COLORADO SPRINGS | As a freshman, Frank Morton ran with the Regis Jesuit boys cross country team that won the Class 5A state championship in 2009.
He didn’t return to the state meet until Saturday as a senior, when he ran individually in the 5A boys race at the Norris Penrose Events Center and finished an Aurora-best 47th in a field of 186 competitors.
Morton turned in a time of 17 minutes, 4 seconds on the rugged 3.1-mile circuit, putting 10 seconds between himself and Aurora city champion Charlie Kleeman of Smoky Hill, who was the next city racer across the finish line in 57th. Eaglecrest senior Mark Chalfant was close behind, as he came in 64th in his one and only state race with a time of 17:52.3.
Denver East’s Ashi Geberkidane claimed the individual championship in 16:21.7, while Mountain Vista collected the team championship with 103 points.
Smoky Hill carried the team standard for Aurora in the race with a 19th-place total of 456, with Grandview 22nd with 508 and Overland — making its first team appearance at state in more than a decade — finished 25th with 758.
The Buffaloes were led by Kleeman, who improved greatly on his 101st-place showing in the 2011 race, and sophomore Blake Yount, who was 69th in 17:56.8. Rounding out the scoring for Smoky Hill were senior Dan Kasberg in 89th — four spots lower than last season after he came in 124th in 2010 — sophomore Cody Miller (119th) and junior Ryan Parker (167th).
Nick Horton and Jeff Southern made big improvements from the previous season and crossed the finish line right next to each other to help Grandview, which matched its 22nd-place finish from 2011.
The Wolves were paced by Horton, who was 84th — a rise of 16 places from the previous season — while Southern’s 85th place result obliterated the 158th he managed in his previous state showing. Seniors Kevin Noto (98th) and David Oberndorf (124th), plus junior Sam Ehrhard (165th).
An Overland runner took part in the boys state meet for the first time since 2010 when Justin Lane appeared individually.
The Trailblazers made it as a team this season and were paced by Aldair Cid-Gonzalez’s 125th-place showing.Abiy Alemayehu (168th), Joseph Sanchez (169th), Yosef Robele (171st) and Jonathan Sanchez (175th) finished within 10 seconds of other.
Senior Mohammed Abdi, Overland’s top finisher at the Region 2 meet at Clement Park, was seventh across the finish line for the team at state.
Rounding out the individuals, Regis Jesuit senior Sean Morton came in 91st.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
2012 CLASS 5A BOYS STATE CROSS COUNTRY
Oct. 27 at Norris Penrose Events Center
Team scores: 1. Mountain Vista 103 points; 2. Fairview 116; 3. Cherry Creek 198; 4. Arapahoe 207; 5. Denver East 214; 6. Chaparral 217; 7. Rampart 222; 8. Dakota Ridge 257; 9. Fort Collins 278; 10. Thornton 307; 11. Rock Canyon 309; 12. Heritage 326; 13. Boulder 332; 14. Fossil Ridge 332; 15. Poudre 379; 16. Monarch 389; 17. Pine Creek 406; 18. Pomona 425; 19. SMOKY HILL (Charlie Kleeman, Blake Yount, Dan Kasberg, Cody Miller, Ryan Parker, Michael Andress, Philip Stanley) 456; 20. Loveland 480; 21. Grand Junction 481; 22. GRANDVIEW (Nick Horton, Jeff Southern, Kevin Noto, David Oberndorf, Sam Ehrhard, Nathan Graham, Mick Norton) 508; 23. ThunderRidge 550; 24. Rocky Mountain 555; 25. OVERLAND (Aldair Cid-Gonzalez, Abiy Alemayehu, Joseph Sanchez, Yosef Robele, Jonathan Sanchez, Carlos Holguin, Mohammed Abdi) 758
Top 10 individuals: 1. Ashi Geberkidane (Denver East), 16 minutes, 21.7 seconds; 2. Clayson Shumway (Liberty), 16:30.7; 3. Cerake Geberkidane (Denver East), 16:38.1; 4. Connor Lockwood (Arvada West), 16:39.2; 5. Danny Vavrik (Arapahoe), 16:44.8; 6. Grant Fischer (Poudre), 16:45.8; 7. Alec Brudzinski (Cherry Creek), 16:49.2; 8. Christian Martin (Heritage), 16:52.5; 9. Shane Rhodes (Cherry Creek), 16:58.5; 10. Marcelo Laguera (Pomona), 16:59.2
Aurora individuals: 47. Frank Morton (Regis Jesuit), 17:40.4; 57. Charlie Kleeman (Smoky Hill), 17:50.1; 64. Marc Chalfant (Eaglecrest), 17:52.3; 69. Blake Yount (Smoky Hill), 17:56.8; 84. Nick Horton (Grandview), 18:04.3; 85. Jeff Southern (Grandview), 18:04.4; 89. Dan Kasberg (Smoky Hill), 18:08.8; 91. Sean Morton (Regis Jesuit), 18:09.1; 98. Kevin Noto (Grandview), 18:14.4; 119. Cody Miller (Smoky Hill), 18:33.1; 124. David Oberndorf (Grandview), 18:38.0; 125. Aldair Cid-Gonzalez (Overland), 18:40.0; 165. Sam Ehreard (Grandview), 19:14.1; 167. Ryan Parker (Smoky Hill), 19:21.9; 168. Abiy Alemayehu (Overland), 19:23.6; 169. Joseph Sanchez (Overland), 19:23.6; 171. Yosef Robele (Overland), 19:24.5; 172. Michael Andress (Smoky Hill), 19:30.7; 175. Jonathan Sanchez (Overland), 19:33.2; 177. Nathan Graham (Grandview), 19:42.4; 178. Philip Stanley (Smoky Hill), 20:05.4; 181. Carlos Holguin (Overland), 20:16.0; 182. Mick Norton (Grandview), 20:18.3; 185. Mohammed Abdi (Overland), 21:08.2
