Colorado Springs – Platte Canyon’s Kristen McGlynn put everything behind her and just ran.
She put the field of 148 Class 3A cross country runners behind her, she put the mud and muck behind her, and she put the thoughts of a difficult autumn for the Platte Canyon Huskies behind her. And she ran away with her second Class 3A girls state cross country title in two years Saturday at El Pomar Youth Sports Complex.
“To get out front was key for this race, especially with the mud,” said McGlynn, who was lucky enough to be the lead runner in the first of six races on a soaked and sludge-caked 5-kilometer course. “It was a little slick out there in spots, definitely, which kind of messes with your stride – just enough that it slows you downs and you have to make an adjustment.
“But it wasn’t terrible. It could have been worse.”
The worst happened at Platte Canyon one month ago, when a horrific school shooting rocked the Huskies.
McGlynn’s time of 18 minutes, 39.30 seconds was more than 40 seconds ahead of runner-up Kaitlin Hanenburg of The Classical Academy (19:20.00) and well ahead of the next wave of competitors.
Hanenburg and The Classical Academy won their fourth consecutive team title, taking three of the top 11 spots to stay ahead of Pagosa Springs. Jaycee Harms was the Pirates’ top performer, finishing in sixth place with a time of 20:13.75.
Three of the four placers directly behind McGlynn were freshmen, and the next three in line were all sophomores. McGlynn, a senior, was not about to get caught off-guard by the youngsters.
“There were some amazing freshmen and sophomores coming in. When they get out there and sit on your shoulder and make you have little second-guesses in the back of your head, that’s the best way to race against someone out front,” McGlynn said.
The competition wasn’t the only thing weighing on the runners’ minds. The conditions were equally as challenging.
“I sat in my tent and couldn’t decide what shoes to put on, my flats or my spikes,” said Nederland’s Kat Robinson, who went with the flat soles and finished third in 19:55.30.
Emma Coburn of third-place Crested Butte and Roosevelt’s Brooke Wells rounded out the top five, with Coburn edging Wells by less than two-tenths of a second.
