Erin Hooker had a nice 3200 at state track, but is probably looking forward to this fall's cross country season even more. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Gone are Kelsey Lakowske and Eleanor Fulton. And it is difficult to overstate the impact those two had on Colorado high school cross country over the last few years.
But, don't spend a lot of time worrying, 5A cross country should be about as strong as ever this fall. In fact, this might be the strongest year overall in the last decade.
A long list of returning state finishers from last fall is worth a look:
2 Erin Hooker SO Fort Collins 18:29.18
4 Hannah Everson JR Liberty 18:36.58
5 Laura Yarrow JR Pine Creek 18:43.23
6 Olivia Anderson JR Cherry Creek 18:51.28
7 Claire Green FR Monarch 18:51.58
8 Rikki Gonzales JR Rangeview 18:59.88
9 Kristen Kientz JR Highlands Ranch 19:07.08
11 Colleen Koenig JR Arapahoe 19:19.93
12 Jenna Pinto JR Heritage 19:20.23
14 Alaina Anderson FR Pomona 19:23.88
16 Emily Wolff FR Arapahoe 19:28.43
18 Erin Schilmoeller SO Regis Jesuit 19:33.64
19 Maddie Ivy SO Lakewood 19:39.03
20 Sam Lewis JR Boulder 19:44.38
22 Melanie Nun SO Legacy 19:55.43
24 Taylor Gerard FR Thunderridge 19:58.98
25 Taleah McClintock SO Fort Collins 20:02.08
26 Alli Groninger SO Palmer 20:05.08
27 Katy East FR Loveland 20:06.63
28 Brooke Mackay SO Mountain Vista 20:08.14
31 Erin McLaughlin FR Boulder 20:11.68
32 Macey Kreutz FR Highlands Ranch 20:15.68
33 Rebekah Bosler FR Cherry Creek 20:16.18
34 McKenna Spillar SO Dakota Ridge 20:19.43
35 Phoebe Schneider FR Rock Canyon 20:19.43
36 Maddie Staab SO Fort Collins 20:20.18
37 Sierra Dinges FR Thunderridge 20:20.98
38 Hannah Dimmick SO Liberty 20:21.68
A similar, but different in some important respects, list of returning 3200 times from this past spring also gives us a good idea of the general drift of things since cross country season:
1. 11:06.99 Sam Lewis CO Boulder High School 2012
2. 11:09.23 Hannah Everson CO Liberty High School 2012
3. 11:09.44 Erin Hooker CO Fort Collins High School 2013
4. 11:09.55 Alaina Anderson CO Pomona High School 2014
5. 11:10.14 Rikki Gonzales CO Rangeview High School 2012
6. 11:13.91 Kristen Kientz CO Highlands Ranch High School 2012
7. 11:17.42 Taylor Floming CO Monarch High School 2013
8. 11:18.55 Kailie Hartman CO Loveland High School 2013
9. 11:22.12 Erin McLaughlin CO Boulder High School 2014
10. 11:22.29 Lindsey Smith CO Mountain Vista High School 2013
11. 11:26.41 Melanie Nunn CO Legacy High School 2013
12. 11:31.77 Rachael Chacko CO Smoky Hill High School 2013
13. 11:32.32 Maddie Ivy CO Lakewood High School 2013
14. 11:32.45 Erin Norton CO Grandview High School 2014
15. 11:32.83 Rebekah Bosler CO Cherry Creek High School 2014
16. 11:34.94 Kira Miklos CO Fort Collins High School 2014
17. 11:36.42 Alli Groninger CO Palmer High School 2013
18. 11:36.94 McKenna Spillar CO Dakota Ridge High School 2013
19. 11:37.73 Colleen Koenig CO Arapahoe High School 2012
In order to come up with a guess at a top 10 for this fall, however, we're going to have to take a lot of variables into account.
Among those, can Gina Hauptman extend her speed over 800 and 1600 meters to a top-10 kind of cross country performance? Hauptman doesn't show on the cross country list due to a disappointing state meet last fall. Also missing from that state meet list is Loveland's Kailie Hartman (Hartman would later qualify for NXN as an individual, however). Taylor Floming is another on the list of disastrous state cross country meets.
So, there's a lot to think about as we start to put together a list of the guesses at a 5A top ten of returning runners.
1. Erin Hooker - Hooker only appears at #3 on the list of returning 3200 times, but don't be fooled. Part of the Fort Collins magic is that they always fare better in cross country than track. If you're figuring on something different this fall, you're bucking a lot of history. And Hooker, in particular, is better the longer she goes.
2. Sam Lewis - I had to think long and hard about this one. #2 in 5A is about as tight as it gets. I ended up with the nod going in Lewis's direction, however, in recognition of how well she broke out of a couple seasons' worth of frustrating performances at the end of this past track season. I'm hoping Lewis is back to her old self for this fall's cross country campaign.
3. Hannah Everson - Everson put together a spectacular junior year, capped by competing as an individual at NXN, and nothing seems to suggest that things will be different in the fall.
The rest of the list (and a few of those left off the list) are pretty much too close to call, but we'll take a few guesses nevertheless:
4. Rikki Gonzales - The senior-to-be hasn't got a lot of recognition, but she has managed to steadily improve over her high school career. A little extra senior motivation and it's not unthinkable that she's an individual title contender.
5. Kailie Hartman - There's no doubt in my mind that Hartman will run fast enough several times this fall to justify this ranking--and maybe even higher. The question, though, concerns whether a pattern of struggling at times comes back to haunt her or is this the season she conquers those demons?
6. Olivia Anderson - The Cherry Creek senior-to-be doesn't run a lot of longer distances in track (though she did dabble in the 1600 this spring), but she always seems tough enough for a cross country 5K.
7. Laura Yarrow - It's tough to put someone this talented all the way down at #7, but that's the nature of the depth in 5A girls cross country this fall. Like Anderson, Yarrow likes to go shorter in track, but it doesn't seem to keep her from running some top-notch cross country.
8. Alaina Anderson - This spring's track times indicate we could be looking at the emergence of a new phenom who maybe wasn't quite ready to rise to the top last fall in cross country. Keep a close eye on how things develop at Pomona HS.
9. Kristen Kientz - Like Yarrow, it's really hard to put someone with this much talent and experience this far from the top of the list. Kientz gets the unenviable task of picking up where Eleanor Fulton left off at Highlands Ranch.
10. Claire Green/Taylor Floming - With Mariel Fulton graduated, it seems possible that Green and Floming end up carrying a much bigger load of emotional leadership on the team this fall. Green likes to go shorter in track, but Monarch will need both her Floming to carry a big load on the course this fall.
Don't even ask me about those not on this list. I already know there are some huge talents whose names don't appear on my list. This fall should be a spectacular season for 5A girls cross country.
Erin Hooker had a nice 3200 at state track, but is probably looking forward to this fall's cross country season even more. Photo by Alan Versaw.