Pat Amato Invitational Recap, Practice Next Week, Chipotle Fund Raiser Tuesday

Posted on October 5, 2024 by easthighxc

The East Angels closed out their invitational this week at the Pat Amato Invitational in Northglenn. The meet was a great opportunity to earn new personal bests at 5000m.

On Tuesday the 9^th and 10^th graders competed in races of their own. On the boys’ side, freshman Tre Even highlighted East performances, breaking 19 minutes for the first time with his 18:59 for 26^th. Freshman Finley Knight (20:39), sophomore Brady Cooper (20:43), and freshman Weston Dodson (20:47) all recorded personal bests with their 58^th, 59^th, and 60^th place finishes. Sophomore Jackson Ruedi closed out the scoring for the Angels with his 61^st place finish in 20:50. The East boys finished 7^th place overall as a team.

The 9^th/10^th grade East Girls were led by sophomore Abby Forsberg who took 26^th in 23:46. She was followed by classmates Addy Everhart (24:15 pb) and Medea Gregory (24:35) in 33^rd and 38^th. Ninth grader Audrey Hinshaw ran a personal best 25:14 for 47^th and sophomore Pearl Bussard closed out the scoring for the Angels in 25:29 for 51^st place. The Angels were 6^th as a team.

On Friday, a contingent of junior and senior JV runners made the trip to compete in Northglenn where they faced many the best varsity runners from our league and region. Senior Yelena Konowal led the Angels in the varsity race, running 24:09 for 182^nd. Seniors Grace Taub ran 25:19 for 203^rd, Franny Hebbard 25:44 for 213^th, Campbell Hefty 26:44 for 231^st, and junior Audrey Flege 27:58 for 242^nd. For the boys it was Tomas Cole leading the way with his 224^th place finish in 20:15. He was followed by Alex Wilkerson (235^th, 20:44), Asano Falcon (248^th, 21:32), Caleb Smiles (256^th, 21:52) and Hutton Zimmerman (263^rd, 23:20). The JV Girls were led by Ivy Parish who won the race in 20:06. Clara Taub ran 28:02 for 126^th, Olivia Homlar 28:17 for 132^nd, Victoria Bull 28:17 for 133^rd, and Lucia Artley 29:28 for 147^th. The Boys JV were represented by Dylan Patterson, who ran 22:28 (a 2-minute personal best), and Konrad Rono, who ran 26:25 (a 90 second personal best, and nearly 11 minutes faster than his first race for the season).

Chipotle Fund Raiser – Tuesday, October 8, 4p-8p. Instead of a potluck this week, athletes may picnic together on the south lawn at East High School after purchasing their dinner at Chipotle on Tuesday. Show this flier or use the code VV2LPVJ if ordering online.

Practices during Testing Week and Fall Break – this is one of the most important weeks of the season as we prepare for our League Meet and beyond. As indicated below, for some workouts we expect athletes to complete the workout on their own or to make plans to get together with their teammates on the days we do not have official practice. Fall break workouts are listed below. Please talk to your coaches at the beginning of the week to clarify any questions about the workouts or if you will miss official practice.

Saturday 10/5 – 30-50 minute recovery run on your own; strides

Monday 10/7 – 1pm practice at City Park

Tuesday 10/8 – 1pm and 4pm practice at City Park (attend one practice); Chipotle Fund Raiser 4p-8p.

Wednesday 10/9 – 4pm practice at City Park

Thursday 10/10 – 4pm practice at City Park

Friday 10/11 – No official practice. Workout: following warm-up and 10 minutes of running, 6-8 x 400m with 2 – 2.5 minutes jogging recovery in between; or “fartlek run” with 90 seconds running fast (at 5K race pace) followed by 2.5 minutes of running easy. Repeat this for a total of 6-8 times. 10 minute cool down run.

Saturday 10/12 – No official practice. Maintenance run of 30-45 minutes plus 4 x 20 second strides.

Monday 10/14 – No official practice. Following standard warm-up and 10 minutes of easy running, 4 x 200m slightly faster than 5K race pace, but no faster than mile race pace effort. 200m jog recovery or 90 seconds recovery. Or, run this as a fartlek: 30 seconds fast, 90 seconds easy, 4 times. Athletes who raced at Kansas should do a second set of four after a 5 minute recovery for a total of eight 200’s or eight 30 second surges. 5-10 minute cool down run.

Tuesday 10/15 – 4pm practice at City Park. Premeet.

Wednesday 10/16 – City League Championship at City Park. We need volunteers! Please see previous post. Fund Raiser and Post-Meet Celebration at Atomic Cowboy (Fat Sully’s, Denver Biscuit Company) following the meet. Follow website for details.

Rim Rock Classic Invitational Recap – 2024

Posted on October 4, 2024 by easthighxc

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 3^rd and 4^th respectively in 20:47 and 20:52. Meanwhile, fellow ninth-grader Emma Maldonado-Ramos, who was probably no further up than 50^th place at the mile, moved her way through the field over the next two miles to finish a very impressive 6^th in 21:34, while sophomore Grey Jenson employed a similar strategy to take 14^th in 22:23. Senior Rae Tatel moved her way up to grab a spot on the awards stand with her 25^th place finish in 23:01. Junior Daniela Maldonado-Ramos took 54^th of 190 runners in 24:07.

In the Boys JV race, juniors Abraham Morginsky, Kyle Kojima, and Mason Harper led the Angels to a 5^th place finish of 26 teams. Morginsky had arguably the best race of his career, moving up to 11^th place in a time of 17:55. Kojima is getting stronger with each week, and on Saturday finished 17^th in 18:32, while Harper closed well to take 24^th in 18:48. Junior Alexandros Mays took 36^th in 19:27, and sophomore Zachary Smiles closed out the scoring in 89^th 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 5^th 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 27^th place finish in 19:24. Juniors Julieta Ochoa and Scout Chomas were next across the line for the Angels, finishing 45^th and 50^th in 19:39 and 19:48. Sophomore Lola Carhart continues to close the gap between herself and these teammates, on Saturday finishing 60^th in 20:01. Junior Mary Clare Nussbaum finished 110^th in 21:09. The Angels were 2^nd of 26 teams, finishing only behind the top ranked team in the state of Nebraska. (Last year the Angels were 2^nd 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 8^th place finish in 15:49. Junior Henry Bennett ran to a 56^th place finish in 16:48, with senior Ben Brown (66^th) and junior Isaiah Springer (71^st) not far back in 16:56 and 16:58. Toby Penner closed out the scoring for the Angels with his 156^th place finish in 18:01, followed by juniors Jackson Gertge (18:44) and Micah Gallantz (19:01) in 174^th and 178^th respectively. The Angels scored 346 points to take 14^th 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

No Team Photos Tomorrow, just the last Athlete Potluck

Posted on October 2, 2024 by easthighxc

Potluck tomorrow at 6pm at 2224 Fairfax Street. Mental Skills Training tomorrow at 3:30pm.

Team Photos Tomorrow, Thursday, October 3

Posted on October 2, 2024 by easthighxc

A message from our photographer:

Hey Angel Cross Country Team,

Get ready to race into our photo session this coming Thursday! We’re excited to capture your spirit on the course.

📅 Date: Thursday, October 3rd

🕒 Time: After School

📍 Location: South Side of School

Pre-orders only! Athletes can instantly preview their poses at the photoshoot, ensuring you get the perfect shot. A gallery link with download information will be sent to your provided email address once available.

Bring your running spirit, show off your stride, and let’s make these moments unforgettable!

Pre-order here: https://form.jotform.com/waidophoto/24-25-angels-xc-media-day

Got questions? Reach out to me at tommy@waidophotography.com or (970) 402-4426.

Best strides,

Tommy Joe Waido

Waido Photography

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