Niwot boys claim third straight regional title

The results weren't quite as perfect for Niwot in the boys' race, but with six runners in the top 10, it was a title-winning performance nonetheless. Behind defending Class 4A champion Zane Bergen in first place, the Cougars scored just 22 points, more than 30 ahead of second place Centaurus (56), and 64 ahead of third-place Denver South (84). With the win, Niwot captured the Class 4A Region 3 crown for the third year ini a row, and will now move on to try for a third consecutive state title.

"We had some plans going in and just executed those really well," the Stanford-bound senior said afterwards. Honestly, it just showed that we're one of the best teams in the state, and we're looking to improve on that into the postseason."

Bergen crossed the finish line with a time of 15:19, nearly 30 seconds ahead of teammate Joey Hendershot (15:48) in second. He was followed by Carlos Kipkorir Cheruiyot in fifth (15:56), Isaac Robinson (16:31) in sixth, Jeremy Gillett (16:48) in eighth, Frederick Ambrose (16:50) in ninth, and Stefan Haug (17:06) in 11th, rounding out the scorers. Also competing for Niwot were freshmen Christopher Wood (17:32) and Keegan Geldean (17:39), who finished 14th and 15th respectively.

"Guys ran better today than last week, so as a team, they're headed in the right direction," Christensen said afterwards. "I know the results were good place-wise last week, but the coaches didn't feel like the effort was worthy of a state championship. One thing we haven't done enough of this year is race effort. And they don't have that mental toughness that comes along with running out of oxygen at race effort. We found that out last week, we did some things in training, and they did better today. Each race they get a little sharper, so I think their best race of the year will be next week."

It will have to be. Unlike the Niwot girls, who are heavily favored to repeat, the Niwot boys are projected to finish second at the 2021 championships to Cheyenne Mountain, last year's runner-up and another nationally ranked powerhouse. In a virtual meet comparison at Colorado MileSplit, the Hawks edge the Cougars by four points. But the underdog status doesn't bother Christensen in the least.

"I love it," he said. "They're feeling pressure, we're feeling pressure. I think whoever at the end of the day believes in it, and trusts what they've done is enough, will be the team that wins."