COLORADO SPRINGS | Jenna Winn crossed the finish line at Norris Penrose Event Center Saturday afternoon at the end of the Class 5A girls state cross country race.
Like the previous two times — when she’d finished 94th and 40th — the Eaglecrest senior had gone to the right with other runners who came it outside of the top 10, who were ushered left into a pen before heading to the medal podium.
But this time, Winn got notified that she belonged in the elite group — which included another Aurora area standout in state champion Madison Lange of Cherokee Trail — as she’d crossed the finish line in eighth place.
“I think I was outside the top 10 coming into the stadium and so I genuinely had no idea where I was placed,” said Winn, who finished the challenging 5K course in 18 minutes, 40.8 seconds. “It was such a fun surprise when they were like ‘go into the top 10.’ I thought ‘oh my gosh, this is great.'”
It was also great for the program, as Winn earned the best finish for an Eaglecrest girls cross country runner at the state meet since 2002. In that season, April Thomas — a recent inductee into the school’s Athletics & Activities Hall of Fame — finished third.
Winn’s final showing at the state meet was significant given her previous two finishes and her greater affinity for running track.
“Honestly, I feel like this is crazy,” said Winn, who was second in the 800 meters at the 5A state track meet in the spring. “I’ve never really considered myself a good cross country runner. Track is more my strong suit. So to just to be able to come and drop a lot of time and place at the state meet is really cool to me. I’m really grateful.”
Winn had a strong season going to date and said she spent the week visualizing a strong performance that could get her into the top 10.
Once on the course, she made it happen with a determined effort that saw her surge to the finish line ahead of three runners from none other than state team champion Niwot.
“With a half mile left, one of my coaches was standing there and yelling ‘if you want it, you have to go now,'” Winn said. “I think having her there and knowing that if I wanted it, I had to go for it and I did. This was my senior season, so it was my last chance.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
