COLORADO SPRINGS | Coming into the 2013 cross country season, even Blake Yount didn’t know what he could do.
The proof came on Saturday, as the Smoky Hill junior finished more than 60 places better than the previous season at the Class 5A boys state cross country race, as he used his knowledge of the course at the Norris Penrose Equestrian and a strong late kick to earn all-state status with his sixth-place finish.
Yount, who finished in a time of 16 minutes, 47.9 seconds, became the first Smoky Hill boys all-state runner since 2005, when Grant Duin took seventh.
The Buffaloes — who also got a 28th-place finish from Cody Miler — cracked the top 10, as their 277 points put them in ninth, just eight points behind eighth-place Boulder.
Paced by junior Nathan Graham in 23rd and Craig Kinney in 30th, Grandview totaled 402 to come in 14th.
Cherokee Trail didn’t have great expectations at the beginning of the season, but the Cougars qualified a team for state and finished in front of four other teams in the 25-team standings. Junior Duncan Barnhill led Cherokee Trail’s charge with a 29th-place finish.
Gateway’s Devunderick Walker came across the finish line in 17:55.2, good enough for 72nd in his state debut.
2013 CLASS 5A BOYS STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEET
Team scores: 1. Mountain Vista 110 points; 2. Fort Collins 179; 3. Arapahoe 203; 4. Heritage 212; 5. Cherry Creek 235; 6. Chaparral 249; 7. Monarch 263; 8. Boulder 269; 9. SMOKY HILL (Blake Yount, Cody Miller, Simon Geday, Michael Andress, Ryan Parker, Philipp Coen, Spencer Bradshaw) 277; 10. Pomona 282; 11. Rock Canyon 310; 12. Rocky Mountain 321; 13. Rampart 331; 14. GRANDVIEW (Nathan Graham, Craig Kinney, Jeff Southern, Pravan Kalaga, Sam Ehrhard, Grayson Abele, Mick Norton) 402; 15. Pine Creek 406; 16. Thornton 407; 17. Poudre 412; 18. Fairview 414; 19. Denver East 417; 20. Fossil Ridge 445; 21. CHEROKEE TRAIL (Duncan Barnhill, Kyle Jones, Cody Jones, Nate Thomas, Jackson Cowley, Simon Holloway, Brandon Bullock) 460; 22. Dakota Ridge 460; 23. ThunderRidge 484; 24. Mountain Range 558; 25. Fruita Monument 568
Top 20 individuals (top seven all-state): 1. Cerake Geberkidane (Denver East), 15 minutes, 48.2 seconds; 2. Zachary Alhamra (Pine Creek), 16:29.0; 3. Connor Weaver (Mountain Vista), 16:34.5; 4. Joshua Joseph (Thornton), 16:40.4; 5. Sean Paiz (Thornton), 16:46.5; 6. BLAKE YOUNT (SMOKY HILL), 16:47.9; 7. Ben Dingman (Rampart), 16:48.4; 8. Dom Compoz (Chaparral), 16:49.0; 9. Noah Westfall (Cherry Creek), 16:50.1; 10. Paul Miller (Poudre), 16:54.6; 11. Carson Hume (Dakota Ridge), 16:55.1; 12. Luke Sheesley (Fort Collins), 16:56.7; 13. Greg Eccher (Grand Junction), 16:59.2; 14. Jake Lucero (Douglas County), 17:00.7; 15. Forrest Barton (Castle View), 17:01.7; 16. Caleb Ingram (Pine Creek), 17:03.3; 17. Jake Blackburn (Rock Canyon), 17:04.1; 18. Connor Lockwood (Arvada West), 17:05.7; 19. Matt Berberick (Heritage), 17:09.2; 20. Shane Rhodes (Cherry Creek), 17:12.0
Aurora results: 6. Blake Yount (Smoky Hill), 16 minutes, 47.9 seconds; 23. Nathan Graham (Grandview), 17:15.7; 28. Cody Miller (Smoky Hill), 17:18.3; 29. Duncan Barnhill (Cherokee Trail), 17:18.9; 30. Craig Kinney (Grandview), 17:19.0; 69. Kyle Jones (Cherokee Trail), 17:52.3; 72. Devundrick Walker (Gateway), 17:55.2; 85. Simon Geday (Smoky Hill), 18:07.7; 94. Michael Andress (Smoky Hill), 18:13.0; 104. Ryan Parker (Smoky Hill), 18:19.7; 106. Cody Jones (Cherokee Trail), 18:20.3; 110. Jeff Southern (Grandview), 18:20.9; 113. Philipp Coen (Smoky Hill), 18:25.9; 128. Spencer Bradshaw (Smoky Hill), 18:35.3; 134. Pravan Kalaga (Grandview), 18:39.3; 151. Nate Thomas (Cherokee Trail), 18:59.9; 154. Sam Ehrhard (Grandview), 19:06.5; 159. Jackson Cowley (Cherokee Trail), 19:14.4; 174. Simon Holloway (Cherokee Trail), 19:42.0; 175. Grayson Abele (Grandview), 19:42.6; 178. Brandon Bullock (Cherokee Trail), 19:53.1; 179. Mick Norton (Grandview), 19:53.2
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel.
