1. Rock Canyon - 126 (this may be another team in contention for 4th place at NXR SW but we need to see how they do against Coronado and Utah teams) 2. Valor Christian - 144 Benjamin Anderson won in 14:48
Girls
1. Mountain Vista 73 (all 7 under 18) 2. Air Academy 103 3. Chaparral 106 Ella Hagen 16:54
We’re far enough into the season where I’m confident saying Colorado isn’t getting 2 boys qualifiers this year at NXN. Herriman, AF, Riverton, Viewmont, Mountain View, and Lone Peak all look better than Coronado, Rock Canyon, or Castle View. In today’s environment, your 5th guy needs to be closer to 15:30 at LB than 16 to have a serious chance at top 4 at NXR Southwest.
Hamilton AZ is another team to not count out. Fun fact: Hamilton and Rock Canyon will be racing each other at Sweepstakes at Woodbridge next weekend.
Dont forget about taylorsville (UT). They just had their first race with their full lineup yesterday at border wars and beat riverton, winning the meet.
Some over reactions to the Liberty Bell results on the girls side.
1. MV is very good (and deep), but not quite as impressive as AA dominance of the meet last year. AA ran an average of 7 seconds per runner faster on a hotter day and Michalak didn’t run a great race. While still early, MV may not have quite the separation from the rest of the country as AA and Niwot did last year.
2. Oh my, Colorado is deep. 29 ladies break 18! Yes it was a fast day (though 2 years ago were even better conditions). 4 of the top 7 all time team averages at Liberty Bell were set this weekend with MV (17:38), AA (17:49), Chaparal (17:55), and Fossil Ridge (18:01). Chap and FR should both be top 15 teams nationally to go with the other 3 ranked. Lone Peak is the only team that might break up Colorado taking top 4 spots at NXR SW. When you add CC, CO will likely take 6 of top 7 at NXR.
3. 2nd in state is a lot more open that I thought. AA and Niwot both have enough questions at depth that opens the door for a Chaparal or Fossil Ridge to at least give them a run. We’ll learn a lot more if this is the case next weekend at St Vrain. But state could be a lot of fun. What an exciting season ahead of us.
3. 2nd in state is a lot more open that I thought. AA and Niwot both have enough questions at depth that opens the door for a Chaparal or Fossil Ridge to at least give them a run. We’ll learn a lot more if this is the case next weekend at St Vrain. But state could be a lot of fun. What an exciting season ahead of us.
Good point indeed. St. Vrain will answer the MV versus Niwot question.
Some over reactions to the Liberty Bell results on the girls side.
1. MV is very good (and deep), but not quite as impressive as AA dominance of the meet last year. AA ran an average of 7 seconds per runner faster on a hotter day and Michalak didn’t run a great race. While still early, MV may not have quite the separation from the rest of the country as AA and Niwot did last year.
2. Oh my, Colorado is deep. 29 ladies break 18! Yes it was a fast day (though 2 years ago were even better conditions). 4 of the top 7 all time team averages at Liberty Bell were set this weekend with MV (17:38), AA (17:49), Chaparal (17:55), and Fossil Ridge (18:01). Chap and FR should both be top 15 teams nationally to go with the other 3 ranked. Lone Peak is the only team that might break up Colorado taking top 4 spots at NXR SW. When you add CC, CO will likely take 6 of top 7 at NXR.
3. 2nd in state is a lot more open that I thought. AA and Niwot both have enough questions at depth that opens the door for a Chaparal or Fossil Ridge to at least give them a run. We’ll learn a lot more if this is the case next weekend at St Vrain. But state could be a lot of fun. What an exciting season ahead of us.
Colorado might have the top six teams in the nation on the girl’s side. The depth is unreal. We’ll see how they stack up in the coming weeks.
Some over reactions to the Liberty Bell results on the girls side.
1. MV is very good (and deep), but not quite as impressive as AA dominance of the meet last year. AA ran an average of 7 seconds per runner faster on a hotter day and Michalak didn’t run a great race. While still early, MV may not have quite the separation from the rest of the country as AA and Niwot did last year.
2. Oh my, Colorado is deep. 29 ladies break 18! Yes it was a fast day (though 2 years ago were even better conditions). 4 of the top 7 all time team averages at Liberty Bell were set this weekend with MV (17:38), AA (17:49), Chaparal (17:55), and Fossil Ridge (18:01). Chap and FR should both be top 15 teams nationally to go with the other 3 ranked. Lone Peak is the only team that might break up Colorado taking top 4 spots at NXR SW. When you add CC, CO will likely take 6 of top 7 at NXR.
3. 2nd in state is a lot more open that I thought. AA and Niwot both have enough questions at depth that opens the door for a Chaparal or Fossil Ridge to at least give them a run. We’ll learn a lot more if this is the case next weekend at St Vrain. But state could be a lot of fun. What an exciting season ahead of us.
Colorado might have the top six teams in the nation on the girl’s side. The depth is unreal. We’ll see how they stack up in the coming weeks.
That's a slight exaggeration, but only slight.
Based on speed ratings to date, Mountain Vista and Air Academy are a clear 1-2.
After that, Chaparral, Romeo (Michigan), Bethlehem Central (NY), Lone Peak (UT), Buchanan (CA), and Santiago Corona (CA), and Timpview (UT) all seem close. Fossil Ridge and Cherry Creek are not far behind. Maybe top 15 in the country. Maybe top 10 on a good day. I don't think Trabuco HIlls or JSerra (CA) have run their top squads yet. I'm sure there's a few other there I'm missing.
But with Lone Peak, Timpview, Chaparral, Fossil Ridge, Niwot, and Cherry Creek all being in the SW region, it's fair to say there's going to be a few top 10-caliber teams not going to NXN this year.
Based on performances to date this year, Niwot's girls have been a level below all those teams. If you look at their speed ratings, they haven't had 5 runners above 90 yet. They haven't been a top-25 team in the country this year so far, much less top 5. Dyestat's rankings are based on historical performance, because based on what they've done this year, you would think they have no chance of qualifying for nationals. But based on what they've done historically, you can't count them out.
This weekend should be interesting for sure, though. Niwot, MV, Chapparal, and Fossil Ridge are all running in the same race at St. Vrain. Will definitely give a clearly picture
This weekend should be interesting for sure, though. Niwot, MV, Chapparal, and Fossil Ridge are all running in the same race at St. Vrain. Will definitely give a clearly picture
MV>Chap>Fossil Ridge>Niwot. Only the Chap-Fossil Ridge race is close. Mountain Vista is on a different level. And Niwot is on a much lower level this year. Dyestat is just not paying attention to what’s actually happening in 2024.
Lincoln Park in Grand Junction. Cheyenne Mountain and Thompson Valley. Stravas showing it was actually 5k or at least close. Anyone know the conditions?
Lincoln Park in Grand Junction. Cheyenne Mountain and Thompson Valley. Stravas showing it was actually 5k or at least close. Anyone know the conditions?
That’s a fantastic race from Cheyenne Mountain. Times are fast and they beat great teams. As one anecdote, they had 5 in front of TCA’s #1, who ran 15:50 at Liberty Bell.
