Colorado made its presence known under the lights in Arizona.
Niwot swept the boys and girls Sweepstakes team titles at the 2026 Desert Twilight XC Invitational, continuing a remarkable run at one of the Southwest's most anticipated meets. The Niwot boys scored 87 points to capture their fourth consecutive title, while the girls scored 86 points to make it an impressive seven straight. That is incredible dominance over the years.
The Cougars were not the only Colorado representation making noise.
McGowan Wins As Colorado Girls Pack The Front
Heritage's Ella McGowan led the Colorado charge, winning the girls Sweepstakes race in 17:12.4.
Behind her, Colorado runners flooded the top seven.
Kayla Broecker of Summit finished third in 17:40.6, followed by Heritage's McKenna Alackness in fourth at 17:44.0.
Niwot's Scarlett Parks took sixth in 17:44.8, while Loveland's Brynn Torres finishing in seventh in 17:48.0. That gave Colorado five of the top seven finishers in the girls race, showcasing the depth and strength of the state.
Heritage added another strong Colorado showing with a fourth place team finish in the Sweepstakes race.
Colorado Boys Fill The Top 10
The Colorado boys followed with another impressive showing. Coronado's Oliver Horton came just short of defending his Desert Twilight title, finishing a close second in 14:31.6.
Niwot's Quinn Sullivan was third in 14:35.9, while Summit's Jay McDonald finished fifth in 14:49.6.
Jude Ritzenhein gave Niwot another top-six finisher, crossing in 14:49.8, while Fort Collins teammates Will Johns and Sean Giles finished seventh and 10th in 15:00.1 and 15:00.8, respectively. That gave Colorado six runners inside the top 10.
Fort Collins finished third in the team standings, giving Colorado two teams inside the top three.
Another Desert Twilight. Another big night for Colorado.
Colorado made its presence known under the lights in Arizona.
Niwot swept the boys and girls Sweepstakes team titles at the 2026 Desert Twilight XC Invitational, continuing a remarkable run at one of the Southwest's most anticipated meets. The Niwot boys scored 87 points to capture their fourth consecutive title, while the girls scored 86 points to make it an impressive seven straight. That is incredible dominance over the years.
The Cougars were not the only Colorado representation making noise.
McGowan Wins As Colorado Girls Pack The Front
