The Lions were back at the Mead course on October 8, to participate in the Patriot League Championships. It was cold, rainy, and muddy, and with each successive race, the conditions continued to deteriorate. The average cross country runner is tough in body, mind, and spirit and the Lions took on the days’ races with determination.
The girls’ varsity race of 71 runners representing 11 teams started with many going out fast to take early substantial leads. The Lions ran smart and hard, with each runner patiently working their way up through the pack. Sophomore Miriam Roberts finished first for the Lions with 3rd place, a season best (SB) of 19:49. Junior Olivia Raspotnik was the next Lion to cross the finish for 13th and her own SB of 21:18. Junior Kelsey Miner finished 29th with 22:28, a personal record (PR) by 45 seconds. Freshman Jenna Anderson closed the scoring with 31st place in 22:30, a PR of 2:07, while fellow freshman Anna Sundrud came in at 33rd with 22:48, a PR by 1:49. Junior Hazel Myers finished 43rd with 23:44. The girls placed 4th as a team with Roberts additionally receiving All Conference honors.
With the rain picking up and the course getting sloppier, the boys’ varsity race of 85 runners representing 12 schools got underway. The bad weather did not seem to get the Lions down, as they all ran phenomenal races. Sophomore Marcel Such finished first for the Lions placing 10th with a time of 17:43, a PR by 23 seconds. Senior Sean Flynn was next to finish with 12th place, a PR match of 17:56. Senior Reed Test battled to the finish for 13th with a time of 18:16, a PR by 39 seconds, while junior Sam Crowley closed the scoring with 15th place in 18:24, a PR by 14 seconds. Junior Ryan Boucher finished 25th with a SB of 18:59, and freshman Brian Flynn finished 27th with 19:10, a PR by 36 seconds. The boys placed 3rd as a team with Such additionally receiving All Conference honors.
Due to substantial rainfall and wretched conditions on the course, the JV races were shortened to one loop of the course or 2800 meters. One might actually dub these last two races of the day as “2800 Meters of Misery.” Results for the girls were Faith Myers 4 (14:20), Maia Lang 6 (14:46), Emma Cisar 13 (15:38), Emily Schneider 14 (16:02), and Savannah Drotar 18 (19:43).
The Lyons’ boys dominated the boys’ race with Spencer Huff placing first with 11:16, followed by Matt Dillon for 2nd (11:24), and Nick McNulty for 3rd (11:26). Other finishers were Ethan Pomeroy 5 (11:45), Levi Stone 8 (11:49), Isaac Vahlenkamp 12 (12:45), Shea Gilman 13 (12:49), Isaiah Vahlenkamp 17 (13:46), Jack Gambrell 19 (13:48), Kevin Mattes 24 (15:01), Matt Smith 30 (16:48).
Lyons Middle School ran the 2800-meter course earlier in the day with the Lyons’ boys taking the top five spots. Paul Roberts was back up to full speed this week, finishing in 9:30 for first place and chopping 29 seconds off the course record. Following were Joel Such 2 (10:03), Brian Dillon 3 (11:49), Ethan Burton 4 (13:22), Jack Avirett 5 (13:26), Nathan Schneider 7 (13:41), Nathan King 12 (14:44), Adam Crowl 13 (14:49), Nathan Radich 17 (16:26), and Alex Wright 24 (20:17). These young male Lions completely dominated their race, finishing 1st as a team. In the girls’ race, Sarah Roberts was the first Lion to finish with 5th place (13:08), followed by Brandy Boldt 11 (14:21), Amanda Dillon 12 (14:30), Anna Vahlenkamp 14 (15:18), and Sierra Tanner 21 (18:46). The girls placed 2nd as a team.
Despite being the smallest school in the Patriot League, Lyons’ cross country once again proves that its reputation of being tough is well deserved. With high hopes of qualifying for state, the championship season continues with Lyons’ participation in the Colorado 2A - Region 1 Championship on Lyons’ home course on Thurday, October 20. The Lyons girls run at 4:30 p.m., the boys run at 5:30 p.m. JV/Middle School Championships will be held on Friday, October 21, on the home course with races beginning at 4:30 p.m. Come out and cheer them on!
Photos by Forrest Yelverton
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