Titan Erin Kelly runs away with state cross-country title

Finishes with perfect season

Only three cross-country runners in the entire state of Colorado ranging from 2A to 5A finished the 2009 season with a perfect record, and Crested Butte Titan junior Erin Kelly was one of them.

Kelly closed out her cross-country season crushing the field to win the girls state 2A title, covering the five-kilometer course in a personal record time of 18 minutes and 41 seconds, 49 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.
It was a goal one year in the making.
Last year at the state meet, Kelly was sandwiched by a sister team from Nederland and finished in second place. Ever since then, the title has been on her mind.
“I set my sights on that after that race,” says Kelly. “I thought if I trained really hard the next year I could do it.”
“She had her eyes on the state title all year,” adds coach Connie Hayden.
 Kelly proceeded to cruise through the regular season, racking up wins at a frantic pace. She continued with a regional title three weeks ago, leaving the state title as the last feather in her cap.
According to Hayden, Kelly received a bit of extra incentive prior to the state race.
“The Nederland girls had been talking about sweeping state, finishing one, two, three and Erin heard about that and was like ‘no way,’” explains Hayden.
Heading into the race, Kelly’s plan against the Nederland runners, specifically last year’s state champion Kelly Robinson, was simple, and she followed it without a hitch.
“My strategy was to go out fast and build a gap early,” says Erin.
Kelly Robinson, Erin says, is “a good finisher and if I had a big enough gap, her finishing kick would be ineffective.”
Once the gun sounded she was off and never looked back, building a lead in the first 800 meters that increased throughout the race. By the time it was done, there was nobody near her, much to Kelly’s surprise.
“I thought it would be a really close race,” says Kelly. “I didn’t think I’d beat her by that much.”
“It was so awesome—she dominated,” says Hayden. “They never had a chance to gain on her.”
As for the Titan girls’ team, two of the top three runners on the girls’ team who qualified for state were beset by injuries leading up to the race. Freshman Amber Scott was sidelined with a stress fracture in her femur, and junior Hannah Smith’s nagging calf injury finally took its toll on her at the regional race.
“The tweak she did to her calf at regionals turned out to be more serious than anticipated,” says Hayden. “Regardless, the other girls just rallied.”
Sophomore Shelby Knopf crushed her previous personal record time by over a minute and 30 seconds to finish with a time of 23 minutes, 27 seconds.
“Shelby just turned it on—she had an amazing last half of the race,” says Hayden.
Sophomore Jessie D’Aquila posted her fastest five-kilometer time of 24 minutes and four seconds, despite a sore shin, and while junior Jena D’Aquila’s mind has turned to hockey and a stitch in her side pinched at her during the race, she crossed the finish line in under 25 minutes, reaching one of her season goals.
Senior Nicholas Harper-Johnston and junior Jeffery Hargrove represented the boys’ team at the state race, with both making their first trip to the big show.
Harper-Johnston looked to close out his high school career on a high note, though the course and conditions were not in his favor as the weather was nice and the course relatively flat.
“The day was too perfect for him,” jokes Hayden. “He likes adverse weather.”
Nevertheless, Harper-Johnston opened the race strong and fought through the Ft. Collins heat to come in 12th place with a time of 18 minutes and three seconds.
“It was his first appearance at the state meet and he did it justice,” says Hayden.
Meanwhile, Hargrove succumbed to his opening pace midway through the five-kilometers and struggled through until the final stretch. With one runner ahead of him and the race pretty much over, Hargrove dug deep to make one final pass in the final 10 yards.
“At the very end he turned on the steam,” says Hayden. “That was exciting for sure.”
Hayden looks back at the season and applauds her teams’ diligence from start to finish.
“We finished the season with almost everyone running a personal best and that was testimony to all of the hard work they put in,” says Hayden. “They are all so dedicated to the sport.”
Both Kelly and Harper-Johnston will continue running with the Foot Locker Regionals coming up in November in Wisconsin.
Kelly made the trip there last season, coming in 75th place out of 300 runners, and has her sights set a little higher when she returns this year.
“I want to be able to get top 40—the dream goal would be top 10,” says Kelly. “That way I could make it to the Foot Locker Nationals.”