. New York has been the only state to achieve the feat, with the last time being in 2011.
Since then no state has dominated in the way that Colorado has the potential to this year.
Photo by Tim McDonald
Niwot and Air Academy have swapped the No. 1 and No. 2 spots throughout the season.
They've raced each other just once - at NXR-Southwest last week.
That day Niwot took the victory 58-72 over Air Academy.
If we go back in time to the 2023 State Championships, both squads dropped the top-two performances ever at the state meet, though it was Air Academy was the record-breaking run.
In late September Air Academy dominated US No. 3 JSerra Catholic at Desert Twilight by over 70-points.
This means that on paper, not only does Colorado have a very good chance of claiming the NXN title, but the Centennial State could go 1-2.
It's just a matter of which squad shows up the most on Saturday...
Photo by John Harris
Will 2023 be the year that Niwot finally - after finishing fifth in 2018, third in 2019, and second last year - makes their way all the way the top?
Or will Air Academy - who finished seventh last year - swoop in and make history?
Individually, Colorado has crowned two NXN Champions - Air Academy's Katie Rainsberger in 2015, and Grandiview's Brie Oakley in 2016.
Last year Air Academy's Bethany Michalak finished third, making her the top-returner for this year's race.
In addition to all the excitement around the team race, is the fact that there isn't one Colorado girl with the potential to claim the individual title.
There's at least three.
And I write that last sentence with a bit of caution, because there could be a few more...
Photo by Tim McDonald
While Michalak is the top-returner, Liberty Common's Isabel Allori led Colorado at NXR-Southwest with a runner-up finish. Last year Allori finished 14th at NXN, which was right in front of Niwot's Addison Ritzenhein, who finished 18th.
Editor's Note: Another interesting fact is that last year Ritzenhein ran a personal best at NXN - anyone who has run or seen this course knows it is not exactly a fast course...
Ritzenhein torched the fastest time of the day at the 2023 Colorado State Championships last month. And she recently finished third at NXR-Southwest, just a few seconds behind Allori.
Allori - the 3A State champ, and Ritzenhein - the 4A state champ, have only one loss to their names this season - at NXR-Southwest to the New Mexico eighth-grade--phenom Gianna Rahmer.
Allori has been undefeated against Colorado competition this season, while Ritzenhein's one loss to a Colorado runner came at NXR-Southwest - to Allori.
Michalak might not have as crisp of a 2023 cross country resume as Allori or Ritzenhein, though she has history on her side.
Last year she finished fourth at NXR-Southwest before going on to up that performance at NXN, where she finished third. To save you a moment of scrolling upwards - Michalak finished fourth this year at NXR-Southwest.
If she's done it once (go from fourth at NXR to third at NXN), she can do it again.
Photo by John Harris
Colorado maxed out on qualifiers with the At-Large pool - joining the auto-qualifiers of the Niwot girls, Air Academy girls, Summit's Ella Hagen, and Battle Mountain's Porter Middaugh, will be the Mountain Vista girls, Riverdale Ridge's Payton Meineke, the Niwot boys, Battle Mountain's and Will Brunner.
Of additional note, add the Mountain Vista girls into the mix - they've hovered around a US No. 5/6 most of the season. There's the potential for Colorado to put three squads inside the top-six - yet another feat of which has never been done...
So, who'll lead Colorado this Saturday?
And, how high will they finish?
Either way, there's a huge potential for a historic performance to come out of a Colorado squad, and individual.
Ok.
One more question - Can Colorado sweep?
We'll know more Saturday...