Post-Season Analysis: 3A Girls

Natalie Anderson led a stellar freshman class for Hotchkiss that brought the school its best finish at state since 2002. Photo by Alan Versaw.

3A girls loses a lot of individual talent to graduation--think of names like Samantha Berggren, Brandi Krieg, Jenny DeSouchet, and Sydney Harris--but the top teams should be back even stronger next year.

Going down the list of the top few teams from state leaves one with the impression that 2011 could be the strongest year yet for 3A girls cross country.

The Classical Academy - Only Meredith Sloan graduates off the state six for TCA. That leaves sub-20 runners Shelby Stableford, Brittany Droogsma, Lauren Hamilton, Nicole Sassaman, and Megan Brunette. Kathryn Pennington should be back after missing the latter half of the season with an injury. And there are more. It doesn't figure to be a rebuilding year for the Titans.

Hotchkiss - The Bulldogs will simply be a year older and wiser. Natalie Anderson has proven herself as a top-tier talent. Jennifer Celis, Taylor Polson, and Chelsy Reed are back as well. This is the team that beat up on the big schools of the western slope all season long in 2010. Hotchkiss figures to be a strong contender again in 2011.

Estes Park - If you're keeping track, this makes it three-for-three in the top teams at state this year returning each of their four scorers from state. Hannah Steadman and Kelsi Losota figure to lead the pack again, but should get strong support from Carmen Laing and Sarah Speedlin.

Aspen - And Aspen would make it four for four. Anyone out there planning on climbing the 3A ladder? It figures to take a ringer of an incoming freshman class to do it. Kylie Davis and Ellie Parker should do their part to keep Aspen in the spotlight next year.

Salida - Five for five. Katie Davis, Bethany Higgins, Dominica Alloy, and Sammi Sharrar? All back. It's worth adding that I was able to take in a Salida junior high race or two this year, and the Spartans just might have an incoming freshman or two next fall who could nudge her way into the lineup. It should be a strongly motivated team in purple taking the course next fall.

Pagosa Springs - The top three, led by sophomore-to-be Dana Danielson, should be back for Pagosa, but the Pirates will have some filling of positions to do at 4, 5, and 6. This, however, is a team that may have peaked a week or two early. Look for Pagosa to be a little better prepared for the challenge of state this fall in spite of the fact that they have three positions to fill on their varsity roster.

Frontier Academy - Seventh at state in your inaugural season is something to be proud of. It's hard to say exactly where their trajectory will take them, but the horses are all back in the stable for next year. A little added depth next year would help the cause, but that has a way of happening when a team has as much success as Frontier Academy did this year. Look for Molly Morrison, she of the crawling across the finish line at state fame, to provide solid leadership for next year.

Middle Park - The Panthers lose Samantha Berggren after a four year run of never finishing worse than fourth at state. Those are big shoes to fill.

Puzzling Teams

Brush, Berthoud, Gunnison - As strong as these three teams were--at least at points in the season--it's difficult to fathom that none of them cracked the top eight at state. All three teams have the majority of the lineups returning next year but need to work on reversing whatever circumstances led to disappointing finishes at state. For Berthoud and Brush, it may mean being willing to coast into the state meet a little more than they did last year. Between the Patriot League meet and the regional meet, there appeared to be some high-intensity racing during the two weeks leading up to state.

Program on the Rise

Kent Denver - Jen Lehr had an outstanding sophomore season for the Sun Devils. Kent Denver managed to put together some solid meets through the season. If Lehr's success can bring a few more along, the team in red and navy just might be surprising a few more folks next fall.