Once again, Colorado cross country runners distinguished themselves nationally.
At Saturday’s Foot Locker Championships at Balboa Park in San Diego, Air Academy’s Allie McLaughlin led for most of the race before finishing fifth, and Colorado boys placed three runners in the top 17.
There’s nothing like it for a prep distance runner.
“You feel like a total star,” Mullen’s Andrew Berberick said after finishing 17th. “They try to get everyone to meet each other. I don’t think anyone slept the night before. All 40 people (in each race) have a legitimate shot at winning.”
Locally, McLaughlin, the Colorado Class 5A champion, had the best opportunity. She went out fast and led through 2 miles of the 3.1-mile (5K) course under terrific conditions, cloudy and 60 degrees.
However, the pack started to come to her down the stretch and caught her with 400 meters remaining. Jordan Hasay of California won in 17 minutes, 22 seconds for her second victory in the event. McLaughlin finished in 17:34.
“I took it out hard,” McLaughlin said. “If I didn’t win, I wasn’t going to be happy, but I was pretty excited. After the race I felt like I ran the way I wanted to . . . that’s just how it is until I work on my finish.”
For boys, Dakota Ridge’s Evan Appel, the state 5A winner, led through the first mile. He ended up sixth (15:36), five spots and 21 seconds behind Maryland’s Solomon Haile.
Appel’s strategy went as planned, including not getting boxed in, before a stomach cramp cramped his finish.
“Sixth is nothing I can complain about. It doesn’t get any better than this,” he said.
Buena Vista’s Joseph DeMoor, the 3A champion, earned 10th (15:44).
Berberick finished in 15:54, and even with North’s Joseph Manilafasha (16:19) in 35th, locals made their marks.
“If they would have (kept team scores by state), we would have won it,” Berberick said.
