Depth and breadth of NHS cross country teams go to state

All the hard work . . . all the long hours . . . all the miles of traveling . . . all of it is behind the Niwot Cougars’ cross country teams. Now, there’s nothing left for the runners to do but lace up their shoes and run for their ultimate goal . . . a 4A state championship trophy.

Seven boys and seven girls from Niwot will don the green and silver and represent one of the country’s (not county’s) elite programs Saturday as they attempt to cap a nearly perfect 2023 racing season at the 4A State Championship Meet at Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.

The Cougars made their final preparations for the state meet by dominating the Region 3 championship competition last week in Arvada with all nine of the Niwot boys who competed finishing in the top 10 and all nine girls crossing the line among the first 12 finishers.

For Coach Kelly Christensen, the regional meets set up the Cougars perfectly for the state championship.

“They (the regional hosts) did a really good job of trying to make each mile of the course very similar to the state course. The third mile is really difficult at state. So, we really wanted to focus on the last part of the race. I’m very pleased how we did and where we are heading into the state meet,” Christensen said.

If anything, the Cougars have too much depth heading into the last competition of the high school season in the state.

“They’ve all made my job hard,” Christensen admitted, knowing that only seven runners from each of his talented groups can make the state team. “I’m going to make a few kids cry since they won’t be able to make the team. Heck, it’s going to make me cry as well because we’re going to have some kids who could probably finish in the top 20 in the state but not be able to run in the state meet this year. That (kind of depth) is a good problem to have, but it comes at an emotional cost to the athletes and the coaches.”

Just to put an exclamation point on the depth the Cougars enjoy, the boys took the first four places at the regionals, led by sophomore Rocco Culpepper, junior Cole Mazurana, freshman Quinn Sullivan and sophomore Hunter Robbie. Junior Keegan Geldean, sophomore Ryder Keeton, and juniors Gavin Engtrakul, Sammy Jackman and Christopher Wood finished sixth through tenth, respectively.

After chasing down and pacing Riverdale Ridge’s Payton Meineke in the final mile of the girls’ regional race, Addison Ritzenhein showed why she is considered one of the favorites to take the gold medal for the Cougars at state.

“The girl from Riverdale is a very feisty, talented multi-sport athlete,” Christensen said. “We knew that she probably wasn’t going to tuck in with us and just let us run. We figured she’d take it out hard and that was perfect. I think our girls needed that kind of race where someone takes it out early and makes it a bit uncomfortable in the first mile. That’s what happened and I think they reacted very well.”

Senior Olivia Alessandrini was also able to catch and pass Meineke to take the silver medal. Sarah Perkins, Avalon Beltran, Mia Prok and Elise Hagen finished four through seven for the Cougars and were followed by teammates Cayden Justice (9th), Kendal Madine (10th) and Alena Kasanicky (12th).

BOYS STATE XC

The battle for the state team title should once again come down to the Cougars and their host rival, Cheyenne Mountain.

A year ago, the Hawks forced the Cougars to settle for their second straight second-place team finish after winning state titles in 2020 and 2019. Both teams come into the state meet with deep rosters, which will be the key to winning the title. The Hawks, led by sophomore Aiden LeRoux (1st) and junior Brogen Collins (2nd), placed four of their runners in the top five finishers last week at the Region 5 meet in Pueblo.

“They’re the defending champs so they’re definitely a team we need to beat, and they took it to us last year,” Christensen recalled. “It’s their home course so that gives them an advantage. They get to run it two or three times a week year-round. So, yeah, they’re one of the teams we have to worry about.

“But another team that has the most talent upside other than us is (Regional 2 champion) Coronado. They are very well coached with a lot of talent. They are really young, but they could figure it out and they could put it to us if we let them.”

The individual state title should come down to a sprint to the finish among Battle Mountain’s duo of Will Brunner and Porter Middaugh, LeRoux and Collins from Cheyenne Mountain and Niwot’s Culpepper. Brunner and Middaugh finished first and third, respectively, in the Region 1 meet last week. A year ago, at state, Middaugh edged out his teammate as they nabbed the silver and bronze medals.

For Culpepper, who finished 10th in the state meet last year as a freshman, the state race will give him the opportunity to match the accomplishment of older brother Cruz Culpepper, the state gold medalist in 2019.

“With Rocco and Cole (Mazurana), you’re all in for two miles and then see what happens,” Christensen said. “That last mile, you want to be in a position to have an opportunity to win or at least score the fewest points you can for your team. But yeah, we’ll go all in. I think the Battle Mountain boy (Brunner) will go out and set the tone. We got to see them run in Grand Junction (at the Warrior Lincoln Park Classic in early October). It was helpful for me to see him run. I think it gives us an idea of what they want to do.”

GIRLS STATE XC

With the Niwot girls’ team depth making it a heavy favorite to win a sixth straight state title, the individual race should provide plenty of drama right down to the wire. Defending state champion Ella Hagen, a junior from Summit High, will try once again to fend off the challenge from Niwot’s Addison Ritzenhein, who finished seven seconds behind Hagen to take silver a year ago.

“Yeah, those two are the best. They’re two of the top 15 girls in the nation for sure. I don’t know if they’ll throw punches at each other,” Christensen joked, “but they are going to get after it, that’s for sure.”

The Cougars will also be looking to senior Mia Prok to close out her Niwot career with another outstanding performance at state. In her first three state championships, Prok has earned a silver medal and two bronze. She slightly reinjured a knee sprain in the opening mile of the Region 3 meet last week and settled for her sixth-place finish. The Cougars are hoping their senior leader can run her last high school meet in Colorado at full strength and climb back onto the medal stand.