Titans boys cross-country finishes second in state

“All those miles and ancillaries were totally worthwhile”

Suffice it to say, the Crested Butte Titans boys cross-country team peaked when it counted most, running to a second-place finish at the state championships on Saturday, October 26.

All season long the Titans top runner, senior Forrest Smith, was rubbing shoulders with the best in the state while the rest of the team continued to shave time off their personal records, reaching a pinnacle two weeks ago to win the regional title.
Experience was on the side of the Titans boys team with Smith making his fourth trip to the state championships, seniors Kyle Boyle and Danny D’Aquila making their third trips, and sophomore Aiden Truettner his second.
As a result, the entire team was focused on the most important aspects of the state championships.
“On a super-hilly course at this level, places and strategy are everything,” says coach Connie Hayden. “They’ve been to the show and just knew what needed to be done.”
Heading into the state race, the Titans were seeded third. While the top 2A team, Lyons, was untouchable, the Titans knew they had a shot at the podium and even second place if they could put it all together on race day. According to Hayden, Telluride always finishes their season strong and second-seeded Vanguard Charter was coming off an incredibly strong showing at their regional race.
“We were running highly motivated to eek out a second-place win,” says Hayden.
The Titans had faced both Telluride and Vanguard earlier in the season. They took down Telluride with authority at Regionals and came up one point shy of beating Vanguard but with the incredible strides made over the weeks since then, second place was in the cards.
While Smith headed off the start line to match steps with the number-two runner from Lyons, sophomore Aiden Truettner and seniors Kyle Boyle and Danny D’Aquila were handed the task of keeping Vanguard in their sights.
Truettner was middle of the pack 400 meters into the five-kilometer (three-plus mile) race but had reached the top 15 by the first mile. Meanwhile, Boyle and D’Aquila were in the process of stomping Vanguard Charter, both physically and psychologically. Around the first mile, D’Aquila and Boyle found the Vanguard pack and proceeded to pass them all, D’Aquila on one side and Boyle on the other.
“They just took on the entire Vanguard pack,” says Hayden. “That can just be so debilitating to a team and we never saw them again.”
Smith remained in his battle toward the front of the pack and closed out his high school career finishing in fifth place overall, two spots up from last year and 38 seconds faster.
Truettner was left to his own devices and picked people off the entire five kilometers to finish in 12th place, over a minute faster than last year.
“He had some direction but for the most part we told him just to run,” says Hayden. “He just kept picking people off.”
D’Aquila and Boyle finished in 17th and 20th place, respectively, for their best state performance in their high school career.
“It was a very fitting end for all of the seniors,” says Hayden. “They are going out on top for sure.”
In the end, the Titans finished in second place with 32 points, 28 points ahead of the team in third place.
Titans Senior Elizabeth Kilpatrick had her best race of her career at the state championships as well. Hayden says the coaches were hoping for a top-40 finish out of Kilpatrick and she pushed her way up into 21st by the end of the race.
“She blew doors on our expectations,” says Hayden. “She looked incredibly strong all three miles.”
Sophomore Sam Crossett had a rough start in her Colorado state race debut, falling to last place in the first 400 meters, but managed to shake it off and push through the pain to finish the race in 48th.
“She just got stronger with each step and was taking names by the end,” says Hayden.
Hayden considers the boys’ second-place team finish as a dream fulfilled and the season, as a whole, a success.
“I’m super proud,” says Hayden. “All of those miles and ancillaries were totally worthwhile.”