The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Get a glimpse of what the team needs
The Titans cross-country team divided in two this past weekend to get an idea of where the younger runners are in their workouts and how the varsity runners stack up in the state.
Coach Connie Hayden took her junior varsity squad to Delta on Saturday, September 1 for an introduction to the five-kilometer distance and to get some insight into where her runners need to work.
“I put the JV in Delta to make it a time trial for our team and relieve some anxiety for our first- time runners,” says Hayden. “Mission accomplished.”
The girls’ team placed third with freshman Tara Mortell and junior Elizabeth Kilpatrick leading the charge, placing fifth and sixth, respectively. Hayden found the runners faded during the second mile though, and knows what’s next for her squad as they prepare for upcoming races.
“They all did really well,” says Hayden. “The second mile is where everybody needs to do some work. Where to go from here is perfectly clear.”
Meanwhile, coach Shari Sullivan-Marshall took four veteran varsity runners to a huge race in Colorado Springs. The course is the same location as the season-ending state race so the Titans got a look at what lies ahead for some of them.
“It was great to run in that amount of people,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “They had to do a lot of maneuvering to get into their own pace so that was a great experience. The course is challenging and it gave us an idea how to train for state.”
Senior Amber Scott pulled herself in with the lead group from the start, moving into seventh place after the first mile for good. She finished the race with a time of 21 minutes, 14 seconds.
“Top ten and a decent time was a good first effort,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “I’m happy with the contact she made with that first group in the first mile.”
Juniors Kyle Boyle, Jack Duryea and Danny D’Aquila all jumped into the fray in the boys’ race. While D’Aquila suffered from a massive cramp and did what he could just to finish, Duryea and Boyle both had quality showings. Both runners made up massive time and places on the tough course, making up a lot of distance on the uphill sections.
“Kyle and Jack both ran awesome times,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “They used the course to their advantage. The boys are promising.”
The team pulls back together and heads to Leadville at full strength this weekend for the Lake County Invitational on Saturday, September 8.
