It was a wire-to-wire finish for Grandview as the top boys team in Aurora cross country during the 2023 season, though Regis Jesuit came on at the end.
Three Wolves and three Raiders make up the majority of the 2023 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Cross Country Team, which is based on performance at the Class 5A state meet at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs. The team also includes a single runner from Cherokee Trail.
Coach Brian Manley’s Grandview team won the Aurora City Championship, Centennial League Championship and Region 1 meets, then ended with a program-best fifth place state finish that was aided by reliable seniors Evan Valencia and Owen Zitek as well as junior Lucas Blevins.
Coach Chris Boyle’s Regis Jesuit team finished as a close Region 1 runner-up and grabbed 13th place at the state meet with a push from senior David Flaig and juniors Caleb Aex and Braeden Focht, while sophomore Dylan Smith of 18th-place Cherokee Trail also earned his way into Aurora’s best seven.
Here’s a look at each of the seven members of the All-Aurora first team:
Caleb Aex, jr., Regis Jesuit: Aex turned up his performance in his second trip to the state meet, as he crossed the finish line in 16 minutes, 42.80 seconds, to grab 58th place in a rise from his 75th place in 17:01.90 from the previous season. He started the season Aug. 26 at the Steve Lohman Invitational with a PR of 15:54 which earned him sixth place, which was his second-best result for the season after a fifth-place showing at the Roadrunners Invitational Sept. 16 Washington Park. Aex’s 10th place result at the Region 1 meet was one of five top-15 results, while he was 23rd at the Continental League Championships.
Lucas Blevins, jr., Grandview: Blevins had a strong season to get back to the state meet for the second time in his career and he took advantage with a strong performance that saw him run a time of 16 minutes, 30 seconds, that yielded 36th place, which was second best on his team and third highest among Aurora runners. It was a massive improvement over his 2021 state meet performance in which he was 111th in 18:06.30. Blevins opened the season with a fourth-place individual finish in the Aurora City Championship boys race, which stood as his highest finish in a season in which he was in the top eight four times (including fifth at the Centennial League Championships and sixth in the Region 1 race) and top 20 six times. Timewise, he ran 16:52.60 or under in every race with a PR of 15:50.90 Sept. 9 at the Liberty Bell Invitational.
David Flaig, sr., Regis Jesuit: Flaig got the chance to run at the state meet for a second straight season and he made a solid showing with a time of 16 minutes, 36.60 seconds, that put him 46th, which was down a bit from his 2022 state race in which he ran 16:15.90 to place 19th. During the season, Flaig finished in the top 20 in six of the seven races in which he competed, which was topped by a runner-up finish Sept. 30 at the Mead Stampede (with a time of 15:38.30) and also included a 14th-place result at the Continental League Championships and 11th in the Region 1 boys race. The two-time All-Aurora first team performer ran 16:48 or faster in every race of the year and cracked 16 minutes twice, including a PR of 15:23.60 at the Liberty Bell Invitational Sept. 9.
Braeden Focht, jr., Regis Jesuit: Focht took full advantage of his second chance to run in the state meet, as he was Aurora’s top finisher in 13th place in time of 16 minutes, 6 seconds, which represented a huge jump from 2022 in which he ran 17:09.30 to finish in 95th place. He started the season with a bang as he recorded his PR in the first meet of the season Aug. 26 when he dropped a 15:39.50 on his way to third place at the Steve Lohman Invitational meet. That was one of two races in which Focht broke 16 minutes and he finished all nine of his competitions in 16:42.60 or faster. He had a whopping seven top-10 individual finishes throughout the season with a high of second place coming at the Roadrunners Invitational Sept. 16 at Washington Park, while he was sixth in the Continental League Championships and fourth in the Region 1 race as he led up to state.
Dylan Smith, soph., Cherokee Trail: Smith made significant progress between his first and second state meet appearances, as he capped an outstanding sophomore season with a time of 16 minutes, 42 seconds, on the Norris Penrose Event Center course to come in 55th (after he was 102nd in 17:20.80 in 2022). Smith opened the season with a time of 17:24.50 to place sixth in the Aurora City Championships boys race and it was up from there, as he three other top-nine finishes with a best of fourth on Sept. 16 when he placed fourth at the Roadrunners Invitational at Washington Park. Smith’s PR of 15:46 set at the 2022 Liberty Bell Invitational remained unsurpassed, but he ran his only sub-16 minute time of the 2023 season at the same meet when he recorded a 15:58.50. Smith finished ninth at the Centennial League Championship meet and eighth in Region 1 competition ahead of state.
Evan Valencia, sr., Grandview: Valencia was a strong part of a Grandview pack that was unrivaled in Aurora and he finished off his prep career with a time of 16 minutes, 38.10 seconds, that put him 50th at the completion of the state race at the Norris Penrose Event Center. He made a big rise from a 104th place showing in 17:21.40 of last season. Valencia opened the campaign with a time of 17:39.30 that put him seventh at the Aurora City Championship meet and he ran faster every single time out from there, which included a PR of 15:56.50 on Sept. 30 at the Mead Stampede. He placed fifth at the Mead meet, which was one of his three top-seven finishes, which also included a sixth place at the Centennial League Championships. Valencia also finished 12th at the Region 1 meet.
Owen Zitek, sr., Grandview: Zitek was the only four-time state qualifier among Aurora boys runners and he matched his career-best finish with a 24th-place showing in a time of 16 minutes, 21.10 seconds, on the course at the Norris Penrose Event Center in which he was the first runner from his team across the finish line. The three-time All-Aurora first team performer was also 24th in 2022 (though he ran slightly faster), 46th in 2021 and 97th in 2020. Zitek opened the season with a third place performance at the Aurora City Championship race in a time of 16:56.70, which was just one of his five top-seven finishes. Late in the season, he finished seventh at the Centennial League Championships and fifth in Region 1 in consecutive weeks leading up to the state race. Zitek’s PR of 15:36.90 came Sept. 9 at the Liberty Bell Invitational.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-AURORA BOYS CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
First team
Caleb Aex, jr., Regis Jesuit; Lucas Blevins, jr., Grandview; David Flaig, sr., Regis Jesuit; Braeden Focht, jr., Regis Jesuit; Dylan Smith, soph., Cherokee Trail; Evan Valencia, sr., Grandview; Owen Zitek, sr., Grandview
Honorable mention: Biruk Begashaw, jr., Lotus School For Excellence; Danek Colson, sr., Grandview; Andrew Crippen, jr. Cherokee Trail; Ayuub Hassan, fr., Lotus School For Excellence; Brennan Hiland, soph., Grandview; Andrew Kittel, jr., Cherokee Trail; McKay Larsen, sr., Cherokee Trail; Tanner Larsen, fr., Cherokee Trail; Gino Palombi, sr., Cherokee Trail; Mason Saum, soph., Regis Jesuit; Carson Schuler, sr., Regis Jesuit; Brady Smith, sr., Cherokee Trail; Liam Sullivan, sr., Regis Jesuit; Josh Tobin, jr., Grandview; Colton White, jr., Grandview;Zane Wilson, sr., Regis Jesuit
