Calvin Banta claimed eighth among the Midget boys at 10:37 for 3K. Photo by Lisa Rainsberger.
Olivia Hayden comes back to Colorado as the intermediate girls champion of the USATF Junior Olympic National Cross Country meet. Hayden, who runs for Lakewood High School during the CHSAA-sanctioned season, runs under the colors of the Penguins Cross Country club out of the San Luis Valley during the club season.
Hayden ran 19:14 for 5K to claim her title, eight seconds ahead of New Mexico's Julie Giannini in second. Niwot's Christa Boettiger, running unattached, finishes sixth in the same race in 19:39.
Among intermediate boys, Corban Pagnotta led the Colorado contingent and claimed the only top ten finish, with a time of 16:52 for fourth. Colorado's young men got a fifth from Michael Nothem (16:52) and a tenth from Brandon Gallardo (17:00). Darby Spence ran 20:39 for ninth to top Colorado's young women finishers.
Julia Vitella, an eighth grader out of Highlands Ranch, scored sixth in the youth girls 4K at 14:56.
Moving to the Midget age group (which is comprised mostly of sixth and seventh graders), Colorado was very nicely represented by Calvin Banta in eighth among the boys at 10:37 for 3K and Chantae Steele at second among the girls at 11:14, plus Quinn McConnell, eighth among the girls at 11:27.