2023 State Results

Fantastic racing at State! It was the best Summit finish at State for combined boys and girls teams ever! Everybody stepped it up and gave tremendous efforts and treated the race with the professionalism needed for superb finishes. We are all so proud of you! 5th and 7th place teams! Plus two runners on the podium.

Boys Highlights

The boys placed 7th, tying the highest boys placing at State, which was run by the 2019 team. The boys were only 6 points from sixth, and 12 points from 5th place Eagle Valley, the closest we have raced to Eagle all season. We edged out Battle Mountain again, like we did at Regionals. 

Josh ran to Summit's highest finish at State since Liam Mierow's victory in 2013! He improved by 1:25 from last year, to leap from a 60th place finish to a 10th place podium finish this year! Jay ran to the fifth highest Summit finish ever at State. Jay was also the second fastest Freshman at State. 

Josh and Jay ran the fastest Summit times ever at State, just ahead of Dom's time from last year and faster than Liam's winning time from 2013! Will ran the 6th fastest SHS State time, Carter the 11th, Cain the 17th, Lukas the 21st and John the 32nd.

The boys moved up throughout the race, with 234 points at the mile, 216 at 2 miles and finishing with 202 points. Carter and Cain especially moved up through the race. Carter from 96th at the mile to 82nd at 2 miles to 72nd at the finish. Cain moved up from 113th to 102nd to 93rd.

Of the four boys who competed last year, every single one improved, by an average of over 1 minute! The average time of our top 5 was 43 seconds faster than last year! Only 6 boys finished last year. This year, three freshmen stepped in to contribute to an average of our top 7 that was faster than the average of our top 5 last year! Will showed incredible grit, spouting a gushing nose-bleed minutes before the start and running the entire race while swallowing blood. He threw up a stomach full of blood after the race. 

The boys ran very close to their personal record times on the tough State course. Josh ran within 36 seconds of his Liberty Bell time, Jay 35 seconds, Will 36 seconds and Cain just 16 seconds! Carter was just 15 seconds of his PR set at Regionals, Lukas 38 seconds and John 43 seconds.

Girls Highlights

The girls placed 5th, the second best Summit finish ever after a 4th place finish in 2007. (When competition wasn't nearly as strong.) With 183 points, the girls were 33 points from second place. The girls finished ahead of Battle Mountain, reversing the order from Regions. We were 28 points behind Conifer, roughly equal to the spread at Regions.

Ella followed up last year's State Championship with a second place finish to nationally top-ranked Addy Ritzenhein while improving by 10 seconds and breaking the previous course record run by Katie Rainsberger. Avery and Lilly ran near each other the entire race, leading to 26th and 31st place finishes. 

Ella ran the fastest SHS time ever at State. Avery and Lily ran the 7th and 8th fastest SHS times, Ashley the 15th and Cece, Milla and Adaline the 32nd, 35th and 38th. All of those times are in the top half of SHS times ever run at State.

The girls also moved up in the race, not just by points, but in placement. They were in 7th place at 1 mile with 206 points, 6th at 2 miles with 192 points and closed hard for their 5th place finish with 183 points. They passed Battle Mountain and Lewis-Palmer mid-race. Avery advanced from 35th to 30th to 26th. Lily was 36th at the mile and 2 miles, passing 5 runners in the last mile. Ashley advanced from 71st to 63rd to 60th.

3 of our returning girls ran faster than last year, with Avery a huge 1:15 faster. The top 5 averaged 36 seconds faster than last year, without our number 2 runner from last year and without Lindsey, our number 2 runner this year. (Yes, had CHSAA approved Lindsey's transfer, we would have placed second.) Our three freshmen of Lily, Ashley and Mila contributed to a top 7 average time 30 seconds faster than last year. 

Like the boys, several girls nearly set PRs, despite the State course being much tougher than Liberty Bell, Pat Amato or Lincoln Park. Avery was only 6 seconds slower than her regionals time, Lily 8 seconds, Ashley 26 seconds and Mila 33 seconds. Adaline was just 8 seconds and Cece just 20 seconds off their season best times set at Pat Amato.

Press

Summit Daily Article: Summit’s Ella Hagen strides her way to 2nd at state cross-country meet. Tigers improve upon finishes from last year’s state meet.

Vail Daily Article: Devils finish fifth in boys team race at state cross-country meet

Vail Daily Article: Battle Mountain runner wins program’s first boys individual state cross-country title

Vail Daily Article: Battle Mountain state champion will continue prolific career at Harvard 

Vail Daily Article: Fall prep preview: Brunner and Middaugh lead potent Battle Mountain boys cross-country team

Vail Daily Article: Whitton leads Huskies to sixth place finish at state cross-country meet

DyeStat: Colorado State Meet XC Recap 

CHSAA: 4A Girls Cross Country: Niwot's Addison Ritzenhein Sets State Meet Record As Cougars Win Sixth-Straight Title

CHSAA: 4A Boys Cross Country: Battle Mountain's Will Brunner Stands Atop The Podium

CHSAA: Cross Country: Eight Teams, Eight Individuals Crowned State Champions

CHSAA: Cross Country: All-State Teams Released - Ella, Avery, Josh and Jay are All-State!

Full results including details of how teams and individuals placed at the mile splits are here and here.

The Colorado State Meet Power Merge is here. The Summit Girls were 17th, just behind Cheyenne Mountain and three spots behind Conifer. The boys were 20th, three spots behind Eagle Valley, while our other main competitors for next season - Cheyenne Mountain, Thompson Valley and Coronado went 7-8-9.

Where the races were won

Dillon Benbow did a wonderful analysis of how we placed ahead of teams that beat us at Regionals. Thanks so much Dillon!

Dillon compared regional and state team races for girls and boys to 2 of the teams they raced against in regionals. Girls vs Battle Mountain and Conifer, and Boys vs Battle Mountain and EVHS. He compared our first to their first, our second to their second, etc. to see if the 1's beat the 1's, 2's beat the 2's, etc. Analyzed this way, both girls and boys had some really good races at State and made up some ground vs regionals.  

The girls overtook BM at State with runners 3 and 4. Ashley sprinted hard at the finish to get ahead of BM runner #4, someone who beat her by 8 seconds at regionals. Avery and Lily both beat BM runner #3, someone that beat them both at regionals. The #3 runner for Conifer had a great race at State (beat her regional time by 29s, only person on Summit or Conifer top 5 to beat regional times), so we didn't make up ground there.

For the boys, runners 5 and 6, Cain and Lukas, beat BMHS at State and we made up some ground on EVHS with runner 3, Will. He had a great sprint at the end to pick up a few spots, too.     

Coaches Assessment

I think the tougher course and cool temperatures, compared to Grand Junction, helped, too. I try to compensate with training strategies, but at 9100 feet it is more difficult to build speed for flat courses compared to teams that train at lower altitude. A tougher course plays into our strengths, as much as we try to develop low-altitude race pace with speed and flux training.

Team Scores

The teams in red, with DNQ (did not qualify), were individual runners, not complete teams.

Top SHS Times and Places in State Championship History

2024 Outlook

Below are the team scores with the 2023 seniors removed. Surprisingly, 13 girls teams and 13 boys teams (out of 20) had 2 or less seniors, so have five runners returning from their state teams - enough to "score" a team in this projection. 

A lot of the top teams from 2023 are moving to 5A for the 2024-2026 cycle (2024 and 2025 cross country seasons): Niwot, Northfield, Durango, Golden, Pueblo West, Riverdale Ridge. Of those, Niwot and Durango are for cross country only. 

Niwot and Durango will stay in 4A for track. 

Several 3A teams move to 4A next year including Holy Family, Timnath and Berthoud. The Timnath and Holy Family girls cross country teams are good and will give us some competition next season.

Air Academy, Dakota Ridge and Thornton will drop from 5A to 4A for track (not XC) in the 2024-2026 cycle (2025 and 2026 track seasons).

Girls 2024 Outlook

1. You can see in the red DNQ section that of the girls teams, Niwot had 4 seniors, Mtn View 3, Lewis-Palmer 3, Montrose 3, Battle Mtn 4, Palmer 4, and George Washington 3. Niwot of course is deep and will "reload" strongly. I'm not sure about sixth place finisher Battle Mountain (graduating their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th finishers) and seventh Lewis-Palmer (graduating their 1st, 2nd and 6th finishers).

2. The returnees score has us placing second to Northfield, but Northfield, like Niwot and Durango, is moving to 5A next season.

3. That means the Summit girls are the "top ranked" team looking forward to 2024. Cheyenne Mtn finished second this year but graduates 2, their 1st and 6th finishers. Conifer graduates just one, their second finisher. Based on Cheyenne Mtn's history, and the progress Conifer made this year, both will be strong contenders next season. And of course, this doesn't include runners outside of the seven that raced at State, next year's new Freshmen, transfers, injuries, and improvements next summer and fall.

4. Timnath and Holy Family, moving up from 3A, are ranked very close to us. (See 2024 Forecast tables a bit lower.)

Boys 2024 Outlook

1. 8 teams had 3 or more seniors - Severance, Cheyenne Mtn, Palmer Ridge, Littleton, Eagle Valley, Battle Mountain and Grand Junction. Of those, Eagle Valley (graduates their 1st, 3rd and 6th finishers) and Cheyenne Mtn (graduating their 3rd, 4th and 7th) can be expected to come back strong. (Well, talking with the C.M. coach, they don't have a strong JV team to rebuild from.) Battle Mountain graduates 5 including their top 3 so is expected to be less competitive in 2024.

2. We are ranked 4th of the teams with 5 or more returning runners, close to Coronado and just ahead of Northfield. Niwot is moving to 5A as is Northfield. So we are effectively ranked 3rd, with the threat from Northfield removed. 

3. Coronado had a sub-par day at State and can be expected to be strong, as can Thompson Valley, which like us, graduates no one. Eagle Valley can be expected to come back strong, despite graduating 3. The same qualifications apply as the girls forecast - this "forecast" doesn't include new freshmen, injuries, progress over the summer, etc.

Photos

Many more here!

2023 State Championship

WHEN:  Saturday, 28 October 2023

WHERE:  Norris Penrose Events Center, Colorado Springs

The course is hilly, 100% gravel (mostly bike paths) and has one stream crossing shortly before the finish followed by two short and steep hills. 

TRANSPORTATION: We will travel the day before the race to be rested and fresh. We will depart SHS at 1:00 on Friday. I will drive a mini-bus. It is a 2.5 hour drive to Norris Penrose Event Center. We should arrive about 3:30. We will do a pre-race run/course recon at 3:30. After the course inspection, we will depart for the hotel (Holiday Inn Express on I-25 South).

After checking in we will eat dinner in the area. Options include Qdoba, Mod Pizza, Panda Express and Subway.

Bring pajamas, toothbrushes and the other things you normally would for an overnight in a hotel. Bring cash for dinner Friday and lunch after the meet on Saturday.

OUR RACE TIMES:

4A Boys - 9:40 a.m.

4A Girls 11:00 a.m.

Shake Out Runs:

Boys at 7:00

Girls at 7:15

Breakfast:

Boys at 7:15

Girls at 7:30

Depart for venue: 7:45. We will set up our team camp in the barn immediately upon arrival. Wear your race uniforms to the venue, as we will go to uniform check after setting up our team camp.

Check In/Uniform Inspection: 8:15

Warm Ups:

Boys start at 8:40

Girls start at 10:00

The warm ups will be jogs to "the Boulevard" and mobility drills in "the Woods." We will return to the Barn and then do strides in the flat area outside of the barn. We will complete the strides 15 minutes before start time (9:25 and 10:45) and walk to the start. Bring water bottles to the start. There are bathrooms very close to the start for last minute needs.

State Program.

Race Strategy

This saying sounds like a joke, but when you think about it, is really concise and solid race strategy: "In the first half of the race, don't be an idiot. In the second half, don't be a wimp." We will discuss what that means and how to apply it to the State Championship.

2022 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Race Review

The girls raced extremely well. For a young team that hasn’t been to State you handled the pressure and excitement with resolve. Many of you moved up during the race and all of you finished strong. 

The boys were equally dedicated but were racing banged up. Six of seven had illness or injuries. I know you are disappointed but you should be equally proud of your work and effort. The three teams you tied or beat at regions placed third, fourth and fifth. Zach gave it a great try but couldn’t finish. Even with Zach unable to finish and most of you not at 100%, you finished 10th at State which you should be very proud of. 

You gave it a great effort and more importantly trained consistently and seriously since the summer. You showed great commitment and dedication all summer and fall. Your hard work showed in the strength in which you ran. 

XC is very much a Team Sport and our team has gotten so much stronger this year because of the effort of all of you. This group of runners have built a great program. It’s not easy to toil out of the limelight, but you have worked hard top to bottom and are starting to see the fruits of your labor. Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. You are creating wonderful people of character.

Press

Summit Daily: Ella Hagen first female Summit High School student in 18 years to win state cross-country race

On the boys' side, Summit High senior Dom Remeikis places 18th, teams place 6th and 10th

CHSAA 4A boys cross country: Cheyenne Mountain goes back-to-back, Mead's Hoffman takes individual crown

CHSAA 4A girls cross country: Niwot continues dominant run, Summit's Hagen wins individually

MileSplit: The 4A Colorado State Recap: Ella Hagen Outlasts Niwot

Colorado High School Sports: The 2022 4A State Story

MileSplit: The State Power Merge

Vail Daily: Battle Mountain girls take second as a team at state cross-country meet for fifth-straight season

Vail Daily: Devils and Huskies shine in epic 4A boys state cross-country meet

Photos

See the carousel below and a bunch more here

2022 Results

Team Scores

SHS Results

Top Individual Results

Top Freshmen

Top Sophomores

Top Juniors

Top Seniors

2022 State Championship Schedule

WHEN:  Saturday, 29 October 2022

WHERE:  Norris Penrose Events Center, Colorado Springs

The course is hilly, 100% gravel (mostly bike paths) and has one stream crossing shortly before the finish followed by two short and steep hills. 

TRANSPORTATION: 8:15 show time and 8:30 departure time. 2.5 hour drive time. Estimated return time is 7:00 p.m.

OUR RACE TIMES:

Girls 4A - 1:00 pm

Boys 4A - 2:20 pm

RESULTS: Updated live on CHSAANow.com

Live streaming of the races will be HERE.

Note: I think this will just be a stream of the finish line, with no coverage elsewhere on the course or commentary, other than what is picked up from the stadium announcers.

Box Assignments

Boys start in the middle of the starting line, with Pueblo West (not a strong team) to our left, and just two individuals from Conifer on right (it should say box 13 for them.) The top two rated teams in the State are Niwot, two to our left, and Cheyenne Mountain, two to our right. The boys should have decent room for the first 50 meters. Get out fast and you will be right up front with Niwot and Cheyenne Mountain.

The girls are starting towards the right of the starting line, like in the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede. Montrose (a fairly weak team) is to our left and 3 individuals in the box to our right. With a quick start we should be able to get in good position early. Niwot is 5 boxes to our right. You want to be mixing it up with them when you get to the right turn choke point 150 meters into the race.

State Championship Team and Individual Qualifiers/Entrants

Click here: 

Top Seedings

Virtual Meet Projections

2021 State Championship

End of 2021 Season "Preview" of 2022 State Championship 

2022 Boys State Championship

2021/11/28: MileSplit posted an article with a "Mega Merge" of all 200+ XC schools in Colorado – Top Returning Boys Cross Country Teams For 2022 (cover photo of Hunter Strand, who has trained with us) – using the times of all returning (well, at least not graduating) runners to compute rankings for next season. Of course, this is just a static snapshot based on this year's times. It doesn't/can't encompass new team members, improvements, etc. Still, it gives an idea of the strength of the (possibly) returning runners.

There are no guarantees, because we first have to train and perform, but the outlook is good! We don't graduate ANY boys. Based on our times, we are ranked 21st in the State for next season, 6th in 4A and 3rd in our region! (The strongest region in the state.)

In our region, we are behind Battle Mountain (9th in the State) and Central Grand Junction (13th). We are ranked ahead of Conifer (30th), Eagle Valley (36th), Steamboat Springs (65th) and the other 7 regional teams.

In 4A, the rankings are Niwot (2nd in State), Cheyenne Mountain (6th), Battle Mountain (9th), Central Grand Junction (13th), Mead (17th), Summit (21st), Centaurus (24th), Coronado (25th), Air Academy (26th), Erie (27th), Conifer (30th).

(P.S. Dom is ranked 13th in the State amongst returning runners!)

(Interesting aside: Mullen, who edged us out for 4th at Regionals, isn't ranked. Apparently they don't have five returnees.)

(Another aside: Battle Mountain has both Will Brunner and William Brunner in their top 5 returnees. Same guy with a name variation. Take out the second Brunner and add the scores of Battle Mountain's returning sixth runner and they drop down slightly to 11th in the state.)

2022 Girls State Championship

2021/11/30: Here is the Mega Merge for the Girls – Top Returning Girls Cross Country Teams For 2022. Same as the boys, it is only a snap shot of the non-graduating runners, not encompassing incoming 8th graders, improvements, etc. It provides insight into the strength of potential returning runners, but again, it's a look back, not a look forward. Next year's results depend on how well teams train and race next season.

Amongst this year's results, we are ranked 45th in the State, 14th in 4A and 5th in our region, quite close to the 4th and 3rd teams. 

In our region, we are behind Battle Mountain (8th in the State), Golden (29th), Mullen (33rd) and Green Mountain (36th).

In 4A, the rankings are Niwot (1st in the State), Durango (5th), Battle Mountain (8th), Air Academy (12th), Palmer (17th), Cheyenne Mountain (24th), Golden (29th), Silver Creek (31st), Mullen (33rd), Lewis-Palmer (34th), Green Mountain (36th), Thompson Valley (40th), George Washington (41st), Summit (45th), Mead (46th), Falcon (51st) of 200+ teams.

2021 State Championship Results

10/30/21 Summit Daily Article: Hagen puts freshman talent on display to place 7th at 4A state cross-country meet. Remeikis guts it out for 97th.

MileSplit Results and Story

Photos

2021 Cheyenne Mountain Stampede (Same course as State) Results and Review

2021 Photos