Another warm August day greeted the East Angels at deKoevend Park on Friday afternoon as they gathered for the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational. This would be another very competitive meet with nearly 2000 athletes divided among three divisions of racing. Full results.

Those underclassmen not running varsity get their own race at this meet, and this can be a real opportunity to highlight a team’s 9^th and 10^th grade talent. For the Angels, sophomore Zach Smiles led the way for the boys, posting a second personal best for 5000m in as many weeks despite the challenging conditions, taking 79^th of over 300 runners in 20:50. Freshmen Weston Dodson (91^st, 21:27) and Vincent Newland (93^rd, 21:29) and sophomores Zivi Shiroff (107^th, 21:50) and Jackson Ruedi (110^th, 21:52) made up the rest of the scoring five for the Angels who totaled 466 points for 18^th place of 24 scored teams. With two ninth graders in the top-20 for the Angels, the Denver East girls were even more impressive, with Lila Brown taking 17^th in 22:07 and Ainsley Mohr grabbing 20^th in 22:14. Their classmate Emma Maldonado-Ramos crossed in 24:32 for 62^nd, followed by sophomores Grey Jensen (66^th, 24:57) and Abby Forsberg (71^st, 25:04). The Frosh/Soph girls totaled 216 points for 9^th place of 18 scored teams.

Having held on to a couple cards the week before, the Angels played their aces in the varsity races at Arapahoe. The boys were led by senior captain Jonas Scudamore (3^rd, 16:09) and junior Henry Bennett (17^th, 17:04) making strong seasonal debuts. Sophomore Emery Wagner looks stronger by the week, and finished 58^th in 18:04, followed by junior Abraham Morginsky (90^th, 19:09) and senior Tobias Penner (92^nd, 19:11). Jackson Gertge (120^th, 19:49) and Alexandros Mays (146^th, 20:43) made up the rest of the boys varsity, who finished 9^th of 28 scored teams with 245 points.

Senior captain and defending state champion Rosie Mucharsky picked up where she had left off, crushing what remaining competition she had over the final mile for a 38 second victory in 17:52, the fourth fastest time ever run on this course. Mucharsky was backed up by junior Julieta Ochoa, finishing 20^th in 20:07, sophomore Avery Johnson (25^th, 20:19), and junior Scout Chomas (32^nd, 20:47).  Sophomore Lola Carhart rounded out the scoring for the Angels with her 52^nd place 21:45 run, followed by junior Mary Clare Nussbaum (56^th, 21:49) and ninth grader Paola Ochoa (79^th, 22:20). Colorado 5A #10 ranked Denver East totaled 129 points for 4^th place, finishing only behind three teams also ranked in the top-10 in the state.

The meet was capped off by the Junior/Senior Open race. Highlights for the Angels in the boys’ race included the seasonal debuts of juniors Micah Gallantz who finished 12^th in 19:30 and Kyle Kojima who finished 19^th in 20:03. Junior Alex Wilkerson looked like a potential future varsity contributor with his 38^th place finish in 20:49. Juniors Tomas Cole (67^th, 22:31) and Caleb Smiles (69^th, 22:34) made up the remainder of the scored boys, who totaled 157 points for 8^th place. Junior Meara McBride led the East Junior/Senior girls in 24:09 for 28^th place, followed closely by her classmates Helen Love (29^th, 24:18) and Daniela Maldonado-Ramos (37^th, 24:44). Seniors Yelena Konowal (41^st, 24:52) and captain Rae Tatel (45^th 25:07) rounded out the scoring for girls who had 139 points for 5^th place.

Much of the Angels varsity will take next week off from racing as they get ready for the toughest stretch of the invitational season. The rest of the team will get to take on the Thornton Invitational, a traditional meet for the Angels appearing a month earlier than we are accustomed. Unlike the last two races, the Thornton Invitational is generally a meet that will deliver some fast times – so something for which our athletes should look forward.

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, September 3 – All day fundraiser at Mici Italian on 7th and Colorado. Be sure to mention you are with East Cross Country and use code GIVEBACK when ordering online.

Wednesday, September 4 – Athlete Potluck at Toby Penner’s, 2380 Fairfax. 6:00pm – 8:00pm.