Colorado’s best high school cross country runners lined up to compete at the state meet on Saturday. In 5A, Riley Stewart, a Cherry Creek senior, won the individual title yet again, notching a three-peat in her high school finale. The Stanford-bound runner won in 17 minutes, 20.9 seconds.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, all your hard work when you’re coming through here (the finish line),” she said.
Arapahoe won the girls team title with 42 points, clearing runner-up Cherry Creek by 18 points.
The Mountain Vista boys defended their team title, winning the championship with 59 points — edging out favorite Valor Christian by just two points.
The individual championship was won by Chaparral sophomore Tanner Brown in 15:44.7.
“I’m going to be honest, I didn’t even think (winning) was a possibility,” Brown said. “I was kind of in disbelief.”
Both 4A races were impressive in terms of team performance. Cheyenne Mountain led the way in the boys race with an astounding 26 points, clearing runner-up Niwot by 37 points. The Niwot girls then did even better when they won their title with just 20 total points, which was 118 ahead of Battle Mountain in second place. Individually, Niwot senior Zane Bergen successfully defended his title by winning the boys race in 15:17.7.
“It was a different experience not chasing somebody down the line,” Bergen said. “It was nice just being able to enjoy it for a little bit with this being my last year.”
Niwot senior Eva Klingbiel was the individual champion of the girls race, clocking 17:58.9.
“Having both the individual title and the team title is just so special,” Klingbiel said. “I really didn’t expect the individual title. It came as a surprise.”
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