Colorado Springs – Leading up to the start of the Class 5A boys state cross country championship, Arvada’s Steven Weeks felt the weight of defending his title grow heavier.
So he dropped that burden, and the rest of the pack, in the opening kilometer and charged ahead to a second consecutive individual victory on Saturday at the El Pomar Youth Sports Complex.
“Being the favorite, you have that pressure coming at you from all around. So right from the gun, I went for it and got ahead,” Weeks said.
And he stayed ahead, winning the 5-kilometer race with a time of 15 minutes, 55.1 seconds, a full 15.6 seconds ahead of Grand Junction’s Richard Medina.
Weeks, a junior, has a chance to become the fourth three-time winner on the boys’ side, joining the likes of Rocky Ford’s Andy Montanez (1974-76), Doherty’s Adam Goucher (1991-93) and D’Evelyn’s John McGuire (2002-04). No one has won four titles.
“It’s almost a necessity to make a run at a third (title),” Weeks said.
Medina, a junior who won every race he entered this season aside from two second-place finishes behind Weeks, enjoyed his first state experience.
“I loved the crowd. It was awesome the way people were yelling the whole way,” Medina said.
The Fort Collins squad of Noah Shannon (third), Tyler Abbey (fifth), Paul Brown (14th), Bryant Mason (22nd) and Jon Kittell (66th) gave the Lambkins a team title for the second year in a row, beating Cherry Creek and Smoky Hill.
“I told Jon this week that he had to be the kid who wins it for us, not loses it. He said, ‘Thanks for the pressure,’ ” Fort Collins coach Chris Suppes said. “I’ve never seen so much depth and so many individuals that good as there were this year.”
Twenty runners finished in less than 17 minutes. Thornton’s Anguel Tolev and Fort Collins’ Abbey rounded out the top five.
CLASS 5A BOYS
CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Team scores – Fort Collins 110, Cherry Creek 161, Smoky Hill 167, Rocky Mountain 218, Dakota Ridge 235, North 250, Heritage 273, Palmer 288, Rampart 288, Fairview 291, Regis 292, Grand Junction 306, Monarch 332, Chaparral 365, Thornton 381, Fruita Monument 422, Lewis-Palmer 455, Air Academy 462, Wheat Ridge 462, Boulder 483, Coronado 522, Eaglecrest 533, Arvada 554.
Individual results – Steven Weeks, Arvada, 15 minutes, 55.1 seconds; Richard Medina, Grand Junction, 16:10.7; Noah Shannon, Fort Collins, 16:23.2; Anguel Tolev, Thornton, 16:29.0; Tyler Abbey, Fort Collins, 16:31.0; Cameron Clayton, Monarch, 16:34.5; Grant Duin, Smoky Hill, 16:38.4; Steven Busch, Chaparral, 16:42.5; Evan Appel, Dakota Ridge, 16:43.0; Eiger Erickson, Smoky Hill, 16:43.4; Matt Herzl, Heritage, 16:44.9; Dean Black, Palmer, 16:45.3; Stephen Koch, Cherry Creek, 16:45.8; Paul Brown, Fort Collins, 16:48.2; Andrew Niccoli, Dakota Ridge, 16:52.4; Eric Ndikumana, North, 16:57.0; Joseph Manilafasha, North, 16:57.7; Ben Harris, Fruita Monument, 16:58.0; Chris Sweeney, ThunderRidge, 16:59.4; Cheyne Heiny, Wheat Ridge, 16:59.6.
