It was a week full of top finishes and fast times despite record breaking heat all week. Racing got started on Tuesday at the Denver West Cowboy Classic. The course, nearly all road and sidewalk, had provided jaw dropping times a year ago, but 90 degree temperatures slowed down things significantly this year. The Boys JV got things started with junior Riley Nickols running for the individual victory with the fastest time of the day for an Angel boy of 19:06. Junior Kristian Laird ran 20:13 for fifth place and the Angels Stephen Evans (21:10), Jack Thompson (21:13) and Diego Quinto de Peterson (21:32) finished 9^th, 10^th and 11^th to secure East a second place finish in the team competition.

The Girls JV were dominant in their competition securing a perfect score of 15 points by taking places one through five. Leading the way by a large margin was ninth grader Grace Chambers in a time of 21:48. She was followed by sophomore Claire Ely (22:51), junior Ellie McWhirter (22:13), ninth grader Annabel Fillippini (23:15), and junior Sarah Hoffer (23:24).

A somewhat depleted Boys Varsity team finished in 4^th place in the 11 team field. Senior Eden Scott was the first to cross the line for the Angels in 20^th place and a seasonal best of 19:35. Sophomores Cyrus Jenkins-Nieto and Gus Trautwein finished in 23^rd and 26^th in 19:58 and 20:13 respectively. Juniors Taylor Lucas (20:21) and Teddy Hickenlooper (20:23) rounded out the scoring for the Angels in 28^th and 30^th places.

The Girls Varsity got their first victory of the season as the team of sophomores AlanaMarie Barros (4^th, 21:06), Lilia Scudamore (5^th, 21:25), Maya Nussbaumer (7^th, 21:40), Christina Doolan (10^th, 21:56), and senior Emily Turner (12^th, 22:11) easily outdistanced George Washington and seven other schools with a mere 38 points.

Three days later, the Denver East Varsity Girls would grab another win at the Arvada West Invitational at the Stegner Soccer Complex. It was a hard fought victory, as the first four of the eighteen teams were within nine points of one another. Sophomore Abby Howard finished 6^th place for the Angels in 20:50. Alana Barros continued her strong week with a 14^th place finish in 21:06. Junior Anna Lucy Buddenhagen finished in 22^nd (21:27), Lilly Cory 26^th (21:41), Maya Winfield 30^th (21:57), Lilia Scudamore 33^rd (22:07) and Maya Nussbaumer 52^nd (23:02).

The Girls showed off their depth in the Girls Open division with the Angels taking five of the first six places, led by Laura Romero’s first place finish in 20:50, followed by Lindsey Weyant’s second place finish in 21:17. Places four through six went to Emily Turner, Elena Thoman and Julia Schor in 21:53, 21:56, and 22:26 respectively.

The Boys Varsity had one of their most successful outings of the season with a fourth place finish of 20 teams at Arvada West. Juniors Will Daley and Asher Hoyt ran to 2^nd and 4^th place finished in 16:46 and 17:14, while sophomores Ian Trautwein (18:40) and Xander Pacini (18:44), and junior Riley Nichols (18:57) came through in a tight pack for 39^th, 40^th and 41^st place to round out the scoring.

The Boys JV were equally impressive, finishing 2^nd only to the varsity team from Eaglecrest High School. Junior Jack Beardsheer ran a 19:02 for 4^th place, while 7^th place went to senior Eden Scott in 19:09. Juniors Ballard Kauffman (19:29) and Kristian Laird (19:58) and sophomore Gus Trautwein (20:39) made up the balance of scorers for East in 12^th, 19^th, and 37^th.

This week will bring the North Viking Invitational – a true cross country experience over the rolling hills of the Willis Case Golf Course. Then over the weekend a select group will travel to Lawrence, Kansas for the Rim Rock Invitational against some of the best competition in the Midwest while most of the rest of the team will travel to the Pat Patten Invitational in Boulder.

This week’s alumni update: Harrison Scudamore (class of ’18) made his collegiate debut at the Iona Meet of Champions, finishing in 21^st place and helping the Columbia University Lions to a 2^nd place finish behind only the University of Indiana in the 12 team field. Meanwhile, Nikita Cordier (class of ’16), running for Metro State, raced to a 54^th place finish at the Mountain-Cowboy Open in Gunnison, CO.