While parents and coaches struggled to stay warm, East Angel runners strolled from the finish line inside Dick Sporting Goods Stadium to the team tent with big smiles across their faces. Cool temperatures and a flat course over the roads and sidewalks surrounding the stadium translated to big personal best times for every athlete who raced at the Northfield Nighthawk Invitational on Friday night.

Girls JV were the first to assemble in the parking lot east of the stadium for the start of their race. As has been the case all season, sophomore Laura Romero led the way for the Angels with a blazing time of 19:04. In all, six Angel girls finished in the top 8 in the JV race, with sophomore Maya Nussbaumer finishing third in 20:42, ninth grader Ellison Mucharsky-O’Boyle finishing fifth in 20:58, and sophomores Grace Burnett, Grace O’Meara, and Claire Ely finishing in 6^th, 7^th and 8^th in 21:09, 21:16 and 21:18. East totaled a mere 22 points in the race, 25 points ahead of 2^nd place Golden High School.

The Boys JV team finished 4^th of 11 teams in their division. Ninth grader Jack Kriekels ran his best race of the season finishing in 9^th in 18:30, while senior Jack Thompson finished 12^th in 18:44. Four other Angels in the race broke the 20 minute barrier: sophomore Jacob Silverman (20^th, 19:10), junior Stephen Evans (23^rd, 19:18), ninth grader Allen Harder (26^th, 19:21), and sophomore James Johnson (31^st, 19:40).

Senior Lilly Cory led the Girls Varsity this week by landing a huge personal best with her 8^th place finish in 19:18. She was followed by sophomores AlanaMarie Barros in 13^th (19:41), Maya Winfield in 14^th (19:44) and Julia Schor in 17^th  (20:06). Also through the finish line in under 21 minutes were junior Elena Thoman (19^th, 20:19), sophomore Lilia Scudamore (21^st, 20:25) and senior Emily Turner (28^th, 20:50). Together their finishes were good enough for 3^rd place in the Varsity division.

Boys Varsity finished 4^th of 13 teams in their division led by the 4^th place finish of Asher Hoyt in 16:10.  Fellow junior Jack Beardshear hung on for a 21^st place finish in 17:31, followed by 28^th and 31^st place finishes from Ian Trautwein and Xander Pacini in 17:42 and 17:49 respectively. Junior Riley Nickols was just behind his teammates in 32^nd place (17:54) and ninth grader Eamon Nussbaum finished 39^th in 18:11.

The following day, a select group of JV runners competed at the Emma Coburn Elk Run 5K in Crested Butte. It was a beautiful crisp fall morning for the athletes as they took on the competition and the challenge of running at over 8800 feet. Despite the added elevation, Ballard Kauffman managed a personal record for 5K in leading the boys. He was followed by Kristian Laird, Eden Scott, Cyrus Jenkins-Nieto, Gus Trautwein, and Taylor Lucas. For the Girls, ninth grader Grace Chambers and junior Ellie McWhirter each cracked the top-10, finishing in 7^th and 10^th respectively. They were followed by Annabel Filippini, Sarah Hoffer, Alia Quinby and Isabella Garcia. The event included a pro/elite race division and a chance to meet world champion steeplechaser Emma Coburn, so overall a special event in a special place to which the Angels hope to have a chance to return.

This marks the end of the invitational season. For most Angel runners, the season ends on October 9^th at the DPS League Championships at City Park – East aims to sweep all four team divisions for the first time since 2015. We need many parent volunteers to successfully host this event. You can sign up here. (And remember to come by Illegal Petes for dinner after!)

Varsity will compete at the 5A Region 3 Championship on October 18 at Lyons High School. State meet will be held in Colorado Springs on October 27.