The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Boys take second place at regionals
The regional meet was a testament to teamwork for the Crested Butte cross-country team. While cross-country is often thought of as an individual sport, sometimes individuals pick it up, resulting in an overall team triumph.
The Titans headed to Delta Wednesday, October 19 for the regional meet with big goals in mind. Coaches Connie Hayden and Shari Sullivan-Marshall were looking to see both the boys and girls team qualify for the state championships. And while the regional meet didn’t quite play out as hoped, the end result is just what the Titans were looking for as eight runners are headed to Denver for the state championships.
Qualification for the state championships is fairly straightforward. If a team places top two at regionals, they go, and any individual who places top 15 at the regional race goes.
The Titan boy’s team was on course for a regional title and the regional meet would be the first official showdown between the two top 2A teams in the state, Crested Butte and Telluride.
Heading into Delta, the Titan boys were primed for a breakthrough to show the state which was the better team. While one of the Titans’ top runners had an off day, the other Titans were on fire.
Sophomore Ian Boucher ran a 16:18 on the five-kilometer course to take second place, admitting he had plenty left in the tank following the race.
“He was coasting for sure by his own admission,” says Hayden. “He wasn’t feeling it 800 meters into the race and didn’t turn on the steam like he usually does, which was fine. Still, to run a 16:18 is not slacking.”
But the big story on the boys’ side of things came from sophomores Forrest Smith and Kyle Boyle.
After starting in the back of the field, Smith worked his way into eighth by the mile and a half mark and then out-kicked his group of runners to finish in fourth place.
“He just loves to pick people off and had an amazing final 800 meters,” says Hayden.
Boyle finished in 11th place with the fastest time of his career to help push the boys to a second-place finish, just three points behind Telluride, and a trip to the state championships.
“Forrest and Kyle really came through,” says Hayden. “From finishing so low the past few years to taking second is so exciting.”
Galley had an off day and was left to battle his way to a 14th-place finish.
The girl’s team had their hands full if they were to make it to state as a team. Junior Amber Scott led the team all season long but the big question was if the senior contingent of Shelby Kopf, Jessie D’Aquila and Natalie Barefield step up to the challenge.
“I told everyone to throw away their watches and run by feel and run with their heart,” says Hayden.
Scott did what she does best and then some, posting a new personal record time of 19:31 to take second.
“She’s had a bit of a mental slump the past month and she got out of it in this race,” says Hayden. “The hay is in the barn but it’s the mental side.”
The three seniors followed suit as they all shattered their previous fastest times at the regional meet.
Kopf ran a 22:35, more than three minutes faster than her time on the same course earlier this season, to place 10th. D’Aquila took almost a minute off her personal record to finish in 13th, and Barefield edged her way into the state championships running a personal record time of 23:53 to place 15th.
“The fact that they all qualified their senior year is special,” says Hayden.
While the girls’ team finished the day in third place, all four runners qualified as individuals and can score as a team at the state meet.
The state championships are Saturday, October 29 at the Arapahoe City Fairgrounds in Aurora on a course that should play to Crested Butte’s strengths.
“They are lots and lots of hills,” says Hayden. “The girls have their work cut out for them. For the boys it’s same song, second verse.”
The girls’ race starts at 9:30 a.m., the boys run at 11:30 a.m.
