All signs point to repeat state titles for Niwot cross country in 2021

Another championship sweep for Niwot at the 2021 Class 4A cross country meet isn't a foregone conclusion, but it's hard to dismiss the strong evidence in favor of it. Returning to the varsity are two of Colorado's fastest high school distance runners in Zane Bergen and Mia Prok, plus a battle-hardened pack of veterans that is still in shape from the Cougars' recent title run at the state track and field championships. Add to that a coach looking to list another two state titles on his resume, and you have a result that is strongly correlated with ending the season on the top of the Class 4A podium.

Sixth-year head coach Kelly Christensen and his Niwot runners will soon get a chance to test that hypothesis as the 2021 cross country campaign gets underway on Aug. 20. After two weeks of preseason training, Christensen said that the early data looks promising, and he has every confidence that the final outcome will confirm his priors.

"We're in a great spot," Christensen said as his team gathered for a preseason workout. "It's really cool to see each year how it continues to grow and improve."

Girls

Niwot has been the Class 4A team to beat in girls cross country since 2018, and thanks to "crazy, crazy depth," Christensen doesn't see any reason for that to change in 2021, even after the "major loss" of team members Lucca Fulkerson and Taylor James.

"We have 14 girls who could be in the top seven," he said. "So it's going to be more about who makes the team. I'm sure that decision will leave some girls with a smile on their face, but some girls are going to be disappointed."

Leading the Cougars will be sophomore Prok, whose freshman season will be hard to top. Averaging 18:10 per race in 2020, she captured her first regional title, and was runner-up in the Class 4A championships, with a time of 18:02.40. At the national level, she took second overall at the RunningLane National Championships in Birmingham, Ala. with a sub-17 minute time, the fastest for any freshman in the country last year.

But twice last year, Prok was bedeviled by another freshman, Air Academy's Bethany Michalak, who took first at the state cross country meet, and then came from behind to win the 1600-meter race at the Class 4A state track championships. According to Christensen, those stinging losses have served as motivation not just for Prok, but the entire squad of Cougar girls.

"Bethany is the state champ, and one of our girls is going to try to take her out," he said. "We have a girls team that works hard, and they love each other, and I wouldn't be surprised if a Niwot girl wins the title."

If not Prok, then the potential Niwot winner could be Madison Shults, now in her third season. In 2020, she finished ninth overall at state cross country, and then, like Prok, went on to set a personal best (17:16.46) at RunningLane. During track season, she won a state championship for Niwot in the 800m, and then anchored the winning 4x400 relay.

Also back with the team and competing for a varsity spot are seniors Eva Klingbeil and Tessa Everett, who had a surprisingly strong track season; and junior Lex Bullen, and sophomore Sarah Perkins, who each competed on the 2020 state squad, finishing 25th and 35th respectively. They will be joined by newcomers Jameson Legh, who sat out last season after transferring from Lyons; and sophomore Olivia Alessandrini, another strong track competitor.

"It's a collegiate level girls team," Christensen said. "It's pretty remarkable."

But the team still faces challenges in 2021, most notably Michalak and her Air Academy squad, and perennial rival Battle Mountain.

"Those kids are year-round athletes," Christensen said of the Huskies, who have finished second to Niwot for three straight years. "And Coach Parrish does an amazing job."

Boys

For an ordinary cross country team, defending a state title after losing three of your top runners to graduation would seem out of the question. But as senior and defending individual champion Zane Bergen explained, Niwot is no ordinary cross country team. Heading into 2021, the Cougars might be welcoming new faces to the boys varsity roster, but championship expectations remain unchanged.

"We don't really have peak years at Niwot," Bergen said. "It's just about reloading, and always having the right chemistry, and not having to rebuild. We're losing people, but we're also gaining people at the same time. So that's what I'm excited for."

Christensen used nearly the same language when discussing his outlook for the Niwot boys in 2021.

"It's strongly emphasized with us that we don't rebuild, we reload," the coach said. "We put that confidence in the kids and the training."

This year, Christensen will once again be placing a lot of confidence in Bergen, and with good reason. In addition to winning an individual state title in cross country in 2020, Bergen dominated the distance events in Class 4A track, winning three individual titles (800m, 1600m, and 3200m), plus a relay title (4x800m). This year, the decorated runner is aiming not just for repeat titles in Colorado, but also hopes to lead Niwot on the national stage.

"Getting a boys team to NXN [Nike Cross Nationals] is going to be the goal," he said. "It's looking like if we can run together and just run for each other, we'll have a chance to do that."

Returning to the team with Bergen are senior Joey Hendershot and junior Carlos Kipkorir, who is also a golfer for Niwot. Joining them will be seniors Isaac Robinson, Stefan Haug, and Zach Hoot, plus juniors Frederic Ambrose, and Jeremy Gillett.

"Freddy and Jeremy have stepped up a ton," Christensen said. "And Carlos is managing both [golf and cross country] better than he ever has."

Christensen is also excited about the large crop of freshman boys who have joined the team in 2021, another good omen for the future. "We're going to race them like crazy, and coach them up, and have fun," he said.

That said, replacing three of the top-15 runners in Colorado is no small task, and Christensen admitted that it makes the boys' road back to postseason glory a little rockier than the girls'. Also standing in their way is 2020 runner-up Cheyenne Mountain, a team that may be a little hungrier than the Cougars.

"Cheyenne Mountain is similar to what we were last year in terms of as many seniors, and the talent and the depth. And we know they're dedicated, and everybody's sick of us winning, so I'm sure that's motivating them too."

The Niwot cross country teams are set to kick off the 2021 season on Friday, Aug. 20 at the Carbon Valley Two Mile in Mead, though many top varsity runners will debut later in the season. Niwot will head to Denver for the Class 4A Region 3 finals on October 22, followed by the Class 4A state championships on Oct. 30 at the Norris Penrose Center in Colorado Springs.