COLORADO SPRINGS | The Class 5A boys state race took place is crisp conditions Nov. 1 and it was a difficult day for Aurora area competitors in a stacked field of national caliber teams and individuals.
Not surprisingly, the nation’s top-ranked team — Niwot — dominated the race at the Norris Penrose Events Center, while Mountain Vista’s Ben Adams set the classification’s course record on his way to the individual championship.
The rest of the field — including Aurora team qualifier Cherokee Trail plus individuals from Regis Jesuit (senior Liam Martin and freshman Luis Duarte) and Vista PEAK Prep (junior Brandon Pearcy) — battled it out behind those standout performances.
Full 2025 Class 5A boys cross country state team standings & individual results, here
The Cougars have been a regular state team qualifiers, but made it for the first time under new head coach Jason Dalby, formerly of Mountain Vista. Pacing Cherokee Trail was senior Dylan Smith, who was 38th individually in a time of 16 minutes, 11.9 seconds.
Junior Jaxon Weber wasn’t far behind Smith in 58th, while senior Josh Chadeayne (84th) and junior Kenneth English (96th) finished in the top 100 as the Cougars accrued a team score of 338 points that was good enough for
Pearcy gave Vista PEAK Prep its first-ever boys state individual qualifier and the emerging junior was the third Aurora area competitor to cross the finish line as his 16:26.7 put him in 63rd place. The Regis Jesuit duo of Martin and Duarte finished 90th and 159th, respectively.
Lotus School For Excellence had a track record of individual success in the 2A boys state race in recent years — with a state champion in Kidus Begashaw in 2020 and a runner-up in Biruk Begashaw last season — and had another qualifier this season in junior Kamal Khalif.
In his state debut, Khalif ran 18:06.6 to finish in 40th place.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
