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Video: Spencer Wenck talks about winning Class 4A title
Class 5A Results
Class 4A Results
Class 3A Results
Class 2A Results


Shelby Stableford's throat burned, her head hurt and she ached all over, but there was no way the Classical Academy junior was going to miss Saturday's State Cross Country Championships.
Cheyenne Mountain's Kali Maxwell had spent the entire season fighting an injury and struggling to return to the Indians' lead pack. But when they added the team points together, those she scored were the most important of all.
And when final runner had finished chewing through the dusty and windy 5K course at Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, The Classical Academy and Cheyenne Mountain girls' teams were the state champions, thanks largely to the huge efforts of Stableford and Maxwell.
And those championship celebrations were twice as rowdy because The Classical Academy and Cheyenne Mountain boys' teams also won state championships.
Individually, Palmer Ridge's Spencer Wenck capped an undefeated dream season with a run of 15 minutes, 55 seconds - the fastest time of the day - to win the Class 4A state championship.
It's no secret that the Colorado Springs-area cross country runners are tough to beat. They proved it. Here is how it all broke down.
Class 4A: The Cheyenne Mountain girls placed all five scoring runners in the top 39 to tally 108 points and capture the first girls cross country title in school history. Evergreen placed second with 140, followed by Greeley Central (225). Vista Ridge placed sixth.
Cheyenne Mountain senior Danielle Grossman led the way, placing fifth overall with a time of 19:31.77. She said the secret was to be patient because many runners burned out after starting too quickly.
"We knew we had to follow the plan and stay calm for the first mile," Grossman said.
Freshman Greta Sloan was seventh (19:40), followed by Nell Crosby (26th, 20:26, a personal best), Liz Stageberg (31st, 20:35), Maxwell (39th, 20:45), Sarah Guhl (66th, 21:18) and Francis Adams (72nd, 21:24.)
Cheyenne Mountain coaches Stan Lambros and Karen Scott (a husband-and-wife team) couldn't stop talking about their runners as the teams gathered around for awards.
The Cheyenne Mountain girls had finished third and the boys second in 2009. This year, everyone worked toward one goal. And they reached it.
Maxwell dealt with a huge challenge. She was one of the team's top runners in 2009, but injured herself early in this season. She didn't run on the varsity team until regionals.
"At first, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do," Maxwell said. "Then I thought, this is my final year. I decided to come out and work as hard as I could to get back."
She fought to finish in the Top 5 and her effort sealed the Cheyenne Mountain girls' first state title.
Cheyenne Mountain's boys' team entered the meet heavily favored to win. (jib) The Indians delivered.
"We finished second last year and we came away from that knowing that we could have won," said Mitch Kasyon, who finished 10th overall in 16:47. "We've been waiting for this opportunity. We've been super motivated all year to come back and win."

Cheyenne Mountain placed all five scorig runners among the Top 40. Postyn Smith (17th, 17:06) was the second of the Indians' runners to hit the finish line. He was followed by Jake Fox (23rd, 17:17), Ludovic Funfrock (25th, 17:19), Nolan Meyhew (40th, 17:37), Phillip Meyer (65th, 17:52) and Tristan Pelto (72nd, 17:58.)

Thompson Valley finished a distant second with 222 points. Coronado, which had gamely battled Cheyenne Mountain in a friendly rivalry all season, finished third in the team race with sophomore Dan Egger (16th, 17:05) leading the way. The Cougars Dan Lara was 20th in 17:18, followed by Jesse Mathews (48th, 17:42), Drew Stimson (62nd, 17:51), Quin Ralston (106th, 18:22), Tate Lagasca (123rd, 18:42) and Danny Mathews (124th, 18:43.)
Palmer Ridge, behind Wenck's championship run, was 10th. Air Academy finished 15th, followed by Lewis-Palmer (19th) and Mesa Ridge (21st).

Wenck, who won all of the eight races he entered this season, charged from the start line and hit the first mile in 4:36. Completely exhausted, he leaned on his mother, Jackie Sward, after the race.

"I went out way, too fast," Wenck said. "The second mile was better, but it hurts."
Wenck is his own man. Winning is fine, he says. But racing really isn't what he's all about.
"I love running, but racing is not my focus," he said.
In the girls race, Palmer Ridge freshman Ali Deitsch finished third in 19:19.07, followed by Discovery Canyon's Allie Morgan (4th, 19:23). Air Academy's Amelia Evans (8th, 19:43) and Kellyn Roiko (9th, 19:44).
Class 3A: The Classical Academy overcame bad luck, sickness and injuries to win the boys' and girls' titles.

In the girls race, sophomore Brittany Droogsma found herself with a new role.
With Stableford simply trying to hang as close to the front as possible, Droogsma took over as team leader.
"I knew I had to step it up," she said. "I felt bad because Shelby deserved better for all the work she put in."
Droogsma finished seventh overall in 20:05.92, followed by teammate Lauren Hamilton (9th, 20:23), Stableford (11th, 20:25), Nicole Sassaman (12th, 20:26), Megan Brunette (13th, 20:28) and Meredith Sloan (20th, 20:56).
Stableford, who had hoped to win the race, said she couldn't get out of bed on Thursday or Friday. She felt ill on Saturday, but there was a state championship on the line. At TCA, runners show up for the big races.
"There was no way I was going to miss this," she said, holding back tears. "I did everything I could to put myself out there. But it's hard. We all ran for each other today."

St. Mary's Sydney Harris was the fastest area runner. Harris finished fifth in 20:02.
Middle Park's Samantha Berggren won the 3A girls race in 19:19. Alamosa's Jennifer Desouchet (19:22) was second, followed by Hotchkiss' Natalie Anderson (19:30).
In the boys' race, Josh Simkins paced TCA with a second-place run of 16:44. He was followed by teammate Adam Avischious in third (16:49). Joshua George finished 12th (17:08), Craig Miller (23rd, 17:32), Jake Purvis (17:36) and Jonathan Isaac finished 37th in 17:51.
The team title was the TCA's boys' fourth.
"All things considered, it was a great day," TCA coach Alan Versaw said. "Great teams get it done on the off days, too."
Class 5A: Liberty's Hannah Everson turned in the fastest time of all area girls, covering the tough course in 18:36 to finish fourth.
"I'm very happy with it," said Everson, a junior.
Like many successful runners, she ran conservatively for the first couple of miles, then surged to the front in the last 800 meters. She finshed ninth last year.
Liberty's Hannah Dimmick finished 38th (20:21)
Pine Creek's Laura Yarrow, a junior, was fifth in 18:43.
"I just followed the faster runners and then tried to slowly break away at the end," Yarrow said. "The hills were hard, but the finish line kept me going."
A year ago, she placed deep in the pack. If they gave an award for most improved runner, she would win it.
"Summer training with the Speed Track Club helped me the most," she said.
Palmer's Ali Gronniger was 26th (20:05), and Margaret Stauffer placed 39th
(20:22).
Boulder's Kelsey Lakowske won the 5A title in 18:11, followed by FortCollins' Erin Hooker (18:29) and Highlands Ranch's Eleanor Fulton (18:30).

In the boys' 5A race, Palmer's Goodman brothers, Andrew and Ben were the fastest among area runners. Andrew, a senior, placed ninth in 16:32. Ben finished 32nd (17:14). Rampart's Tucker Hamilton was 52nd in 17:26.

Class 2A: Peyton's Nick Baca predicted last week that Telluride's Ty Williams would be the runner to beat. He was right, and nobody was up to the task, though Baca gave it all he had. Williams was better suited for the hilly course and won in 16:48. Baca was second in 17:07.  Pikes Peak Christian's Micah Tate finished fourth in 17:51.

Peyton placed third as a team with Sabian Beard in seventh and Joey McKeon running in 35th place.

Fountain Valley's Jordan Clementi finished 11th as the Danes scored 68 points to sixth as a team.

In the 2A girls race, Fountain Valley's Sam Olvera was the best of the area runners. She placed 17th (21:34).