For the first time since 2018, there will be more Wolves in the hunt than just one in the Class 5A girls state cross country race.
A total of five Aurora boys and girls teams earned spots in the Oct. 28 5A state meets at the Norris Penrose Event Center — girls race at 1 p.m., boys at 2:20 p.m. — among them the Grandview girls, who snapped a five-year drought as a team with their performance at regionals.
Coach Brian Manley’s Wolves overcame a projected deficit of more than 20 points in the chase for the fourth and final team qualifying spot in the Region 1 race Oct. 19 at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds.
Led by top-20 individual finishes in seniors Julia Pace and Summer Abeyta, Grandview earned a score of 116 points to finish 10 points in front of rival Cherokee Trail, which had a streak of 11 consecutive seasons at state as a team come to an end. Regis Jesuit — third place in the same region — will also head to state as a girls team, while the Cougars will be represented individually by freshman Jade McDaniel.
“It’s so special, it blows my mind and I’m so proud of all of the girls,” said Abeyta, who finished in 19th place. “We’ve worked so hard this season to reach this goal and now we’ve made it. We always say run for your teammates and the joy that comes from running. Think of that when you are racing and it gets hard.”
While Cherry Creek and Chaparral — which finished a point apart atop the standings — went in as the clear favorites for the top two spots, Regis Jesuit, Grandview, Cherokee Trail and Ponderosa were projected to battle it out for the final two spots.
Led by the senior duo of seniors Ashlyn Pallotta and Erika Danzer — who finished sixth and seventh, respectively — the Raiders finished comfortably in third place. That left the last spot for Grandview, Cherokee Trail and Ponderosa, who finished within 16 points of each other.
The Wolves finished 10 points in front of the Cougars at the Centennial League Championship meet and did the same at regionals. Pace (who was 16th), Abeyta, senior Ashlynn Mojica (who celebrated her 18th birthday with a 25th-place finish), senior Eden Akililu (27th) and junior Lillian Carll (33rd) got the points needed. They will be joined at state by senior Emerson Rohrig and junior Cameron Mojica.
State veterans Danzer and Pallotta will be joined by an exceptionally young group of teammates at state in sophomore Zoe Small and freshmen Addie and Whitney Helmerick, Ashley Istvan and Eleni Mykoniatis.
The other state-bound freshman is Cherokee Trail’s McDaniel, who finished 14th at regionals to claim an individual spot.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com.Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
