Cougars cross country

The Niwot Cougars cross country teams kicked-off their 2016 season on August 26th at the Vista Nation XC 2-Mile Invitational in Highlands Ranch. The small, highly competitive meet attracted many of the state’s top teams and runners, including meet host and defending boys 5A state champions Mountain Vista, and 4A state runners-up Palmer Ridge.

“We wanted to see where we were at [against the top teams],” Coach Kelly Christensen explained. “We kind of expected this result, but we feel like it was a step in the right direction.”

Youth dominated the girls race, which saw six sophomores and two freshmen finish in the top ten. Peak to Peak’s Quinn McConnell, a sophomore and defending 3A state champion, claimed first place, with a time of 11:46. The top finisher for Niwot was sophomore Maggie Smith, who placed eighth, with a time of 12:36. Niwot senior Jenna McCaffrey (13:04) finished 13th, while junior Jeri Wilcox (14:07) placed 32nd. The girls team placed fourth overall, with 116 points.

On the boys side, junior Kenny Lang was the fastest runner for the Cougars, with a time of 11:08, good for 21st place. Junior Oskar Wells placed 24th, with a time of 11:11, and junior Ethan Steiner (11:20) finished 28th. The Cougar boys finished in 5th place overall, with 153 points.

Boys Team Scores — Mountain Vista, 37; Rock Canyon, 54; Palmer Ridge, 54; Dakota Ridge, 119; Niwot, 153; Mead, 159; Pine Creek, 162; Peak to Peak Charter, 216.

Niwot Individuals — 21. Kenny Lang (Jr.), 11:08; 24. Oskar Wells (Jr.), 11:11; 28. Ethan Steiner (Jr.), 11:20; 49. Kamran Elahi (Jr.), 11:43; 50. Benjamin Bi (So.), 11:45.00

Girls Team Scores¬ — Mountain Vista, 32; Peak to Peak Charter, 46; Rock Canyon, 105; Niwot, 116; Pine Creek, 121; Mead, 171; Palmer Ridge, 182; Dakota Ridge, 187; Frontier Academy, 257.

Niwot Individuals — 8. Maggie Smith (So.), 12:36; 13. Jenna McCaffrey (Sr.), 13:04; 32. Jeri Wilcox (Jr.), 14:07; 33. Claire Gillett (Sr.), 14:08; 36. Claire Jepson (So.), 14:17; 52. Caitlyn Hyers (Jr.) 14:46; 53. Grace Martinson (Jr.), 15:02.

The runners were back in action on September 2nd for the Colorado State Frontier Academy Invitational, a 5K held at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins.

The boys team fared better this time, taking second place overall with 70 points, just four points behind winner Fairview (66), a Class 5A squad.

Coach Christensen was sanguine about the narrow loss. “It’s almost better to lose a close race early, because you learn the hard lessons that payoff later in the season,” he explained.

The Cougars were led once again by Lang, whose 16:55 time earned him a fourth-place finish. Ethan Steiner finished ninth, with a time of 17:14, and Oskar Wells was 15th, with a time of 17:39.

On the girls side, Maggie Smith was again the top finisher for Niwot, earning third place overall with a time of 19:7.

“Maggie is quickly becoming a state-title contender,” Coach Christensen said of the sophomore.

Jenna McCaffrey (19:47) finished seventh, while senior Claire Gillett (20:49) placed 23rd. With 130 points, the girls finished fifth in team scoring, lower than Christensen expected.

“The top three girls ran really well but I probably worked [the team] a little too hard last week,” Christensen admitted.

The Cougars compete next in the St. Vrain Invitational at Lyons High School on September 10.

Girls Team Scores¬ — Fairview, 76; Rocky Mountain, 93; Wheat Ridge, 108; Roosevelt, 118; Niwot, 130; Holy Family, 151; Thompson Valley, 160; Frontier Academy, 168; Loveland, 178; Eaton, 232; Estes Park, 289; Northridge, 367; Yuma, 411.

Niwot Individuals — 3. Maggie Smith (So.), 19:07; 7. Jenna McCaffrey (Sr.), 19:47; 23. Claire Gillett (Sr.), 20:49; 46. Caitlin Hyers (Jr.), 21:59; 57. Claire Jepson (So.), 22:30; 64. Joelle McDonald (Fr.), 22:59; 82. Mallory Finley (So.), 24:21

Boys Team Scores — Fairview, 66; Niwot, 70; Dakota Ridge, 94; Frontier Academy, 141; Loveland, 156; Rocky Mountain, 169; Holy Family, 194; Estes Park, 203; Thompson Valley, 216; Northridge, 277; Roosevelt, 291; Wheat Ridge, 298; Eaton, 367; Yuma, 422.

Niwot Individuals — 4. Kenny Lang (Jr.), 16:55; 9. Ethan Steiner (Jr.), 17:14; 15. Oskar Wells (Jr.), 17:39; 17. Benjamin Bi (So.), 17:39; 25. Kamran Elahi (Jr.), 17:57; 52. Matthew Funk (Sr.), 18:52; 63. Tommy Stager (Sr.), 19:12; 65. Jack Volf, (So.) 19:17; 66. Peter LeCavalier (Jr.), 19:21.