NW Open Spaces 5K XC PR Challenge

Coming off the North Viking Invitational on Tuesday, which the Angels had run as a workout, Denver East Cross Country arrived at the NW Open Spaces Park in Northglenn with milder weather and faced a flat course over mostly hard surfaces that promised a chance at some fast times against quality competition. This was a new meet on the schedule for East, hosted by regional rival Monarch High School, and while a relatively small affair, included many of the best programs from Boulder and Broomfield counties.  

The JV Boys took to the course first and quickly demonstrated the quality of depth the boys have this seaaon. Senior Jack Kriekels is finding his form after a prolonged layoff due to injury and led the Angels with a 4^th place finish in 18:47. Senior Allen Harder, also coming off injury, place 6^th in personal best 18:52, followed by classmate Charlie Kruger in 8^th in 19:05.  Junior Julio Dominguez-Perez place 12^th in 19:29, trailed by a trio of freshman: Finley Steed (18^th/19:58); Oliver Gustavson (21^st/20:15); and Emmit Barros (24^th/20:41pb). With a total of 48 points, the Angels edged out Fossil Ridge (51) and Fort Collins (55) for the JV team title.

The JV Girls were led by junior Evelyn Higgins who moved up nicely in the latter half of the race to finish 14^th in 23:14, followed closely by sophomore Anna Rothman-Haji who ran a personal best 23:15 for 15^th.  Senior Gemma Haller ran a seasonal best 23:52 for 29^th, sophomore Avery Ash a personal best 24:17 for 38^th, junior Clara Artley 24:28 for 41st, 9^th grader Ana Beam a big pr for 44^th in 24:35, and senior Clio Torbenson with a personal best 24:47 for 45^th. The JV Girls team finished 4^th overall behind Fossil Ridge, Monarch, and Fort Collins.

As they had at St. Vrain the week prior, the Varsity Boys hung back early and moved up through the field. Before the end of the first mile in fact, the entire Angels squad was trailing Boulder High School’s top-5 runners. Senior Eamon Nussbaum and junior Quinn Higgins moved their way up into the top-10, finishing 8^th and 8^th respectively in 17:04 and 17:07. Freshman Jonas Scudamore rallied late to grab 14^th in 17:32, giving the Angels a 3^rd runner ahead of Boulder’s 3^rd runner.  Senior David Anderson moved up the most places over the last 2 miles, taking 21^st in 17:43, while junior Ian Logan held on to 24^th place in 18:09. Junior Corbin Hobert took 27^th in his varsity debut in a huge personal best of 18:15. Juniors Ben Hopper and Charlie Keglovitz finished 31^st and 35^th in 18:19 and 18:38 respectively while sophomore Kai Luna was 36^th in 18:42.  The Boys finished 4^th with 76 points, just 3 points behind Fossil Ridge (who had beat East by 56 points just 3 weeks prior) and 8 points back of Boulder. Centaurus High School was impressive with just 49 points to take the win. 

East ninth grader Rosie Mucharsky went to the lead early and paced herself to an impressive 18:08 for the win in the Girls Varsity race – her third win of the season. Sophomore Grace Todd had one of her best races of the season, running 20:00 for the second time this year and placing 15^th. Classmate Sophia Shiroff hung on to a 27^th place finish in 20:55, with seniors Annabel Filippini and Ellison Mucharsky closing out the team scoring in 21:21 and and 21:22 for 36^th and 37^th. Junior Helen Miller moved up substantially over the last half of the race to finish 45^th in 21:52, sophomore Sasha Bull hung on to 48^th in 22:11, junior Bri O’Meara was 49^th in 22:16, junior Ellie Goldstein ran a personal best 22:43 for 53^rd, and 9^th grader Lila Cyper was 55^th in 23:02.  The Girls finished 5^th overall with 116 points, looking up at Fossil Ridge (41), Boulder (78), Monarch (90) and Broomfield (103).  

The Angels travel to the Thornton (Margaret Carpenter) Rec Center and Multipurpose Fields for the Thornton Invitational on Friday, October 1 – the last meet of the year before DPS League Championships on October 12.  The Thornton meet generally attracts a lot of teams to a course fairly similar to both the Northglenn meet run this past Friday and the Broomfield Commons Open Space park which hosted the Legacy Invite and will host Regionals for the Varsity teams competing to qualify for the State meet.