GREENWOOD VILLAGE | Though they might have slowed down a little bit near the end, the Cherokee Trail girls cross country team had enough of a good start to win the Centennial League championship Thursday.
As a whole, the Cougars might have gone out a little too fast on the course at Cherry Creek State Park — especially with 75-degree heat in play — but they maintained their positions in crunch time and came away with a five-point victory over rival Grandview.
Junior Caitlin McConnell finished second, sophomore Tariwa Woldemariam came in fourth and junior Kyra Stevenson came in eighth to pace Cherokee Trail, which had just enough to top a Wolves team headed by the individual champion in Kaitlyn Mercer and sixth-place senior Caroline Robbins.
Mercer crossed the finish line with a time of 19 minutes, 4 seconds, to win the championship after she finished in eighth place last season and 15th as a freshman. She gave Grandview its third straight individual girls champion, following Brie Oakley in 2015 and 2016.
Fourth a season ago, McConnell moved up two spots with a second-place finish in 19:17 to begin a string of five runners for coach Josh Tate’s Cherokee Trail team — which finished fourth last season, 11 points behind second-place Grandview — to capture either first or second team all-league honors.
McConnell and Woldemariam (20:03) were first team All-Centennial League (top seven), while Stevenson (20:12), freshman Campbell Faust (11th in 20:20) and sophomore Soonhee Han (12th in 20:22) were second team.
Coach Allyson Robbins’ Grandview team also had five all-league performers starting with Mercer and Robbins, a first team all-state runner last season who finished sixth at the Centennial League meet in 20:06.
Junior Denika Hallin (ninth in 20:14), senior Chloe Cortes (13th in 20:28) and sophomore Anna Swanson (14th in 20:32) made second team all-league.
Led by junior Faith Lind in 27th place, Eaglecrest edged Mullen by a single point for fifth place, while Smoky Hill came in seventh and Overland eighth.
The meet provided a tune-up for regional state-qualifying races Oct. 20, with Cherokee Trail, Grandview and Heritage set for Region 2 and Eaglecrest and Smoky Hill entered in Region 3.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2017 CENTENNIAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP GIRLS RACE
Team scores: 1. CHEROKEE TRAIL 38 points; 2. GRANDVIEW 43; 3. Cherry Creek 57; 4. Arapahoe 84; 5. EAGLECREST 174; 6. Mullen 175; 7. SMOKY HILL 180; 8. OVERLAND 233
Finishers 1-7 (first team all-league): 1. KAITLYN MERCER (GRANDVIEW), 19 minutes, 4 seconds; 2. CAITLIN MCCONNELL (CHEROKEE TRAIL), 19:17; 3. Morgan Conn (Arapahoe), 19:32; 4. Erin Smith (Cherry Creek), 19:57; 5. TARIWKA WOLDEMARIAM (CHEROKEE TRAIL), 20:03; 6. CAROLINE ROBBINS (GRANDVIEW), 20:06; 7. Isabel Anema (Cherry Creek), 20:11
Finishers 8-14 (second team all-league): 8. KYRA STEVENSON (CHEROKEE TRAIL), 20:12; 9. DENIKA HALLIN (GRANDVIEW), 20:14; 10. Lauren Lapporte (Cherry Creek), 20:16; 11. CAMPBELL FAUST (CHEROKEE TRAIL), 20:20; 12. SOONHEE HAN (CHEROKEE TRAIL), 20:22; 13. CHLOE CORTES (GRANDVIEW), 20:28; 14. ANNA SWANSON (GRANDVIEW), 20:32
