Elise Cranny and two Silver Creek products shine at USATF Outdoor Championships

Finding success on the big stage isn’t anything new for Elise Cranny, but this year’s trip to the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships was particularly special.

Beyond securing her third straight 5,000-meter national title and her first in the 10,000, the 2014 Niwot High School grad was perhaps most pleased when she utilized an energized mindset to produce a pair of gold medals.

“Overall, it was probably one of the proudest I’ve (been) leaving a meet,” said Cranny, who placed 13th in the 5K at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. “More so than that outcome, how I felt and how I feel like I approached it, I felt the most like myself than I have in honestly probably a few years. I've had glimpses of it here and there, but (I was) racing with confidence and excitement instead of being weighed down by pressure and expectations.”

Cranny also made history in the process as she became the first woman since 2016 to win the 5K and 10K in the same year. She did so with times of 14 minutes, 52.66 seconds in the 5K and 32:12.30 in the 10K.

The competition was held from July 6-9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

After nationals, Cranny began training at altitude in Park City, Utah, in preparation for the world championships. Her plan was to leave for Europe on July 17 to race in Monaco before heading over to St. Moritz, Switzerland for further altitude training. The world championships begin August 19 in Budapest, Hungary, but Cranny is still deciding whether she’ll compete in both the 5,000 and 10,000 — that’ll depend on how training goes.

Cranny wasn’t the only local athlete competing at nationals, either. 2018 Silver Creek High School graduate Rylee Anderson tied for second in the women’s high jump (6 feet, 1/14 inches) while fellow Raptor alum Valarie Allman won the women’s discus with a heave of 67.66 meters (222 feet).

Anderson, a four-time Colorado Class 4A state champion in the high jump, wrapped up her University of Kansas career as the school’s record holder in the indoor high jump (1.88 meters or about 6 feet, 2 inches). She took 12th in the high jump at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in June.

“I didn’t end my NCAA season exactly how I wanted to, so I felt like I bounced back well and really put together a great performance (at nationals),” Anderson said. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity and I’m happy that I was able to make the most of it. I’m looking forward to what the future holds and I’m just overall proud of what I did on the national stage.”

Cranny and Allman, former roommates at Stanford University, were also able to grab breakfast together the day before they competed at nationals.

“The track and field running community in general is really powerful,” Cranny said. “Having connections to a local area and feeling that camaraderie, (it’s) like, 'Wow, we grew up in a similar place.' Knowing that growing up in Colorado, it's such an inspiring place to be outdoors and active. To see that translate to the track and field world and see multiple people from the same area is really powerful.”

The Niwot track and field great added that she remains in contact with her former high school head coach Maurice Henriques, who led the Cougars to another Class 4A girls team state title in May.

“I always feel really grateful when we are texting and it forces me to stop and have a moment of reflection,” Cranny said. “I would not be here without Coach Mo, without Niwot and even the Colorado state meet and everything in general, all the people that pushed me and helped me to get here.”