Post-Season Analysis: 5A Boys

Danny Carney, shown here battling Will Kincaid for the lead late in the 5A state race, will be the top returning finisher in 5A Boys. Photo by Alan Versaw.

 

It's been a while since anyone repeated as the 5A boys champion in Colorado. Certainly, that will be among the goals for next year's Fort Collins team. Will anyone have the horsepower to unseat Fort Collins?

 

Fort Collins - Obviously, the Lambkins are a great team. You don't make it to Nike Cross Nationals without a strong lineup all the way through #5. Unlike a lot of recent 5A boys champions in Colorado, however, Fort Collins isn't making their varsity lineup march to Pomp and Circumstance this spring. David Garcia graduates, but the rest of the lineup--including Griffin Hay, Tait Rutherford, John Patterson, and Jeff Abbey will all be back. It will be a tall order to keep Fort Collins from repeating. But, since the trophy hasn't even been made yet, let's try not to give it away yet.

 

Heritage - Heritage had a great run this fall, including a win at their prestigious home meet. The trouble is, three of their top four were seniors. Matt Zitzmann will be back, but he'll need some help in a hurry if Heritage is to maintain their position in the 4A ranks.

 

Mountain Vista - The Golden Eagles were young in 2010 and one runner away from being a serious title contender. Stephen Chipman, Eric Steiner, and Andrew Walton are all back and all fresh off of great state races. In my book of teams most likely to give Fort Collins a run for their money, this team gets to write the first chapter.

 

Arapahoe - Graduation hits the Warriors pretty significantly, but no team that returns Chris Davis and Daniel Vavrik is devoid of hope. Obviously, this is a well-coached team and the program has the bodies out necessary to find a few gems. Reserve some space in your thinking for Arapahoe next fall.

 

Monarch - It kind of boggles the mind to think that this team slipped to fifth in the state meet after a brilliant start to their season. Or that Kirk Webb finished as far back as 22nd at state. But injuries and fatigue have a way of doing that to a team. In case you hadn't noticed, however, the trendline is still upward with this program and I don't think it's too far afield to suggest there might be a bit of a friendly rivalry brewing between Fort Collins and Monarch. Even though graduation hits this team hard, Monarch will be back. Will they have the horses to run with the top programs as they did this year? That remains to be seen, but this is not a team that will drop off the radar.

 

Dakota Ridge - Austin Appel graduates, leaving sole leadership to Danny Carney. It's hard to imagine that role being in more capable hands. Somehow, though, the Eagles have to find a way to close up ranks behind Carney. The gap after #2 was so big this year as to preclude anything like a serious title run for Dakota Ridge. Development, or lack thereof, of the younger runners on the team will be the key to which direction this team takes next fall.

 

Smoky Hill - It was a solid year for the Buffaloes and the graduation of Marty Andrie should be the only key loss. Kyle Ames and Tanner Ruhl will need to provide solid leadership. Ultimately, though, the big question is whether or not Smoky Hill can trim the points produced in the last couple of scoring positions. If that happens, this team could easily leap frog several of the teams ahead of them this year.

 

Rock Canyon - Surprise, wasn't this a 3A team just a few years back? Yes, they were! Though the progress has been slow, it has also been steady. Simply stated, Rock Canyon keeps getting better. Better still for Dan Davies' crew, this was a very young boys team in 2010, only Danny Kappes graduates. Jake Dysart, Conner Johnston, and Max Will hold the keys. If these guys progress according to expectations, the Jaguars should be a very tough crew to mess with next fall. Some development is still required at 4 and 5, but there's good reason to be wary of Rock Canyon.

 

Due to Climb the Ladder:

 

Pomona - Not very many people expected much of this team in the aftermath of Adam Sinda's graduation. Obviously, there's something good going on at Pomona High School. Desmin Ramirez is the big gun and will only be a junior next year. Pomona should be nipping at the heels of the top tier next fall.

 

Fairview - This is a team that appeared to be just a little out of gas at state this fall. They were also a very young team and so that is more understandable than it would have been had this been a seasoned team. Fairview never seems to be far out of the mix and perhaps next year is one of the years where they are nearer than most.

 

Cherry Creek - It's difficult to comprehend how Cherry Creek fell as far as they did at the state meet--even with Mark Choate having a disastrous race. History will tell you, however, that the Bruins never stay down for long. They'll be back next year--count on it.

 

5A Girls Post-Season Analysis