Colorado Springs – If you believe there are certain courses for certain horses, you probably penciled in Arvada’s Steven Weeks as champion of Saturday’s Class 5A race.
But this wasn’t the same El Pomar Youth Sports Complex course the Reds senior had conquered with relative ease the previous two seasons.
It was wet. It was muddy. And in the end, with all eyes on him and his dream of matching Doherty’s Adam Goucher as a three-time champion, it was just too much for Weeks to overcome.
Instead the door opened for a host of challengers to come through, and Grand Junction’s Richard Medina did just that. Medina became the first Tigers runner to win a state title, besting Thornton’s Anguel Tolev by 13 seconds to go out a champion.
“The course was just extremely sloppy,” said Medina, who finished second last season. “I knew everyone was going to give me a great challenge, it was everyone that pushed me.”
Medina and Tolev quickly made it a two-man race, and swapped the lead more than once throughout the 5K course. Just before the 2- mile mark, Medina made the move that would seal the deal and passed Tolev for the final time and never trailed again.
“I wanted to do the best I could, and just leave everything out on the course,” Medina said. “That’s what I did. It was a loaded and difficult field.”
Said Tolev: “I came prepared and took advantage of the muddy conditions, but Medina just ended up catching me. I executed my plan perfectly, but at the end of the day, Richard was the better runner.”
Weeks could only sit in a pile of boxes and ponder what might have been. The senior, bound for Syracuse, finished a distant fourth, 38 seconds behind Medina.
“I was just so nervous all week, and I had all that pressure … it’ll just kill you,” Weeks said. “You worry, and it will drain you real quick.”
The team title went to Dakota Ridge. The Eagles, who many thought could contend but were a longshot to win it all, were paced by Evan Appel’s third-place finish. Kyle Simcox (13th), Sean McNeil (26th), Dane Lindblad (48th), Chris Baerren, A.J. Boogert (96th) and Andrew Clancy (118th) rounded out the Eagles’ 171-point effort.
“Amazing. Unbelievable. I just have no words,” said a stunned Dakota Ridge coach Mike Callor when he found out his team had won. “These guys have worked so hard, and it is hard sometimes, being a smaller 5A school to compete with some of the real big schools.
“We knew we were flying under the radar, but we also knew we had a very good chance if we put it all together and peaked right.”
Grand Junction finished second with 197 points and Wheat Ridge was third with 234. Favored Fort Collins finished fourth with 236.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
