Not everyone loves the Liberty Bell Invitational. More road race than cross country, the emphasis on times chafes some cross country purists. But the runners always seem to have fun with the fast times, so the Angels return every year, and Liberty Bell delivers as promised.

In a morning full of races, the Varsity Sweepstakes races are the first to take the course; the Sweepstakes Division is for those teams and individuals ranked near the top-10 in their classification at state regardless of school size, while the rest of the day’s races are divided by school size. Senior Jonas Scudamore was the first off the line for the Angels, running with a large lead pack through the first mile in the low 4:40’s. There was only minimal separation through the second mile, with the race stringing out a bit only over the last half mile. Scudamore crossed the line in 10^th place in 15:06, a personal best performance that moved him up to #2 all time for East runners in races run in Colorado (altitude).

The front of the Girls Varsity Sweepstakes played out similarly, with a large pack of girls setting a sizzling fast pace early. Senior Rosie Mucharsky knocked additional time off her school record by the finish, crossing in ninth in 17:21. The next four girls for the Angels all ran personal bests that placed them among the top-10 performers all-time for Denver East High School. The pack of sophomore Corrine Kennedy (18:56), sophomore Avery Johnson (18:58), and junior Julieta Ochoa (19:00) came across in 57^th, 58^th, and 59^th, with junior Scout Chomas back only a handful of seconds in 19:09 for 73^rd. Together these first 5 totaled 243 points, a score identical to that of meet host Heritage High School, ranked #8 statewide ahead of the #9 ranked Angels. So, 7^th place in the Sweepstakes Division was to be settled by the strength of each squad’s 6^th runner. East sophomore Lola Carhart claimed 101^st place in a personal best 19:41, 13 places and 22 seconds ahead of Heritage’s 6^th runner, securing 7^th place for East. Had it come down to the 7^th runner, the Angels were winning there too, with junior Mary Clare Nussbaum finishing in 111^th in a personal best 20:01. Of the six teams ahead of the Angels, five are nationally ranked, including US #1 and US #2.

The Boys Varsity D1 race got started just as the Sweepstakes Girls were finishing. Junior Henry Bennett moved himself up into the top-10 runners in the race by the 2-mile mark and secured 10^th place with a personal best 16:06, a time that moves him up to #9 among all East runners in races run in Colorado. Junior Isaiah Springer had a breakthrough run, dropping a 16:35 for a massive personal best and 24^th place. Senior Ben Brown crushed what had been the elusive sub-17 barrier running 16:49 for 39^th. Sophomore Emery Wagner also broke 17 minutes for the first time, running 16:59 for 48^th. Junior Toby Penner took 85^th in 17:50, while his classmate Micah Gallantz seemed to adjust just fine to varsity, clocking a personal best 18:02 for 94^th. Junior Abraham Morginsky took 136^th in 18:53. The East Angels took 7^th of 22 teams in their division. Had Scudamore joined his teammates in that race, the Angels would have won the D1 team title; had his teammates joined him in the Sweepstakes race, the Angels would have taken down a half dozen of the 23 schools assigned to that division.

The first five across the line for the Angels in the Girls Sweepstakes JV race all ran personal bests. As has been the way for the first half of the season, the Girls JV were led by ninth graders. Lila Brown led the way with her 20:25 for 20^th, followed by Ainslie Mohr in 20:49 in 32^nd and Emma Maldonado-Ramos in 22:07 for 69^th. Senior Rae Tatel took 70^th in 22:15, while sophomore Grey Jenson continued to establish herself as a top JV runner with her 22:58 for 88^th. Juniors Daniela Maldonado-Ramos and Abby Forsberg took 90^th and 102^nd respectively in 23:04 and 23:35. The Angels were 11^th of 22 teams in their division.

The JV Boys raced to an impressive 2^nd place finish in the D1 Boys Division. They were led by four juniors who all ran under 19 minutes. Jack Gertge led the Angels in a personal best 18:17 for 9^th place, followed by Kyle Kojima (15^th, 18:28), Mason Harper (16^th, 18:30pb), and Alexandros Mays (24^th, 18:45pb). Freshman Tre Even continues to take chunks of time off his personal best, posting 19:38 for 54^th on Saturday. Junior Alex Wilkerson (71^st, 20:00) and sophomore Jackson Ruedi (87^th, 20:32) also ran career best times.

There were many, many personal bests run among the East Angel runners competing in the Open Division. Among the highlights for the boys, included the debut of junior Sebastian Rodriguez, who only recently turned in his cleats for running shoes. He dropped a 19:09 on his way to a 9^th place finish in his race. Sophomore Zivi Shiroff dropped more than 40 seconds from his personal best, running 20:47 for 18^th place. For the girls, senior Yelena Konowal improved on her personal best by nearly a minute, running 23:09 for 35^th place, while seniors Franny Hebbard and Campbell Hefty ran 24:19 and 25:07 respectively and ninth graders Imogen Nemitz and Audrey Hinshaw ran 25:21 and 25:22.

The Angels will again skip the upcoming DPS meet, the North Viking Invitational, in favor of focusing on the St. Vrain Invitational. The St. Vrain course resembles the state meet course more than any other on East’s schedule and gives the Angels another chance to compete against the best teams in the state and country.