Anything can happen is a mantra that perfectly applies to cross country and the upcoming state meet is not immune.
Very few races go off exactly as expected, so the chances for some curveballs to come from the Nov. 1 races at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs is very high.
A double-digit number of boys and girls from Aurora area programs will be on hand among the state’s best hoping things go right as they bid to win individual or team hardware.
Full list of Aurora area state cross country runners with bib numbers, here
The Class 5A Region 1 boys race was a case in point of several things not going right for Cherokee Trail, but it wasn’t enough to hold the Cougars back from qualifying as a team.
Senior No. 1 runner Dylan Smith fell ill just before the Oct. 23 race at the Aurora Sports Park — and very nearly did not compete — while junior Jaxon Weber lost a shoe near the midway point of the race and senior Josh Chadeyane slipped and did a face plant at one point during the race.
Still, the Cougars overcame the adversity to post a total of 76 points that was not enough to catch runaway regional champion Legend (which had 44), but was enough for the runner-up spot that assured a them a trip to state.
Smith gutted through his illness to finished sixth, while Weber —who tried unsuccessfully to free himself from his other shoe after losing his first one — mostly maintained his position despite the bad luck and finished in seventh to lead the way for a team that is under the guidance of Jason Dalby this season.
Dalby — who built the Mountain Vista boys into a national powerhouse — took over the program from longtime coach Chris Faust prior to this season and has been pleased with the development of his group from the start of the season to now.
Besides Smith, Weber and Chadeayne — who finished 20th — the Cougars’ contingent for the 9 a.m. Nov. 1 race also includes senior Carter Getty, juniors Kenneth English and Tanner Larsen and freshman Alex Kiedrowski.
Cherokee Trail will be alone in the team race for the Aurora area, but not individually, as three runners from other programs (Regis Jesuit and Vista PEAK Prep) earned state berths.
Tops among them at regionals was junior Brandon Pearcy, who has had a breakout season and became the first Vista PEAK Prep boys cross country runner to make the state meet. He finished five seconds in front of Smith in fifth place as the top local finisher and seems to be gaining momentum as the season comes to a close.
Also in the field as individuals will be the Regis Jesuit duo of freshman Luis Duarte and senior Liam Martin, who placed 13th and 14th, respectively, in the Region 1 race.
Individually, the area appears to have at least two viable candidates to get on the state medal podium as top-10 finishers in the 5A girls race in a pair of freshmen in Madison Lange and McKenna Groen.
Former teammates before high school, the two ended up at Cherokee Trail and Regis Jesuit, respectively, and have gone head-to-head on a few occassions. For the first half of the Region 1 race, Lange and Groen were together in the lead pack along with Cherry Creek’s Emily Cohen and a few of her teammates.
Eventually, Cohen made multiple moves to take the lead and Lange was able to go with her on one of them, but not on the second as Cohen pulled away to win the regional title. Lange finished 10 seconds behind as the runner-up, while Groen placed a solid fourth to earn her state trip.
While Groen will run in the 10:20 a.m. race as an individual (as will Eaglecrest junior Jenna Winn, a repeat qualifier), Lange will have a full contingent of Cherokee Trail teammates in juniors Clara Kapfer, Jade McDaniel and Anneli Reite, sophomores Elizabeth Skibitskii and Elle Van Fossen and freshman Elle Rollins.
The Aurora area has one other individual state qualifier in Lotus School For Excellence junior Kamal Khalif, who has earned a spot in the 2A boys race at 11 a.m. The Meteors had the 2A runner-up last season in Biruk Begashaw.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
