Both boys and girls cross country to compete at state

Powered by Kenny Lang’s second-place medal, the Niwot boys cross country team claimed first place at the Class 4A Region 3 championship meet, held Oct. 20 at Cherry Creek State Park. With 45 team points, the Cougars edged out Northern League rival Centaurus (49) by just four points.

“It was exciting,” Coach Kelly Christensen said. “The guys finally broke through that mental plateau.”

Lang’s final time of 16 minutes 39 seconds was just one second slower than regional champion Trevor Smith’s (Standley Lake) 16:38. In all, five Niwot runners finished in the top 20. Juniors Oskar Wells (17:05) and Ethan Steiner (17:16) were sixth and ninth respectively, followed by junior Benjamin Bi (17:30) at 12th and junior Peter LeCavalier (17:42) at 16th.

On the girls side, senior Jenna McCaffrey captured third overall with a time of 19:35, just nine seconds behind Valor Christian sophomore Keely Jones (19:26). It was McCaffrey’s third consecutive top three finish of the season. Senior Claire Gillett (20:24) finished 11th, just one second ahead of freshman teammate Joelle McDonald (20:25). Junior Jeri Wilcox, returning to the varsity squad after being sidelined by a hip injury back in August, finished in 23rd place, with a time of 21:17, while senior Courtney Smoljan (21:52) was 31st, and sophomore Claire Jepson (21:56) was 34th.

The Cougars were without their top girls runner, sophomore Maggie Smith, who has been battling a knee injury for the last half of the season. Christensen had been hopeful that Smith could recover in time for the regional meet, but ultimately decided her long-term health was a higher priority.

“She’s a young sophomore,” Christensen explained. “At this point, we just need to let her body go through its growth.”

Both teams qualified to compete in the state meet in Colorado Springs on Oct. 29th. To prepare, Christensen says the team will continue to work out this week, but won’t do anything too taxing.

“We’re going to focus on sharpening,” he explained. “We’ll let them get their energy back up.”

Christensen still stands by his pre-season prediction of a top five finish for both of his teams, though he admits Smith’s absence has tempered his expectations for the girls title hopes.

“Losing a top runner could be a 50-point swing,” he said. “But they definitely have the potential to be top five.”

Whatever the outcome, though, Christensen says he is pleased with his team’s overall performance in 2016.

“We’ve had a rewarding season,” he said. “We stuck to the process. We stuck to our goal.”

Class 4A Region 3 Cross Country Championship (Oct. 20)

Boys Team Scores — Niwot, 45; Centaurus, 49; Standley Lake, 53; Valor Christian, 106; Erie, 129; George Washington, 145; Northfield, 246; John F. Kennedy, 262; Alameda International, 273; Vista Peak, 298; Arvada, 309; Thomas Jefferson, 341

Boys Top Individuals — Trevor Smith (Sr.), Standley Lake, 16:38; Kenny Lang (Jr.), Niwot, 16:39; Alex Hooten (Jr.), Centaurus, 16:49; Cooper Brown (So.), Centaurus, 16:53; John O'Malley (Jr.), Centaurus, 17:02; Oskar Wells (Jr.), Niwot, 17:05; Josh Thompson (Jr.), Valor Christian, 17:14; Will Wixson (Sr.), Valor Christian, 17:15; Ethan Steiner (Jr.), Niwot, 17:16; Nicholas Shipe (Jr.), Standley Lake, 17:18

Niwot Individuals — 2. Kenny Lang (Jr.), 16:39; 6. Oskar Wells (Jr.), 17:05; 9. Ethan Steiner (Jr.), 17:16; 12. Benjamin Bi (So.), 17:30; 16. Peter LeCavalier (Jr.), 17:42; 28. Jack Volf (So.), 18:29; 30. Luke Robinson (Fr.), 18:36; 36. Tommy Stager (Sr.), 18:52; 50. Ben Klingbeil (Fr.), 19:20

Girls Team Scores — Centaurus, 35; Standley Lake, 61; Niwot, 77; Valor Christian, 82; Erie, 129; Vista Peak, 197; Thomas Jefferson, 197; George Washington, 238; John F. Kennedy, 243; Alameda International, 269; Arvada, 327

Girls Top Individuals — Riley Geldean (Fr.), Centaurus, 18:57; Keely Jones (So.), Valor Christian, 19:26; Jenna McCaffrey (Sr.), Niwot, 19:35; Emma Abernethy (Sr.), Standley Lake, 19:38; Anna Nelson (Sr.), Standley Lake, 19:50; Emily Condon (So.), Erie, 19:59; Katie Hooten (Fr.), Centaurus, 20:07; Helen Gover (So.), Centaurus, 20:10; Sabrina Stern (Sr.), Centaurus, 20:19; Brooke Calvo (So.), Centaurus, 20:20

Niwot Individuals — 3. Jenna McCaffrey (Sr.), 19:35; 11. Claire Gillett (Sr.), 20:24; 12. Joelle McDonald (Fr.), 20:25; 23. Jeri Wilcox (Jr.), 21:17; 31. Courtney Smoljan (Sr.), 21:52; 34. Claire Jepson (So.), 21:56; 35. Elise Gillett (Fr.), 21:57; 43. Ella Miller (Sr.), 22:45; 48. Mallory Finley (So.), 23:05