Scott Spillman captured the win in the Winter Series IV 20 K on Saturday in the Black Forest. Spillman, 26, Colorado Springs, covered the hilly, snowy course in 1 hour, 14 minutes, 58 seconds. It was his first race in the Winter Series.
"I was just doing this to get a good training run in," he said.
The star of the day was Corban Pagnotta, a fresh-faced Pueblo West High School sophomore who finished second and won the long series championship. Pagnotta clocked 1:18:56, but his combined time of 3:57:33 was the best of all. Brad Poppele (41, Manitou Springs) finished second in the series with a total time of 4:01:22.
In the women's long series, Clare Bar, 25, of Colorado Springs, won for the third time in four starts. She blasted the 20K in 1:28:18 and won the series with a 4:21:49. Stephanie Wurtz (30, Colorado Springs) was second with a 4:26:32.
In the 10K, Katie Rainsberger, a 14-year-old Air Academy High School freshman, won for the fourth time and captured the overall short-series title. She cruised to the win in a course record time of 41:43. Rainsberger's total time was 1:59:03, more than eight minutes ahead of second place Kayli Tabares, 13, Colorado Springs.
The women's short-course series was dominated by young runners. Seven of the top 10 in the final standings ranged in age from 11 to 18.
In the men's short course race, James Burns, 24, Colorado Springs, won again to take the series. He finished in 33:53 with a total time of 1:39:26. Former Olympic steeple chase qualifier Justin Chaston, 44, Colorado Springs, was second on Saturday (35:23) and second overall (1:42:12.)