Titans cross-country team sets sights on regionals

Regionals this week, then on to State

While costumes are the norm at the Montrose Relays, known among Crested Butte runners as the AJ of cross-country races, the Titans maintain their focus while still blowing off a little steam.
Sure, they’re wearing neon green socks and blue and white tie-dyes while battling against other costume-clad runners but there is still a reason for the race, and coaches Connie Hayden and Shari Sullivan-Marshall made that clear to their runners.
“We go there for the awesome workout,” says Hayden, “and the levity factor. It is a nice distraction before we buckle down for regionals.”
Runners from each team pair up with teammates for the relays and trade off running a one-mile loop, three times each.
The coed pairing of senior Amber Scott and freshman Aiden Truettner, the A-team, led the Titans team, placing first among all coed teams.
Truettner ran a full 37 seconds faster on his mile splits than back in September and Scott was 11 seconds faster than her times at Montrose last year.
“Aiden knocked out an amazing workout,” says Hayden. “So did Amber.”
The next top result among Titan runners came from the boys’ combination of juniors Forrest Smith and Danny D’Aquila. Both posted faster average mile splits than last year and pushed their way through the throngs of runners to place third overall.
Sophomore Jack Duryea and junior Kyle Boyle broke the top 10 as well with faster mile splits than last year, placing seventh.
On the girls’ side of things, everyone crushed their previous best mile splits across the board, with two teams breaking into the top 15, led by freshmen Tara Mortell and Ryan Carroll, who placed 12th.
“Everyone ran relatively even splits, which was nice,” says Hayden. “They executed the plan perfectly.”
The times the Titans posted in Montrose bode well for the team as they hit the post-season, starting with the regional meet in Delta on Wednesday, October 17.
The course in Delta is “flat as a pancake” and coach Hayden is giving her runners the green light to push the pace.
“It’s a really nice opportunity for a speed workout and we need every opportunity to work on speed,” says Hayden. “Everyone’s going out hard from the gun.”
Crested Butte’s region is one of the toughest in the state, with five of the top 10 individual boys and girls coming from their region. To qualify for state as a team, they must finish top three and as an individual, they must finish top 15.
But it’s far from out of reach for both squads.
Last year the girls’ team missed a bid to state by one point. This year, Scott is the top-ranked 2A runner in the state and is looking to win the race as well as pace her team to a top three finish. She will be battling the second- and third-ranked runners in the state for the top spot.
“It’s going to be a very tight race for sure,” says Hayden.
Smith will lead the boys’ team and Hayden believes that Boyle and D’Aquila have a shot at reaching the state championships with Truettner and Duryea on the bubble.
While both teams have a shot to qualify, it’s going to be tough.
“Both teams are on the cusp,” says Hayden. “The pressure’s totally on and every single place counts.”