The twenty-six East Angels who made the trip to Lawrence, Kansas for the Rim Rock Farm Classic Invitational were greeted with what were probably the best conditions for the meet in many years – sunny skies, fair temperatures, and a dry course. Rim Rock Farm is Midwest cross country: grass, forest, soft surfaces, with a fair amount of vertical and a couple iconic covered bridges. The experience is worth the long drive.
Denver East Cross Country has a history of flexing its strength early in this meet in the JV Girls race, and this year was no exception. It was emphatic. The Angels scored a mere 26 points to win the meet; in fact had the other 15 teams combined to compete as a single team, the Angels would have come out ahead by five points. As the first mile was coming to a close, ninth-graders Lila Brown, Paola Ochoa and Ainslie Mohr were trailing three girls from the team that would eventually finish second. Over the next mile Brown moved up to second place while Ochoa and Mohr moved up to fourth and fifth. As the runners approached the most challenging hills at the beginning of the third mile, Brown took over first place, eventually winning in a time of 20:33, with Ochoa and Mohr taking 3rd and 4th respectively in 20:47 and 20:52. Meanwhile, fellow ninth-grader Emma Maldonado-Ramos, who was probably no further up than 50th place at the mile, moved her way through the field over the next two miles to finish a very impressive 6th in 21:34, while sophomore Grey Jenson employed a similar strategy to take 14th in 22:23. Senior Rae Tatel moved her way up to grab a spot on the awards stand with her 25th place finish in 23:01. Junior Daniela Maldonado-Ramos took 54th of 190 runners in 24:07.
In the Boys JV race, juniors Abraham Morginsky, Kyle Kojima, and Mason Harper led the Angels to a 5th place finish of 26 teams. Morginsky had arguably the best race of his career, moving up to 11th place in a time of 17:55. Kojima is getting stronger with each week, and on Saturday finished 17th in 18:32, while Harper closed well to take 24th in 18:48. Junior Alexandros Mays took 36th in 19:27, and sophomore Zachary Smiles closed out the scoring in 89th in 20:41.
The Girls Varsity race was loaded up front with girls who will compete for some of the top collegiate programs in the country in the coming years. Of these, Denver East senior Rosie Mucharsky finished 5th in 18:05. The rest of the girls team employed a strategy of running the first mile way back in the pack and moving their way up, which for the most part worked out well. Sophomore Corrine Kennedy finished just off the top-25 podium with her 27th place finish in 19:24. Juniors Julieta Ochoa and Scout Chomas were next across the line for the Angels, finishing 45th and 50th in 19:39 and 19:48. Sophomore Lola Carhart continues to close the gap between herself and these teammates, on Saturday finishing 60th in 20:01. Junior Mary Clare Nussbaum finished 110th in 21:09. The Angels were 2nd of 26 teams, finishing only behind the top ranked team in the state of Nebraska. (Last year the Angels were 2nd to the top team from Kansas – a team that eventually qualified for Nike Nationals).
The Boys Varsity race was the last for the Angels on Saturday. Senior Jonas Scudamore posted a slightly faster time than the year before on his way to an 8th place finish in 15:49. Junior Henry Bennett ran to a 56th place finish in 16:48, with senior Ben Brown (66th) and junior Isaiah Springer (71st) not far back in 16:56 and 16:58. Toby Penner closed out the scoring for the Angels with his 156th place finish in 18:01, followed by juniors Jackson Gertge (18:44) and Micah Gallantz (19:01) in 174th and 178th respectively. The Angels scored 346 points to take 14th of 27 teams.
For these runners, the trip to Kansas marked the end of the invitational season as the teams prepare for the City League Championship, Regional Championship and State Meet. The remainder of the team is wrapping up the invitational season at the Pat Amato Invitational races this week and then will also focus on the City League Meet on October 16.
Volunteer at Hot Chocolate Race
Use this link to sign-up to volunteer if interested: Hot Chocolate Run
Denver East High XC 