The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Senior Cody Pleak closes career on podium
By Than Acuff
It seemed like the Crested Butte cross-country team just couldn’t avoid illnesses and injuries right up to the end of the season, but the team dug deep, as they always have, to send both the boys’ and girls’ teams to the 2A state championships on Saturday, November 1.
“We definitely had some hurdles to go over but they did it,” says coach Shari Sullivan-Marshall.
The week leading up to Saturday had its share of stress for coaches and athletes with some of their top runners nursing their way to the big show and when the girls’ team was preparing for the race, they were hit by some bad news and some good news. The bad news, Eva Loflin’s injury proved more serious than anticipated and the senior was unable to compete. The good news, sophomore Tazzy Pozner, who had been dealing with an injury all season, would be able to race so five Titans toed the line for the girls in a race that proved far more competitive than expected.
“The girls’ race was a lot faster this year,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
Freshman Dari Spedden led the way, as she has all season, to run to a 36th place finish with an effort that should land her on the all-state honorable mention list in just her first year of high school cross-country.
“Dari pushing her way up and trusting herself was awesome,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
Pozner and Ali Johnson were next for the Titans and were living and running proof that the race this year was full throttle. Both Pozner and Johnson ran faster than last year at the state championships but finished anywhere from 15 to 20 spots back from their results last season.
Senior Sophia Bender and Ilo Hawley closed out their high school careers on Saturday with Bender running two minutes faster than last year as the team placed 14th overall.
“They didn’t leave anything on the course, and you can’t ask for more than that,” says Sullivan-Marshal.
Six Titan boys then lined up with a top five finish well within reach and possibly more, but it was going to take the right combination of mind and body.
“The boys’ race was super tactical,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “There were a lot of small races in the big race.”
Pleak put it all together in his race. Pleak slipped into seventh place after the first mile, bounced around between ninth and 11th and then found himself next to two other runners as they entered one final hill. Not only did Pleak drop those two on the hill, but when he came over the top, he saw one more runner ahead and dropped the hammer down the stretch to nip him at the finish line for eighth place and set a course personal record.
“He fought the whole race for that spot,” says Sullivan-Marshall.
Senior Max Sullivan was another Titan hampered by illness and in and out of health for three weeks leading up to the state race. With little to no training under his belt, Sullivan still managed to dig and grind his way to a 28th place finish which would have an impact on the teams’ result and set him up for an all-state honorable mention award.
“It was incredible given his interrupted training the past three weeks,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “Your body can only do so much when you’ve been sick.”
Sophomore Jayden Beyer did what was needed, passing runners throughout the race and senior Flint Hoyt was the final Titan to score team points while sophomore Micah Hansen dipped his toes into the state meet for the first time and senior Cole Wimett closed his career out with his first trip to the state championships.
Numbers were crunched and points tallied and the Titans edged out Del Norte by three points to take fourth place, just one week after Del Norte had edged out Crested Butte at the regional race.
“To see them improve like that in the last week is great,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “They all raced like veterans out there, even the first timers.”
Amongst all the bumps in the course of the 2025 season, Sullivan-Marshall saw vast improvements among the runners and sees a bright future ahead.
“For 85% of the athletes their progression this year was perfect,” says Sullivan-Marshall. “The girls team is going to be really strong next year and Jayden, Jackson (Moore) and Micah will be leading the way for the boys.”
