LITTLETON | Aurora city champion Grandview again topped city schools in results at Thursday’s Centennial League Championship cross country meet at deKoevend Park.
Fueled by a second-place individual finish by junior Erin Norton, the Wolves were second in the girls standings behind runner-away individual winner Jordyn Colter and Cherry Creek. The Bruins placed four runners in the top 10 and finished with 32 points, 24 fewer than the Wolves, whose other top-10 finish came from Melanie Jenkins in 8th.
Paced by third-place finisher Rachael Chacko and Chloe Andrie in 7th, Smoky Hill was next-best among Aurora teams in fourth place, followed by Cherokee Trail (5th), Eaglecrest (7th) and Overland (8th).
Norton went out fast and felt good for her entire race. Colter left the entire field well in her rear-view with a winning time of 17 minutes, 43 seconds, but Norton surged on the closing stretch to pass Chacko — who got the better of her at the Aurora city meet earlier in the season — to finish in 18:33. She improved her finish by four places from the 2011 league meet.
Chacko, running her first race in several weeks because of illness and college recruiting visits, posted a time of 18:39 to finish third after taking second behind Colter last year.
Nicole Mundy (12th), Sylvana Ross (16th) and Brooke Genovese (18th) rounded out Grandview’s scoring.
Smoky Hill went into the boys race as the defending team champion, but the Buffaloes finished fourth this time despite the top Aurora individual finisher with Charlie Kleeman in 9th, the same place he took in 2011.
Grandview edged Smoky Hill by four points for third place, with the 10th-place result of Jeff Southern leading the way. The middle of the lineup — Keenan O’Brien, Mick Norton, Kevin Noto and David Oberndorf — gave the Wolves the edge on the Buffaloes, who also got an 11th-place result from Dan Kasberg and a 13th-place showing from Blake Yount.
Paced by transfer Mark Chalfant in in 16th, Eaglecrest came in 5th, followed by Cherokee Trail in 6th and Overland in 7th.
Josh Hulburt in 12th set the tone for the Cougars, while Aldair Cid-Gonzalez was 14th to lead the Trailblazers.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
2012 CENTENNIAL LEAGUE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thursday at deKoevend Park
Boys team scores: 1. Arapahoe 37 points; 2. Cherry Creek 41; 3. Grandview 96; 4. Smoky Hill 100; 5. Eaglecrest 138; 6. Cherokee Trail 140; 7. Overland 160; 8. Mullen 207
Girls team scores: 1. Cherry Creek 32 points; 2. Grandview 56; 3. Arapahoe 81; 4. Smoky Hill 109; 5. Cherokee Trail 126; 6. Mullen 168; 7. Eaglecrest 171; 8. Overland 232
Boys top 10 individuals: 1. Alec Brudzinski (Cherry Creek), 16 minutes, 14 seconds; 2. Danny Vavrik (Arapahoe), 16:23; 3. Shane Rhodes (Cherry Creek), 16:33; 4. Daniel Book (Cherry Creek), 16:39; 5. Louis Hood (Arapahoe), 16:44; 6. Noah Westfall (Cherry Creek), 16:49; 7. Nick Peterson (Arapahoe), 16:55; 8. Jon Johannsen (Arapahoe), 16:58; 9. Charlie Kleeman (Smoky Hill), 17:00; 10. Jeff Southern (Grandview), 17:06
Girls top 10 individuals: 1. Jordyn Colter (Cherry Creek), 17 minutes, 43 seconds; 2. Erin Norton (Grandview), 18:33; 3. Rachael Chacko (Smoky Hill), 18:39; 4. Emily Wolff (Arapahoe), 18:50; 5. Carrie Plank (Cherry Creek), 19:23;6. Katie Piomondon (Cherry Creek), 19:24; 7. Chloe Andrie (Smoky Hill), 19:34; 8. Melanie Jenkins (Grandview), 19:41; 9. Samantha Bremner (Cherry Creek), 19:50; 10. Amanda Martinez (Mullen), 19:58
Aurora boys teams results
Cherokee Trail: 12. Josh Hulbert, 17:10; 29. Johnny Droege, 17:54; 31. Duncan Barnhill, 18:09; 32. Mitchell Stieg, 18:14; 36. Nate Thomas, 18:26; 44. Gabe Sidwell, 18:38; 48. Joe Pena, 19:21; Eaglecrest: 16. Mark Chalfant, 17:32; 21. Luke Meachem, 17:45; 24. Steven Tibbits, 17:47; 37. Kyle Hampe, 18:26; 40. Tyler Ingals, 18:31; 52. Cameron Dwyer, 19:46; 54. Conner Shonka, 20:04; Grandview: 10. Jeff Southern, 17:06; 19. Keenan O’Brien, 17:36; 20. Mick Norton, 17:41; 22. Kevin Noto, 17:46; 25. David Oberndorf, 17:49; 26. Nick Horton, 17:51; 38. Grayson Abele, 18:27; Overland: 14. Aldair Cid-Gonzalez, 17:21; 23. Mohammed Abdi, 17:46; 35. Abiy Alemayehu, 18:24;41. Jonathan Sanchez, 18:32; 47. Joseph Sanchez, 19:06; 49. Yosef Robele, 19:22; 55. Josh Juniel, 20:08; Smoky Hill: 9. Charlie Kleeman, 17:00; 11. Dan Kasberg, 17:07; 13. Blake Yount, 17:14; 33. Cody Miller, 18:19; 34. Michael Andress, 18:22; 46. Michael Anthony, 19:03
Aurora girls team results
Cherokee Trail: 23. Amy McConnell, 21:10; 24. Maria Redman, 21:16; 25. Savanah Nesvold, 21:20; 26. Tori Rodriguez, 21:25; 28. Samantha Steele, 21:28; 31. Lynsie Roper, 21:37; 33. Miley Hall, 21:49; Eaglecrest: 15. Alicia Taurchini, 20:16; 34. Ashley Windom, 21:49; 36. Janine Taurchini, 21:59; 40. Tara Vigil, 22:30; 46. Jordanne Stobbs-Vergara, 23:34; 48. Jamie Stoner, 24:23; Grandview: 2. Erin Norton, 18:33; 8. Melanie Jenkins, 19:41; 12. Nicole Mundy, 20:02; 16. Sylvana Ross, 20:17; 18. Brooke Genovese, 20:29; 22. Rachel Shaw, 20:56; 39. Kayla Vallin, 22:21; Overland: 42. Brianna Pardner, 22:37; 44. Katherine Young, 22:48; 45. Rileigh Casebolt, 23:21; 50. Paige Bjerkaas, 25:48; 51. Rinesty Rusli, 25:50; 52. Henrietta Ewudzi-Acqauh, 28:17; Smoky Hill: 3. Rachael Chacko, 18:39; 7. Chloe Andrie, 19:34; 27. Brynell Yount, 21:27; 35. Emily Combs, 21:49; 37. Marisa Phillips, 21:59; 41. Jamie Jezier, 22:37
