Last month, Sam Lewis and Mitch Kasyon reigned as Colorado high school snowshoe champions. This week they aim to conquer the nation. Photo by Jim Lewis.
Special to Colorado Track XC by Darren Brungardt
The color of the qualifying surface takes on many shapes and forms for Colorado’s high school runners attempting to qualify for a national meet. In the fall, it is green like the grass fields in Clement Park in Littleton, or red as the dirt that surrounds Confluence Park in Delta, or even black like the fertile soil around Riverside Park in Fort Morgan. In the spring the surface is typically black or red; those tracks all look the same. Unless you are in Colorado Springs, of course running at the Air Force Academy; the blue track can be a fun change in a track and field race.
The race course is almost never white. That is until this obscure and, some might say, absurd sport of snowshoe racing came along. The qualifying surface is a soft blanket of white snow covering trails that are so rutted and rocky in the summer, it is impossible to imagine that they are now deep and forgiving. Colorado is becoming the hub of snowshoe racing in the country, and as its popularity increases, so does the quality of snowshoe runner this magical state produces. This is especially true of the two runners heading off to Cable, WI, this year for the 2011 US Snowshoe National Championships: Cheyenne Mountain’s Mitch Kayson and Boulder High School’s Samantha Lewis.
The journey to Wisconsin was similar for both runners: both won the 2011 Colorado High School Snowshoe State Championships. Both runners helped lead their teams to trophies in the 2010 Colorado High School Cross Country State Championships, and both are repeat defenders of the inaugural 2010 Colorado High School Snowshoe State Championships.
Kayson is traveling to his first ever USSSA championship. His journey differs from Lewis’ only slightly here. This is only Kayson’s third snowshoe race. His pre-race demeanor is like Bruce Wayne’s at a dinner party: cool and nonchalant. His snowshoes are like his utility belt, he turns into Batman instantly and races faster than the Bat-Mobile down the alleys of Gotham City. He is impressive in his snowshoes for a relatively new racer, and it is quite exciting to think about his possibilities to win the title this Saturday. Look for Kayson to ZAP and POW his way to the top of the podium as he faces the best of the nation.
Lewis, on the other hand, is a seasoned pro. She will look to repeat her special 2010 season with another national title. Her competition is tough again as Wisconsin’s home-state hero Michalya Heil looks to jump back into the ring for her last shot at glory, but Lewis has to only look to former Colorado great stud Anna Lieb for inspiration. Lewis is entering hallowed ground if she repeats as National Champ. In 2005 and 2006 Golden’s Lieb won back-to-back Snowshoe National titles as she was leading her Golden squad in track and cross country. Lewis has the chance to do the same this weekend, and her chances are good. Her skills on the snowshoes are proven every Wednesday night as she races at Eldora Ski Resort in the Nighthawk series, a tough title that she won last year. The Nighthawk is Lewis’ stomping grounds, and it has prepared her well for her tall task in Cable, WI. She will represent herself as she allows does: with a smile and the eyes of a cheetah staring down an impala, ready to pounce!
It is going to be a great race for both competitors, and Colorado residents will surely be homers this weekend as they cheer on Lewis and Kayson as they take on the US and the Northwoods of Wisconsin. This is the birthplace of Paul Bunyan, Babe the Blue Ox, and Lake Superior; it is only fitting that Colorado is sending their two biggest snowshoe racers to this particular place in the US. Look for pictures and results Sunday.