The 2023 National High School Trail Championships (NHSTC) lived up to its name headlining a star-studded field on Saturday, July 29 in Salida, including the six members of Team USA who accumulated a team gold, a team silver, and two individual silver medals earlier this summer at the 2023 WMRA International U18 Mountain Running Cup in Annecy, France.
For its seventh year, the NHSTC and Salida, CO, welcomed some of the top high school trail runners in the country to ascend, switchback, twist, turn, and descend the 5.4-mile course on the Salida Mountain Trails. The race can now also officially be called an international competition, with the participation of two Irish student-athletes, Finn Craig and Noah Harris.
The day kicked off at 7:20 am with the Beas Knees Citizens Race where coaches, parents, and supporters of all ages participated. Some past NHSTC champions even headlined the race. Aubrey Surage (36:47) and Alex Fernandez (32:19) won the women’s and men’s citizens race, respectively.
The boys’ race was taken out hard by junior Benji Anderson of Mountain Vista High School, who donned his USA uniform, and fellow Team USA teammate, Will Brunner of Vail Mountain School. The two gradually gaped the rest of the field, with Anderson pulling away from Brunner on the long descent of S Mountain to secure his first NHSTC title. His time of 32:53 on the 5.4 mile course missed the course record–set in 2020 by Sullivan Middaugh 31:52–by a mere one second. Jake Drever of Eagle Valley High School held off his high school teammate, Dylan Blair (33:11), to capture the last podium spot in a time of 33:05.
In the girls’ race, Ella Hagen of Summit High School and Keeghan Edwards of Mountain Vista High School displayed their dominance with Hagen getting an edge on the final downhill and extending that lead in the final 800 meters to win in 36:31 over Edwards’ 36:55. Reese Tucker of Chatfield Senior High School rounded out the podium in a time of 38:14.
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