Arapahoe Warrior Invitational

Everyone crossed the finish line soaking wet at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitation – more from profuse sweating in the 90-degree heat than from the two water crossings. It was a challenging day to run 5000m on a course that offered quite a bit more resistance than the week before, and many Angels rose to the occasion.

The Arapahoe Invite offers a Frosh/Soph division for the younger runners to show their stuff, and those races went off first. In the Boys race of over 300 runners, freshman Toby Penner and sophomore Finley Steed ran together nearly the entire way, moving up nicely in the second half to take 21^st and 24^th in times of 19:26 and 19:27. Freshman Abraham Morginsky was next across the line for the Angels in 20:04 for 36th, followed by sophomore Ben Brown (20:22) in 42^nd, while freshman Mason Harper (20:38) rounded out the scoring in 51^st. Fellow freshman Isaiah Springer joined his teammates in breaking 21 minutes with a time of 20:47 for 58^th.  The East Frosh/Soph boys finished 5^th overall of 23 scored teams.

In the Girls race that followed, ninth grader Julieta Ochoa cracked the 22-minute barrier with a time of 21:59 for 13^th place. Fellow ninth graders Mary Clare Nussbaum and Meara McBride overcame the heat to finish 23^rd and 28^th with times of 23:06 and 23:14. The sophomore sister duo of Grace Taub and Clara Taub rounded out the scoring with 64^th and 70^th place finishes of the 298 runners in 24:59 and 25:09, helping the Angels secure another 5^th place finish of the 24 scored teams. 

In the Boys Varsity race, seniors Corbin Hobert and Quinn Higgins got out with the lead group with sophomore Jonas Scudamore just a little bit back. Hobert would go on to a strong 6^th place finish in 16:36, while Scudamore (16:59) moved up to 15^th and Higgins (17:13) held on to 20^th.  Freshman Henry Bennett moved up throughout the race to secure 33^rd in 17:25, while senior Harry Hittle kicked to a 46^th place finish in 17:50.  Juniors Kai Luna (18:17) and Connor Beardsley (18:25) were 69^th and 77^th respectively of the 235 runners. The Angels were 4^th of 33 teams with 120 points, just a few points back of 3^rd place Fossil Ridge (111 points) and 2^nd place Heritage High School (109 points). First place Rock Canyon was impressive with just 54 points. 

In the Girls Varsity race, sophomore Rosie Mucharsky stuck with the second of the two lead packs to eventually race to a 10^th place finish in 19:30. Juniors Grace Todd and Sophia Shiroff again raced close together through most of the race, moving up to 27^th and 31^st respectively in 20:24 and 20:36.  Ninth grade Scout Chomas had a second great race in 22:04 for 70^th with junior Sasha Bull taking 77^th in 22:15 to round out the scoring. Sophomore Lila Cypers (22:40) and ninth grader Kairine Brown (22:53) were 85^th and 93^rd of the 193 varsity runners. The Angels were 6^th of 23 scored teams with 205 points, with nationally ranked Cherry Creek and Arapahoe High Schools taking 1^st and 2^nd in the team scoring. 

Senior Ben Hopper ran smartly from the back of the lead pack to eventually grab 4^th place in the Junior/Senior Open race in 18:29. Fellow senior Charlie Keglovitz fought for a 19^th place finish followed closely by junior Finn Egan in 20^th with identical times of 19:42. Juniors Carson Lerner (63^rd, 21:26) and Merle Hezel (92^nd, 23:13) rounded out the scoring for the Open Boys, who finished 7^th of 13 teams.  

Junior Anna Rothman-Haji opened up her season impressively with an 8^th place finish in the Girls Junior/Senior Open race and a time of 22:37. Fellow Junior Avery Ash moved up throughout her race to grab 9^th place in 22:55. Seniors Helen Miller (15^th, 23:29), Ellie Goldstein (39^th, 25:14), and Siena Berry (49^th, 26:11) made up the rest of East’s scoring five. The Junior/Senior Girls had East’s best overall team finish of the afternoon, finishing 3^rd of 11 teams. 

While the temperature may recede a bit by next Saturday morning, the competition will continue to heat up. The Liberty Bell Invitational is always one of the most competitive meets of the year with multiple nationally ranked teams entered in both the Boys and Girls divisions. Additionally, the net downhill course runs mostly on roads and is sure to produce some very fast times. 

Fill listing of Arapahoe Results: https://co.milesplit.com/meets/470645-arapahoe-warrior-xc-invitational-2022/results#.YxOLrXbMLDc

Team Potluck Success!
Thanks to the Hobert Family for hosting the athlete potluck last week. It was clearly a huge success. Next week’s potluck is on Thursday, Sept 8 at Ian Logan’s home at 1360 S. Milwaukee.

NEW! Quarter zips now available.

We have lightweight quarter zip tops in a range of sizes and with the logo below available on our website. You can order yours here: https://2022-cross-country-store.cheddarup.com

VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS WELCOME

Thanks to everyone who has added pictures to our https://eastxc2022.shutterfly.com page. And thanks to all the parents who have signed up to help this season. If you are wondering how to jump in, check out our parent involvement link: https://easthighxc.com/about/parent-involvement/