The Alamosa boys have consistently produced a great pack time this season, helping to make them a favorite for the 3A title. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Special to Colorado Track XC by Matt Norton
I’m not sure if Alan was looking to maintain journalistic integrity for his site, or simply didn’t want to lay all his cards on the table, but he asked me to write a review for the 3A ranks; here goes.
While we all know the dominance The Classical Academy has enjoyed over the past several years, it was thought that this year, with the influx of some strong 4A teams and the loss of a great senior class of girls, might expose some chinks in TCA’s armor. Time is running out to expose those chinks—as both teams are again not only strong 3A favorites, but among the best in Colorado in 2010.
Still, the addition of Alamosa, Rifle, and Berthoud (a former friendly, Northern Conference foe for us--so much for removing myself from the story) has added some spice to this fall’s 3A landscape, and some familiar faces are back and having fantastic seasons.
Many of the top 3A teams have taken all comers within their respective regions, and in several cases, accounted of themselves impressively. As we head into championship season, it will be interesting to see which squads emerge to claim hardware.
3A Girls Teams
Let’s face it—-it would be an upset of the highest order if any of the strong 3A teams could muster a serious challenge to TCA’s team aspirations. You don’t bring back four members from one of the ten best teams in America and not know how to win an important meet. Alan Versaw’s group has shown no sign of letting go of the gold trophy this year. That’s not to say several other teams won’t try to pry it from their grasp.
Hotchkiss has had a superior season out west, claiming multiple team victories over larger schools. If the freshman triumvirate of Anderson, Jennifer Celis and Taylor Polson can stand tall in the face of the state meet pressure cooker, they could be poised to surprise.
The Bulldogs will be pushed for trophy status by a tightly-clustered group of challengers.
Two teams within shouting distance of my stomping grounds, Estes Park and Berthoud, have had good 2010 campaigns and will bring young, hungry teams to the Fairgrounds. The Bobcats surely miss Kim Hansen, but freshman Kelsi Lasota has led nicely in her absence. I’m looking forward to watching Emma Otto lead the Spartans back to the state meet after just missing in 2009. Aspen has had a good season on the western slope, albeit in the shadow of Hotchkiss. Brush might be a close-but-no-cigar team in 2010. We’re all disappointed we won’t see a full-strength Alamosa go up against TCA. Frontier Academy could serve notice for future seasons with their showing this year.
3A Girls individuals
Sydney Harris, St. Mary’s: Harris has been a force all fall, perhaps fueled by a 16th-place finish—a heartbreaking result, to be sure--at regionals in 2009. She owns the fastest time in the classification, an 18:24 to claim 2nd at the TCA Titan Thunder Invite, which puts her only behind Misses Hooker and Fulton in all of Colorado this season.
Sam Berggren, Middle Park: Berggren has lain low, to some extent, this season, but is undefeated. Certainly, a cross country state title would be the perfect addition to her sterling high school record. And if it comes down to a 200 or 400-meter sprint, we know who the favorite is.
Shelby Stableford, The Classical Academy: My 3A favorite coming into the season, Stableford will lead the Titans’ charge towards their eighth team title with serious plans of following in the shoes of former teammate Kaitlin Hanenburg and bringing home the individual win. Shelby has won all but one trip through the open fields of Colorado this fall, and ran a smart 19:41 on the state course earlier this year.
In my mind, these are the three favorites, but there are several other strong candidates to step in and make things very interesting. From out west, Brandi Krieg (Grand Valley) and Natalie Anderson (Hotchkiss) haves posted sub-19 performances. Up in the mountains, Kaiti Davis (Salida) could use the tough state course to her advantage. Speaking of the course, this year’s is supposedly is the toughest since the meet took place at Kent Denver—so perhaps Jen Lehr feels good about running a strength course. Finally, while surely disappointed that it appears her sister will not be joining her this fall, Jenny DeSouchet (Alamosa) has championship experience—helping the Maroons to last year’s 4A cross title and winning the 1600 last spring with a brilliant kick.
3A Boys Teams
In what sounds like a familiar tune to me, Larry Zaragoza’s Mean Moose have been in the shadow of their female teammates in recent years. This year, led by the Palmer brothers and boasting a nice pack time of just under a minute, Alamosa has been the best team in 3A all season. But The Classical Academy bested them by a scant five points on their home course two weeks ago; will Alamosa win round three (Alamosa beat TCA at Pre-State)?
The Titans seem to have a small edge up front, but Alamosa counters with a slightly better 3-4 combo. Both teams have among the better coaches within the time zone who know how to get kids ready to shine on the big stage. Looking at the 3A individual rankings, it appears there could be four or five (if not six!) great one-on-one battles between the two teams. It should be white-knuckle time as these two heavy hitters get after each other.
Not to short change the other top teams in 3A, but Salida, University, Basalt and Faith Christian should be battling for third place this year. All are strong in many areas but appear to be lacking the depth to challenge the top two. I have been known to be wrong occasionally, however.
3A Boys Individuals
Josh Noriega, Salida: the only sub-16 performer in the classification, Noriega has posted five victories this fall, including on the challenging course at deKoevend Park back in September.
Josh Simkins, The Classical Academy: Inside scoop here—-Alan has been raving to me about Simkins for months now, and with good reason. His 4:30 1600 cred has served him well all fall.
Chad Palmer, Alamosa: The leader of the Palmer brothers boasts a seasonal best of 16:25, which should put him right in the thick of things individually.
Connor Roper, Basalt: Roper has been the best 3A runner out west this year, and underscored his ability with a 2nd-place finish in his division at Liberty Bell.
Sam Yeager, Faith Christian: Yeager is one of two FC’ers who figure to medal this season. Like Berggren, don’t leave it to a kick with this guy—his 51.xx and 1:56 wheels are sure to win such a battle.
One sad thing about being a coach at the state meet is not getting to closely, if at all, watch the other great races. Preparing this short piece leaves me hoping there’s a good replay show to catch the 3A races once the dust has settled!
The Alamosa boys have consistently produced a great pack time this season, helping to make them a favorite for the 3A title. Photo by Alan Versaw.