The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Poppy fields” prove troublesome
While a handful of Crested Butte Titans cross-country runners had stellar debut performances this past weekend at the season opening Delta Invitational, others found themselves lost and confused in the second mile of the three-mile, or five-kilometer, course.
It was the section of the course coach Connie Hayden dubbed the “poppy fields,” where several Titan runners slowed down significantly. It may have had something to do with the 95-degree heat.
“It’s always an unknown how the kids are going to react to the heat,” says Hayden.
Senior Forrest Smith proved immune to the poppies and heat as he charged off the line, set a furious pace off the front and ended up duking it out with another runner until the finish line, coming in second place with a new personal record time of 16 minutes, 21 seconds.
“In the past, Forrest has wilted in the heat,” says Hayden. “This time he totally exceeded our expectations. It was pretty darn cool.”
Senior Danny D’Aquila was next in line for the Titans, finishing in 14th place. Senior Kyle Boyle placed 30th and sophomore Aiden Truettner rounded out the varsity effort with a 37th-place finish.
“The rest of the team was a little slow compared to their time trial workouts the week leading up,” says Hayden, “although we were happy with their times. It’s a really good starting point for all of them.”
In addition to Smith’s effort, Hayden was especially psyched with the work of her JV runners: Ben Swift, Conrad Truettner, Joe Hayes and Skye Salley.
“They were awesome,” says Hayden. “That made my day.”
The Lady Titans all struggled with the heat, with the top time coming from sophomore Sam Crossett. Crossett joined the team this season and was still acclimating in her workouts, so the coaches decided she should open the season in the JV race.
“We didn’t want her to be overwhelmed in her first race at altitude,” says Hayden.
The JV runners race the same five-kilometer course as varsity and Crossett carried a steady pace all course long to finish in second place among JV runners, approximately 40th overall, posting the best time of the day for the Titan girls.
The varsity girls suffered the most in the “poppy fields,” posting splits in the second mile that were anywhere from one to three minutes slower than their other mile splits. In the end they all finished between 64th and 82nd place.
“They were very affected by the heat,” says Hayden.
The Titans will head off to their comfort zone, Leadville, on Saturday, September 7 for the Lake County Invitational.
“The course is at 10,000 feet and hilly, and for some reason, that’s where Crested Butte thrives,” says Hayden.
