The Scoop: Recapping State Champs Across The U.S.

The Familiar, Unexpected And Spectacular At The Colorado State Championships

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Content From Class 5A l Class 4A l Class 3A l Class 2A 

The state championships in Colorado came and went on Saturday at the Norris Penrose Events Center, and by day's end, there was the familiar, there was the unexpected and there was the historical. 

A truly spectacular day of state cross country action saw a course record in the Class 5A girls race from Valor Christian's Brooke Wilson, incredible come-from-behind team victories from St. Mary's and Cheyenne Mountain in the Class 2A and Class 4A boys races and downright dominant performances from the Niwot and the Air Academy girls in Class 4A and 5A, respectively. 

Few storylines, however, were more impressive than the Cheyenne Mountain boys. 

The Class 4A squad were the returning champions, sure. The Hawks scored 26 points in 2021, even. 

But they graduated six seniors from that team. 

Consider that for a minute. 

An entirely new crop of athletes, save for star Kaden Levings, fit into the lineup this fall. Few teams across any state would find it hard to re-load and still win a state title.

While nothing was expected out of the Class 4A race, Niwot had four runners back and newcomer Rocco Culpepper, who had developed into the team's No. 1. 

And yet, Cheyenne Mountain still found a way, covering the newly-revamped course with a 53-second spread to win by 16 points over Niwot, scoring 76 overall. 

Levings led the squad again in 2022, placing sixth overall in 15:56.60, while his teammates followed in ninth, 14th and 20th and 34th. 

Let's also talk about St. Mary's. 

The Colorado Springs-based boys team found themselves in sixth after the first mile, down nearly 70 points. By mile two, they had fought up to fourth and were trailing by nine points. 

Perhaps it was the resolve that led the squad on Saturday, because St. Mary's scraped together big finishes to win by nine over Heritage Christian, which led after mile two. 

Lyndon Gotelaere led the way for St. Mary's with his fourth-place finish in 16:39. 

The dominant moments were a little more expected. 

In the girls Class 4A race, the Niwot girls were just five points away from a perfect score, totaling 20 points and finishes of second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth, only broken up by eventual winner Ella Hagen of Summit, who won in 17:48.9. 

Leading the way fro the Cougars was emerging freshman Addison Ritzenhein -- the daughter of Dathan Ritzenhein -- and junior Mia Prok and sophomore Bella Nelson. 

The girls 5A race, meanwhile, saw Air Academy close out its sturdy season with a big win over Mountain Vista, Valor Christian, Cherry Creek and Aaraphoe, three of which were nationally ranked. 

Class 5A Girls Team Scores

The girls of Air Academy, in fact, won by over 60 points, totaling 63 as sophomore Tessa Walter and junior Bethany Michalak went fifth and sixth, respectively. 

Perhaps unexpected, though, was the course record on the day for Valor Christian's Brooke Wilson, who became the only girl on the day to clock a sub-17 minute time in 16:59.2. 

The former best at the Norris Penrose Events Center was Brie Oakley's 17:07 from 2016. But it was Wilson's third sub-17 of the season. 

In the boys 5A race, Fort Collins' Christian Groendyk closed out his season with his sixth-straight win, this one seeing a finishing time of 15:13.50.