The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
The tougher the course, the tougher the Titan
Coach Connie Hayden made the call last week. After a satisfactory showing from her cross-country team in the opening meet in Delta, Hayden expected her team to rally at the Lake County Invite in Leadville.
In addition to being 10,000 feet above sea level, the course throws a series of hills at athletes to truly test their mettle.
“They’re not killer hills but nonetheless they’re a half mile up, a half mile down and then a half mile up,” says Hayden.
That said, this particular Leadville race also included an influx of big Front Range schools as wildfires had coaches concerned about the smoke and therefore opted for the crisp clean air of Leadville, upping the ante for the Titan team.
They proved up to the challenge in the end, as a record number of 19 Titan runners made the trip to Leadville with the girls’ team placing third out of 12 teams and the boys’ team taking sixth place.
Senior Erin Kelly made it nine wins in a row, holding off another runner by seven seconds to cover the five-kilometer course in a time of 21 minutes and three seconds.
Sophomore Amber Scott made a triumphant return to competition in Leadville. With five days of pain-free running during workouts last week, she jumped back into race mode and immediately slashed massive time off her pace from last year’s Leadville race.
Scott battled through the field of 82 runners to place ninth with a time of 22 minutes and 48 seconds, a minute and a half faster than last year and one second off her personal record time for a five-kilometer course.
“She felt really good,” says Hayden. “It’s great to have her back out there.”
Freshman Mina Moscatelli had a breakout performance in her first high school varsity race, posting a time of 23 minutes and 51 seconds to come in 24th place.
“She played it really smart and poured it on in the end,” says Hayden. “It wasn’t a struggle at all and she still had some left in the tank.”
Sophomores Abby Whiting and Taylor O’Neal rounded out the varsity’s effort, placing 34th and 51st, respectively, to help pace the team to their third-place finish.
“It was huge,” says Hayden. “There were a lot of big-time schools there.”
The talent doesn’t end at the varsity level either, with the JV girls running to a second-place team finish in their event.
“For the JV to place second was awesome,” says Hayden. “They all pushed themselves.”
Freshman Ian Boucher continues his meteoric rise through the high school ranks. Boucher posted a personal record time of 18 minutes, 52 seconds to place 10th out of 79 runners.
“He ran faster than he did in Delta and the course is 5,000 feet higher,” says Hayden. “He’s right on track.”
Sophomore Forrest Smith set a new personal record as well with a time of 21 minutes, 12 seconds, to come in 25th place.
“Forrest woke up from a one-year nap that morning and just turned it on,” says Hayden.
Danny D’Aquila, Jeff Hargrove, David Bright and Kyle Boyle helped push the boys’ team to their sixth-place finish overall.
One thing the Titans did struggle with in Leadville was the downhills, as opponents reeled them in or passed them several times over the course of the race.
“We’re turning our attention to cadence and turnover,” says Hayden. “We need to add some speed to our repertoire.”
This weekend is the only chance to catch the Titans cross-country team in action in the valley as they head down to Gunnison on Saturday, September 18 to run in the Cowboy Invitational. The course is behind the K-8 school and the race kicks off at 9 a.m.
“We’re looking forward to going up against Telluride on the girls’ side,” says Hayden.
