Most of the runners who will descend on the Norris Penrose Equestrian Center for the state meet on Oct. 31 won’t know what to expect from the revised course.
A sampling of Aurora boys and girls runners earned the chance to see it for themselves as they navigated through Class 5A regional races Oct. 22 and 23.
Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, Grandview and Regis Jesuit each have boys and girls teams set to compete in the 5A races, set for 11 a.m. (girls) and 1 p.m. (boys) on a modified course at the same venue that has hosted the state meet since 2012.
On their way to the state meet, several Aurora teams collected some regional hardware and showed the form that could carry over to the state meet.
Capitalizing on a bit of a home course advantage at the Aurora Sports Park, Cherokee Trail, Grandview and Regis Jesuit cleaned up at the 5A Region 2 meet, as they finished 2-3-4 in that order in both the boys and girls races.
Individually, Grandview junior Brie Oakley ran a blazing time of 17 minutes, 32 seconds, on the same course a week earlier to win the Centennial League Championship, but soggy conditions saw her win the regional title in 19:09.5.
Oakley continues to get better in her limited time in the sport and is not intimidated by elite runners she’ll go against at the state meet, where she could be Grandview’s first all-state (top six) finisher since Erin Norton in 2013.
The Cherokee Trail girls took the regional runner-up trophy, despite losing No. 3 runner Jessica Brookie to injury earlier.
Jordan Herrera (4th), Amy McConnell (5th), Caitlin McConnell (9th) and Kennedey McCurdy (13th) made an encouraging performance that has coach Josh Tate thinking a top five or six finish at state is possible.
Led by Julia Vitella in eighth, Regis Jesuit earned a return to the state meet as well.
The Cherokee Trail boys pulled off the surprise of the meet as the Cougars finished second in the team standings and nearly overtook Cherry Creek.
Jackson Cowley (6th), Rylan Wallace (9th) and Hunter Glasgo (13th) paced Cherokee Trail, which topped a Grandview team led by Ben Ehrhard (3rd), Cory Smith (5th) and Brian Burris (15).
Jack Davidson’s fourth place finish led Regis Jesuit to fourth as a team.
Sophomore Mason Brown posted a fourth place finish in the 5A Region 1 race at City Park on Oct. 23 to lead the charge for the Eaglecrest boys, who kept traditional state team qualifier Smoky Hill out of the state meet by edging the Buffs for the fifth qualifying spot by a mere five points.
Jemil Kassahun kept Smoky Hill from being shut out of the state meet, as he moved on individually by finishing ninth.
The Smoky Hill girls on the other hand finished second, just four points behind winner Dakota Ridge. The Buffaloes were paced by fifth-place finisher Julie Eoff, plus a seventh by Amelia Johannes and a 14th from Emmah Johannes, who had missed nearly the entire season due to injury.
Janine Taurchini’s sixth-place finish helped key Eaglecrest, which held off Denver East by a 15-point margin to earn the last team spot at state.
2015 AURORA CLASS 5A STATE CROSS COUNTRY QUALIFIERS
BOYS
Cherokee Trail: Jackson Cowley, Rylan Wallace, Hunter Glasgo, Bryson Nelson, Kyle Stafford, Aaron Redman, Cullen Scholz
Eaglecrest: Mason Brown, George Rykovich, Conner Shonka, Andrew Mills, Nick Johnson, Gavin Morgenegg, Charles Odden
Grandview: Ben Ehrhard, Cory Smith, Brian Burris, Caleb Randolph, Jordan Craig, Sam Baird, Chris Liston
Regis Jesuit: Jack Davidson, Austin Layne, Parker Churchill, Florenzo Bauer, Christopher Long, Steven Bruening, Alex Baldwin
Smoky Hill: Jemil Kassahun
GIRLS
Cherokee Trail: Jordan Herrera, Amy McConnell, Caitlin McConnell, Kennedey McCurdy, Elizabeth Thomas, Ella Steckler, Erica Knibbe
Eaglecrest: Janine Taurchini, Mariah Gordon, Jessica McQuaid, Tatiana Rivera, Madelyn Rivera, Emily Hunter, Faith Lind
Grandview: Brie Oakley, Melanie Jenkins, Erin Ellington, Katilyn Mercer, Caroline Robbins, Courtney Kramer, Peyton Dailey
Regis Jesuit: Julia Vitella, Sydney Lindquist, Devon Johnson, Lily Brucker, Kelly Grubaugh, Katie Schilmoeller, Tess Inhelder
Smoky Hill: Julie Eoff, Amelia Johannes, Emmah Johannes, Rhonda Patrom, Carlie Andrie, Sarah Power, Kaycie Schubert
