For the past three weeks, a question has floated around segments of the Colorado prep cross country community.
Who is this Brie Oakley?
The Grandview junior is something of a mystery in the sport, but she’s created intrigue in just three weeks. A club soccer player and member of the Wolves’ Class 5A state championship-winning team in the spring, Oakley decided to try her hand at competitive running.
“My friend Emily is on the team and she also plays soccer and does the part-time thing with cross country,” Oakley said of her entry into the sport. “She just said it was really fun and that I should do it, so I did.”
Although Oakley’s name is completely new to running circles, she’s not new to the sport. Her grandmother was a runner and her father, Mike — a marathon runner — entered her in a few 5Ks when she was in eighth grade and she always enjoyed running to keep her fitness up for soccer.
When she found she could strike a balance between her club soccer practices with the Colorado Storm and cross country, Oakley wanted to give it a shot.
“Brie likes to run and she knows she good at it, so she got to talking with her soccer teammates,” clearly delighted Grandview coach Allyson Robbins said. “She just emailed me a few weeks into the season and said ‘Hey, I’d like to come give this a try.”
Robbins had experience with soccer players on her squad and welcomed the addition of another with fitness and competitive drive.
She didn’t expect that just three races into her career, her newcomer would have run a time of 18 minutes, 39 seconds, that ranks 14th in 5A — matching the best of Aurora City Champion Janine Taurchini of Eaglecrest — and would have finished in range of Fort Collins superstar Lauren Gregory.
Robbins entered Oakley in the open race at the Liberty Bell Invite on Sept. 11 and just told her to run comfortably. Oakley did just that and won the race handily, showing very little pressure.
“I was a little nervous, but I just thought there’s not really any expectations of me yet, so I can just go out and do what I normally do,” Oakley said. “I just wanted to get a fast time because everyone usually PRs at Liberty Bell, so I was definitely pushing myself, but I wasn’t really focused on time.”
Oakley then won the Arvada West Invitational on Sept. 18 by 14 seconds, helping the Wolves to the team title, before she got her stiffest test at the Dave Sanders meet.
Gregory, a junior who has completed half of her quest to be a four-time Colorado Class 5A state champion, provided some heavy wattage to the field.
Oakley said she heard something of Gregory’s reputation, but looked forward to the challenge.
Gregory crossed the finish line in 18:24, with Oakley behind at 18:39, 39 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Megan Mooney of Horizon, owner of 5A’s third-fastest time of the season, and 35 seconds faster than her performance at Arvada West.
“I’ve heard what a great runner she was and I wanted to race against her to get the good competition,” Oakley said of Gregory. “The first mile I was pretty close to her, but then the second mile she just sped up and that was it.”
Robbins didn’t see the race as she was with Grandview’s split squad at the Anna Banana Wildcat Invite in Grand Junction, but she heard the positives from her coaches in attendance.
Just finishing within range of Gregory is something to be celebrated, especially for somebody so new to the sport.
“We got to see what she can do and we’re really excited about that,” Robbins said.
If Oakley continues her current pace, or betters it as she hopes, it brings about exciting possibilities for Grandview as a team in the final weeks of the season.
Sophomore Peyton Dailey, who finished 23rd at last year’s 5A state meet — second-best among Aurora runners — has started to work out following a battle with plantar fasciitis in her right leg and foot that have kept her from racing this season.
If Dailey can return by the Centennial League Championship meet on Oct. 15, she could combine with Oakley, sophomore Caroline Robbins — a “masher” in Coach Robbins’ words and the Wolves’ top performer all season — plus experienced seniors Kayla Vallin and Melanie Jenkins (another soccer player) and others to form a group to be reckoned with at league and the 5A state-qualifying regional meet.
Robbins has been pleased with how her team has handled the addition of Oakley, who leaves practice early a couple of times a week to go to soccer practice.
Oakley’s goals remain simple and she definitely hopes to earn a chance to test herself at the 5A state meet Oct. 31 in Colorado Springs.
“I just want to keep getting faster times and just be able to help my team and support everyone,” she said. “Obviously, I want to do really well in state and leagues.”
Oakley may be able to work it out so she can play and practice with the soccer team and compete in track meets in the spring, but she’s not thinking that far ahead yet. She’s just enjoying herself and what the addition of the sport has meant in her life.
“It’s just so stressful during junior with so much going on,” said Oakley, who also excels in the classroom. “I think cross country can really let me release all that stress and just breathe.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
AURORA GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY TOP TIMES IN 2015
Brie Oakley (Grandview), 18 minutes, 39 seconds at Dave Sanders Invitational (Sept. 25); Janine Taurchini (Eaglecrest), 18:39 at Liberty Bell Invitational (Sept. 11); Jordan Herrera (Cherokee Trail), 19:01 at Liberty Bell Invitational (Sept. 11); Caroline Robbins (Grandview), 19:11 at Liberty Bell Invitational (Sept. 11); Amy McConnell (Cherokee Trail), 19:16 at Liberty Bell Invitational (Sept. 11)
