The East Angels made the long drive to Lawrence, Kansas the weekend before last for the Rim Rock Classic. The iconic University of Kansas course at Rim Rock Farm is different from any course in Colorado, featuring rolling hills, mowed prairie grass, two covered bridges, and the famous Cemetery Hill late in the third mile of the course. The Angels got to test themselves against some of the best teams from Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma. And in this year’s addition, the Angels had to test their metal against some serious heat and humidity as the day wore on.

In all the years Denver East has made the trip to Rim Rock, the JV Girls have always impressed – finishing no worse than second as a team and always with a couple girls among the top 3 individuals. This year was no different. It didn’t take long for the pair of ninth grader Tessa Fe Morris and sophomore Fiona Jeong to establish themselves in the lead. The former went on to win in 19:39 with the later right behind in 19:51 for 2nd. Ninth-grader Charlotte Clark kept the throttle on for the Angels with her 4th place finish in 20:33, and Ainslie Mohr added another top finish in 6^th in 20:45. Depth came from sophomore Emma Maldonado-Ramos who moved up about a dozen place in the last mile to finish in 31st at 21:59, while ninth graders Cate Carhart and Norah Dysart finished in 44th at 22:16 and 52nd at 22:38.01. Despite a meager 44 points in the 30-team field, the Angels finished second to an impressive Millard West High School team out of Nebraska, who had 35 points.

A young Boys JV team finished 6^th of 44 teams with 206 points. This was the second-best finish for the Angels in the JV Boys division the team has ever had – all the more impressive because all team classifications (Gold, Blue and Crimson) were combined into a single JV race this year. The East pack featured freshman Noah Erwin in 14th at 18:02 with classmate Elias Striker joining him on the top 25 podium with a 20th place finish at 18:10. Sophomore Finley Knight held the strong form he has shown all season for 40th in 18:25, while junior Zach Smiles and sophomore Luke Rasquinha landed 80th in 19:02 and 82nd in 19:07. Senior Abraham Morginsky rounded out the group in 88th at 19:10.

The elite Gold division races were held midday, by which time things were definitely heating up. The East Angel girls got out smartly, moved up nicely in the second mile, and held on through the tough final mile for another 2^nd place team finish – which is where the Angels have landed a few times at this meet.  Junior Corrine Kennedy led the way in 14th at 19:27, followed by junior Lola Carhart, who had one of the best races of her career with a 25th place finish in 19:47. Senior Julieta Ochoa crossed the line right behind Carhart in 26th in 19:48. Seniors Mary Clare Nussbaum and Scout Chomas were 34th in 19:59 and 38th in 20:08 respectively, while sophomore Lila Brown crossed the line in 60th in 20:36 in the 25 team, 172 runner competition.

With one runner sidelined with injury and another dropping out with heat exhaustion, it was a bit of a rougher outing for the Varsity Boys. Despite the heat, the race got out fast, and all Angel boys were outside of the top 65 going through the first mile. Senior Isaiah Springer set the pace for East in the second half, moving up to 34th in 16:49. Senior Henry Bennett took 80th in 17:25.08. The pack closed with junior Emery Wagner 103rd in 17:36, senior Kyle Kojima 109th in 17:42, and sophomore Tre Even 182nd in 18:32. Despite the relative struggles of the day, the Angels managed a solid 15^th place finish of 38 teams in the elite Gold Division.

This late posted recap will be followed by a late recap of the Flyin’ Ryan Invitation from this past Friday…. Stay tuned!