Janelle Martinez and Mercedes Davila have been part of a very successful September for Greeley Central. The Wildcats aim to continue that run into October. Photo by Alan Versaw.
The hottest and driest September of many of our lifetimes is giving way to October.
This September officially goes down as the hottest on record in Colorado Springs. It also goes down as one of the five driest on record. Our practices featured extra water stops, a visit from rattlesnake, enough trail dust in our clothing to fill a small swimming pool, and a little bit of a shift toward speed work to allow us to take better advantage of what the weather was (and was not) giving us.
As we head into October, competition isn't in short supply. The 3A, 4A, and 5A boys races promise to be hotly contested throughout October. Which three teams will be standing at the top of the mountain on October 30?
The 5A girls race may feature the tightest competition this classfication has seen in years. 4A girls is much the same.
Yes, it does promise to be a very interesting month of October.
October gets underway this weekend with a full slate of interesting meets.
There are five big events on Friday. The small school meet of interest will be hosted by Fountain Valley at Fountain Creek Regional Park. Although Nederland and Telluride, the current 2A heartbreakers, are not in the field, there will be plenty of interest going on. Sargent, Fountain Valley, Rocky Ford, Lutheran-Parker, Vanguard, Peyton, and Custer County's Valerie Stark promise to give this meet a lot of appeal.
Loveland, Thornton, and Boulder are each hosting their own invitationals on Saturday. Unfortunately, the three meets could compete a little with one another for teams, but we should see a good selection of strong teams at each of the meets. And then, of course, there is the Dave Sanders meet hosted by Columbine High School. Over the last three or so years, the Dave Sanders meet has grown in participation and importance with the demise of the Centerra meet in Loveland. But, the enhanced level of competition for teams presented this year could have an impact on the Dave Sanders field.
If the Dave Sanders meet ends up with a little lower profile than it enjoyed the last two years, now you know why. A smaller field, however, isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes bigger meets get a little unwieldy.
Two popular western slope meets take place on Saturday. Mancos hosts the Chicken Creek Challenge on a cross country skiing course in the mountains north of town. By Front Range standards, this meet doesn't draw a lot of teams, but the teams that do come are fiercely loyal to the meet.
And, in Grand Junction, Fruita-Monument hosts the Anna Banana Memorial Wildcat Invitational. Here's hoping they don't put the full meet title on the ribbons or engrave it on the medals. Expect a big chunck of the larger western slope schools to show up at this one. But they won't necessarily win it. There are a couple of 3A teams on the western slope doing demolition derby with the larger schools this season. Oh, and it's a very fast track--possibly the fastest track on the western slope.
Legend High School hosts the Crossfest in Parker on Saturday on a course that might be a suitable preparation for the state course.
The big southern Colorado event for the weekend is Saturday's TCA Titan Thunder Invitational at Fountain Creek Regional Park. Yes, that would be two meets on the same course this weekend; this was done to allow more teams to run the course that is becoming a favorite of several teams.
Showdowns at the TCA Invitational include Fort Collins vs. Pine Creek vs. TCA vs. Chaparral a lot of other solid teams and individuals among the girls. For the boys, it's Fort Collins vs. Chaparral vs. Pueblo South vs.Rock Canyon vs. the three top-ranked 3A teams--and, once again, a whole lot more in the way of strong teams and ranked individuals. The course does not fall under the heading of "hard and hilly," so expect some fast times, even though the speed factor of the course is limited somewhat by the amount of grass early and late in the race.
Weather conditions this weekend look like the best for racing we've seen all season. Enjoy the spectacle!
Janelle Martinez and Mercedes Davila have been part of a very successful September for Greeley Central. The Wildcats aim to continue that run into October. Photo by Alan Versaw.