It was a busy and exhausting week for the Angels who competed in three meets in two states, and managed a lot of disruptions to normal routines.

On the course, the Angels first competed on Tuesday at the North Viking Invitational on the Case Willis Golf Course. The East coaches really like this course – a true cross country course that is 100% grass with challenging hills. They like it so much they have generally brought athletes to workout there even if the plan was not to race – which was the case for most of the athletes racing varsity. Senior Ben Hopper ran the strongest workout of the boys team, while ninth grader Abraham Morginsky was a highlight for the Angels with his 50th place finish in 21:06 – the 4th best finish of any freshman in the race. Junior Anna Rothman-Haji ran the best race of the East Girls with a 23:04 for 17th place. The Denver East Girls really flexed their depth in the JV Girls race, where they finished 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 7^th and 20^th, giving them an easy team win. Senior Eleanor Goldstein (24:46) led the way for the Angels, followed by ninth grader Daniela Maldonado-Ramos (25:08) and a trio of sophomores: Ella Terch (25:36), Grace Taub (26:10), and Yelena Konowal (27:30). The JV Boys were led by sophomore Donovan Aggeler (21:27), freshman Mason Harper (21:33), and sophomore Noah Shurz (21:39) with 8^th, 9^th and 10^th place finishes, followed by juniors Carson Lerner (22:29) and Linus Cole (23:08) in 19^th and 28^th respectively. The team’s 67 points was good enough for 2^nd place of 13 teams.

Over the weekend, the Angel Varsity and JV1 teams took the long drive across the eastern half of our fine state and nearly the entire length of Kansas to get to the Rim Rock Farm Invitational. University of Kansas’s Rim Rock Farm cross country course is one of the most iconic in the nation, and the Angels were thrilled to return for the first time since 2019. The meet attracts 300 schools from seven states, with the Angels competing in the prestigious Gold Division. JV raced Friday evening under nearly perfect overcast conditions. The course is a challenging one, with the worst of the hills–Cemetery Hill– coming 2.5 miles into the race. The East JV Girls were not the most aggressive team off the starting line, but by the time they had crested Cemetery Hill, they had buried their competition. Sophomore Lila Cypers led the charge kicking to a 3^rd place finish in 21:30. Ninth grader Mary Clare Nussbaum covered the course in 21:44 for 5^th place, followed closely by junior Avery Ash (21:46) and senior Helen Miller (21:28) in 6^th and 7^th. Senior Bri O’Meara closed out the scoring for Angels with her 10^th place finish in 22:04. The Angels scored a mere 31 points for a dominating win.

Junior Kai Luna steadily moved his way up through the top-10 runners in the Boys JV race, competing for the win in the final straight away, eventually coming a mere 3 tenths of a second short of the win with his 2^nd place 17:36.6 finish. Seniors Garrett Johnson (18:08) and Charlie Keglovitz (18:27) both cracked the top-25 with their 9^th and 19^th place finishes respectively. Sophomore Ben Brown crossed the finish in 18:46 for 27^th, junior Finn Egan 37^th in 19:05 and sophomore Finley Steed in 19:23 for 51^st. The Angels totaled 85 points for 3^rd place – the best finish for an East Boys JV team at this meet. 

The Angels returned to the Farm on Saturday for the Varsity races. The East Girls would once again be led by sophomore Rosie Mucharsky who stuck with the lead pack for an 8^th place finish in 19:11. Junior Sophia Shiroff finished 32^nd in 20:16, followed closely by ninth graders Scout Chomas (38^th, 20:23) and the late charging Julieta Ochoa (52^nd, 20:37). Junior Sasha Bull closed out the scoring with her 58^th place finish in 20:49, followed by ninth grader Kairine Brown (93^rd, 21:41) and Evelyn Higgins (95^th, 21:45). The Angel Varsity Girls made the podium for the first time at this meet with a 3^rd place finish of 22 of the best teams from the Heartland. 

Sophomore Jonas Scudamore led the Varsity Boys for the first time in his career, breaking into the top-25 of all finishers with his 23^rd place finish in 16:29. Senior Quinn Higgins was just a handful of seconds back with his 30^th place finish in 16:37. Freshman Henry Bennett moved up to 59^th in 17:06, senior Ian Logan held on to 77^th in 17:19, and junior Connor Beardsley rounded out the top-5 Angels with his 89^th place finish in 17:26, followed closely by seniors Harry Hittle in 93^rd and 17:28, and Ben Hopper in 95^th and 17:31. The Boys varsity finished a solid, if somewhat humbling, 11^th of 25 teams in the Gold Division. 

As things were finishing up in Kansas, the Angels remaining in Colorado were taking the course at the Northfield Nighthawk Invitational. In the Varsity Girls race, the athletes that had powered the JV teams at the North Viking Invite on Tuesday paced the varsity teams on Saturday. For the Girls, it was senior Eleanor Goldstein to be first across the line for the Angels with her 24:29, 51^st place finish. Daniela Maldonado-Ramos was 56^th in 24:47, Grace Taub 58^th in 24:54, senior Siena Berry 62^nd in 25:12, and sophomores Yelena Konowal 70^th and Rae Tatel 91^st in 25:56 and 27:54 respectively. Abraham Morginsky led the Varsity Boys in 20:02 for 41^st, with Noah Shurz (20:24) 51^st, Mason Harper (20:40) 55^th, and sophomore Ben Parish (21:02) and Donovan Aggeler (21:08) 70^th and 71^st. The Angel Boys took 10^th of 16 schools and the Girls 9^th of 12 schools –  East’s JV2 teams holding their own in varsity competition. The remaining JV runners finished even better as teams in the Open Division, with the Boy taking 6^th of 11 teams and the Girls 4^th of 8 teams. Scoring for the Boys were Linus Cole (20^th, 21:30), freshman Jonathan Martin (27^th, 22:04), junior Isaac Ely (34^th, 22:14), and freshmen Cash Griffin (41^st, 22:31) and Ved Mohare (46^th, 22:53). For the Girls it was junior Emma Pieracci (24^th, 26:25), ninth grader Thea Shaff (38^th, 27:57), senior Lillian McGlothlen (47^th, 28:58), ninth grader Liza Cathey (51^st, 29:22) and sophomore Lucia Artley (53^rd, 29:38).

Since the Washington Park Invitational a month ago, the Angels have run a gauntlet of incredibly competitive meets against State and Nationally ranked teams weekly, while the JV has been asked to race at the varsity level at smaller meets three times in the last two weeks. The Invitational season concludes for the Angels on Saturday at the Pat Patten Invitational in Boulder (Viele Lake Park). The level of competition does not let up – of the 22 teams competing, the majority are ranked in the top-10 of their respective divisions in Colorado, including a couple nationally ranked teams. The Angels approach the season with the philosophy that tough competition forges tough competitors, and that this relentlessly challenging invitational schedule will prepare the team for the Championship season – a mere 2 weeks away!