Niwot cross country in the final stretch

NIWOT GIRLS WIN REGIONALS, GOING TO NATIONALS

When the top teams in the country gather in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, Dec. 2, for the Nike Cross Country National Championships, all eyes will be on the two girls teams representing the Southwest Region – Niwot High School and Air Academy High School.

Colorado's 4A State Champion Cougars and 5A champion Kadets squared off Saturday, Nov. 18, for the first time this season at the four-state Nike regional qualifying meet at the Coyote Run Golf Course at Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona. Colorado's best didn't disappoint.

The two top-ranked girls teams in the country chased each other across the 5000-meter course where Niwot secured the regional championship when senior Cayden Justice crossed the finish line in 26th place and gave the Cougars a winning team total of 58 points. The Kadets' final team scorer, Jordan Banta, finished eight spots behind to cap their team total of 72 points. The one-two finish earned each squad an automatic berth into the National Championships in Portland.

A third team from Colorado, Highlands Ranch's Mountain Vista High School, finished in third place and will be hoping for an at-large bid from the Nike meet officials. The first two teams in each of the nine regional meets earn automatic entries into the national meet while four others will be selected by the meet officials for the final team entries.

Niwot was once again led by super sophomore Addison Ritzenhein who finished in third place behind winner Gianna Rahmer and Liberty Common High School's Isabel Allori. Rahmer, just an eighth grader representing Albuquerque's Eldorado High School, posted a winning time of 17:00.58 to edge out Allori, Colorado's 3A state champion. The senior from Fort Collins finished at 17:01.69, while Ritzenhein, the 4A state champion, crossed just two seconds behind at 17:03.86.

It will be return appearances in the national championship event for Ritzenhein and Allori. Ritzenhein finished the Nike meet in 18th place a year ago, while Allori crossed the finish line in 14th place. Ritzenhein's 4A rival, Summit High School's Ella Hagen, 4A's 2022 state champion and this year's state runner-up, also qualified for the national meet, finishing the regional meet in fifth place.

Niwot senior Olivia Alessandrini continued her strong late season surge by finishing the regional course in 17:43.68 for 11th place. Fellow upper classmates, Mia Prok (19th), Sarah Perkins (24th) and Justice (26th), all contributed to the Cougars' winning total. Sophomore Anna Prok closed out less than half a second behind Justice for 27th in the field of 221 racers from the top teams in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

NIWOT BOYS ON BUBBLE

The young Niwot High School boys team finds itself on the bubble, hoping for an at-large berth at the Nike Cross Country National Championships after finishing in fourth place in its Arizona regional meet. The Cougars' 220 points was the best total for any team from the Centennial State but fell short of the two automatic berths to nationals.

As much as the girls from Colorado dominated the regional meet, the teams from Utah did the same on the boys' course. Niwot was the only boys team not from Utah in the top six finishers. American Fork High outraced its in-state rivals Herriman and Riverton high schools for the regional title. The American Fork Cavemen posted 79 points to earn an automatic berth to nationals as did the Herriman Mustangs with 121 points. Riverton (153) and Niwot each have pinned their hopes on garnering one of the four at-large berths from across the country.

Niwot's Rocco Culpepper led the Cougars with a 16th-place finish in 15:17.82. Daniel Simmons of American Fork won the event with a time of 14:41.13. For Culpepper, the finish was the highest by any sophomore in the field of 250 runners. The honor for the top freshman finisher went to the Cougars' Quinn Sullivan who wound up in 62nd position with a time of 15:52.68.

Sophomore Ryder Keeton contributed to the Cougars' fourth-place team total finishing in 68th place, as did sophomore Hunter Robbie (78th) and junior Keegan Geldean (81st). Junior Cole Mazurana finished out of the team score for one of the rare times this season, finishing in 89th place. Junior Evan Kear also represented the Cougars at the regional event, taking 189th overall.