During the next to last week of the Invitational season, the East Angels showed their stuff in three meets across two states.

On Tuesday the Angels flexed their muscle against DPS and Jefferson County competition at the North Viking Invitational on the hilly Case Willis Golf Course. The Varsity Girls took the win over 15 other schools by outlasting North 61-66 in what is a likely preview of the DPS Championship meet. Sophomore Abby Howard led the way again with a 9^th place finish in 21:38, followed by the tight packing of Anna Lucy Buddenhagen (21:44), Anna Marie Barros (21:50) and Lilly Cory (21:53) in 11^th, 12^th and 13^th. Lindsey Weyant would come across the finish line just a short time later in 22:00 for 16^th place to round out the scoring for the Angels. The Girls JV also came home as champions placing five girls in the top-15. Ninth grader Annabel Filippini conquered the hills with a 4^th place finish in 23:34. She was followed by junior Ellie McWhirter (24:01) in 7^th, and ninth graders Grace Chambers (24:22) in 11^th, Alia Quinby (24:59) in 13^th and Lily Najmulski (25:01) in 15^th.

The Boys ran to a 2^nd place finish in Varsity competition and 3^rd place in JV competition. Will Daley led the way for the Varsity Boys with a 2^nd place finish overall in 17:22 while fellow junior Asher Hoyt crossed in 6^th place in 17:43. Sophomores Ian Trautwein (30^th, 19:03) and Xander Pacini (32^nd, 19:12) came in right in front of junior teammate Riley Nickols (33^rd, 19:18). Junior Kristian Laird was the first Angel boy across the line in the JV Boys race with his 11^th place 20:51 finish. His classmate Ballard Kauffman finished in 18^th in 21:07, followed by sophomores Cyrus Jenkins-Nieto (23^rd, 21:24) and Gus Trautwein (32^nd, 21:53) and junior Taylor Lucas (33^rd, 21:53).

On Friday, the top East Angel JV girls took on some of the best JV teams from around the Midwest at the Rim Rock Invitational at Rim Rock Farm outside of Lawrence, Kansas. The girls came just 5 points from securing the JV title, falling short to Kansas’s Blue Valley West High School 41-46. As has been the case in nearly every JV meet, sophomore Laura Romero was the champion finishing in a time of 19:57. Nearly everyone behind her also ran season bests if not outright personal bests. Sophomores Julia Schor finished in 7^th in 21:02 and Lilia Scudamore in 11^th in 21:11. Senior Emily Turner was 13^th in 21:21 and sophomore Maya Nussbaumer was the final scorer, crossing the line in 18^th place at 21:28.

Perfect conditions for fast cross country running greeted the Varsity Teams at Rim Rock Farms on Saturday. The Girls Varsity would take to the course first. The Girls finished 11^th of 31 schools in the top division with teams competing from seven different states. Abby Howard dipped under the 20-minute barrier with a 19:55 run for 52^nd place. Fellow sophomore Alana Barros had her best race of the season with a time of 20:13 for 68^th place, followed by the fast closing senior Lilly Cory who clocked 20:16 for 72^nd place. Juniors Anna Lucy Buddenhagen  (83^rd, 20:25) and Lindsey Weyant (85^th, 20:27) closed out the scoring for the Angels.

Every runner on the Boys Varsity team ran a personal record for 5K as the team finished 29^th of 41 teams. Will Daley broke 16 minutes for the first time with his 15:50 finish for 10^th place. Asher Hoyt ran 16:30 for 45^th place, Ian Trautwein 17:46 for 204^th, junior Riley Nickols 17:52 for 210^th and 18:06 for 235^th.

Meanwhile, Coaches Fehrman and Miller took a group of runners to Boulder for a picture perfect day of running around Viele Lake. Running in the Varsity division, Annabel Filippini was the first Angel to cross the finish line, running 22:42 for 83^rd in the very competitive race. She was followed by Grace Chambers (86^th, 22:58), Ellie McWhirter (88^th, 23:06), Lily Najmulski (95^th, 23:34), sophomore Kerra Hendrickson (99^th, 23:44), and junior Sarah Hoffer (110^th, 23:48). In the Girls JV division, ninth graders Sara Abdulkadir (42^nd, 24:19) and Gemma Halller (47^th, 24:34) were the first across the line for the Angels. Xander Pacini was the lead runner for the Angels in the Boys Varsity race, finishing in 86^th place in 19:25. He as followed closely by senior Sam Crippen (90^th, 19:33), Ballard Kauffman (97^th, 19:45), senior Eden Scott (100^th, 19:59) and Kristian Laird (101^st, 20:00). Junior Teddy Hickenlooper led the JV Boys with a 92nd place finish in 20:58 followed by senior Jack Thompson (100^th, 21:05).

This week the Angels have the Northfield Invitational on Friday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. In addition, a select group of top JV runners are going to the first ever Emma Coburn Elk Run in Crested Butte on Saturday which should be a really special event. This is our last week of Invitationals before entering Championship Season. East hosts the DPS League Championships at City Park on October 9^th. Parents should look for a request for volunteers email coming soon as we prepare to host this event.