The Invitational season concluded at the Pat Patten Invitational at Viele Lake in Boulder, adjacent to Coach Kohuth’s alma mater, Fairview High School. The views of the Flatirons on Saturday were better than fair, as were many of Denver East’s performances on the rolling, multi-surface course, which was slick and muddy in places following the thunderstorms from the day before. 

All of East’s teams have been somewhat depleted due to apparent viral illnesses the last couple of weeks, none more so than the Boys Varsity who have also run the last two weeks without their usual low stick, Corbin Hobert, who has been out with a stress fracture. East underclassmen Jonas Scudamore and Henry Bennett seem to have dodged the worst of whatever virus has plagued the team thus far, as sophomore Scudamore led the Angels for the second consecutive week with his 20^th place 16:38 finish and freshman Bennett had one of his best races of the season in 16:57 for 34^th place. Senior Quinn Higgins held on for 39^th in 17:04, while his classmate Ben Hopper, looking stronger every week, ran 18:13 for 86^th. Junior Kai Luna finished the scoring for the Angels with his 95^th place finish in 18:30. Seniors Charlie Keglovitz (126^th, 19:53) and Garrett Johnson (129^th, 20:12) finished in the 6 and 7 spots for the Angels, who settled for an 11^th place team finish. 

Sophomore Rosie Mucharsky looks to be rounding into strong post-season form as she moved up from 6^th place midway in the race to a 3^rd place finish in 19:04. Ninth grader Scout Chomas seems to improve week to week, finishing 39^th overall Saturday in 20:46, followed by juniors Sophia Shiroff (45^th, 20:52) and Sasha Bull (72^nd, 21:46). Another ninth grader exceeding expectations, Mary Clare Nussbaum, was right on Sasha’s heels with her 73^rd place, 21:46 performance. Sophomore Lila Cypers has quietly put together a really solid and consistent season for the Angels, at Pat Patten finishing 86^th in 22:02. Seniors Evelyn Higgins (94^th, 22:12) and Helen Miller (100^th, 22:19) were just a few strides back of Lila. Despite missing two of their usual top-7, the Varsity Girls managed a 7th place finish.

The youth of the Angels continued to impress in the Boys JV race. Sophomore Ben Brown led the team with his 19:05 run for 32^nd place. Ninth grader Abraham Morginsky continues to show substantial potential, finishing 39^th in 19:25. Junior Finn Egan was 47^th in 19:47, followed by a pair of additional freshmen, Isaiah Springer (48^th, 19:49) and Kyle Kojima (56^th, 20:01). These performances added up to a 6^th place team finish for the Angel JV Boys.

The depth of the JV Girls team has made them the most resilient, as they raced to a 4^th place team finish. Junior Avery Ash led the way for the JV girls with her 14^th place finish in 22:12. Senior Bri O’Meara and ninth grader Meara McBride were within a close distance of Ash the whole way, eventually finishing 16^th and 17^th in 22:27 and 22:34 respectively. More Angel ninth graders were in pursuit of that pack, with Quinn Dunkin finishing 28^th in 23:08 and Daniela Maldonado-Ramos finishing 50^th in 24:06. Senior Eleanor Goldstein stayed close to Maldonado-Ramos with her 55^th place 24:20 run. 

Having closed out the Invitational season, the Angels look ahead to the Championship season, grateful for a few extra days to heal before the DPS League Championships on Weds Oct 12. The Invitational season has shown that Denver East is ready to achieve all of its Championship season goals once firing again on all cylinders.