Last Friday, 8/25, the Coronado cross country team battled the heat and the competition at Norris Penrose Stadium, and did well considering the difficult circumstances. This being the first meet of the 2017 cross country season, many of the newcomers had never run a 5k (3.1 miles) before, but put on an impressive performance. With their bright yellow, red, and black jerseys the Cougars looked fashionable, fierce, and ready to stir up the dust.  

At 3:30 P.M, with temperatures in the mid-eighties, your varsity girls stepped up to the line to tackle the challenging Bear Creek course. Junior Faith Roth finished first for the team, and was closely followed by .1 of a second by senior Chloe Cassens. Madeline Morland, 11, crossed right after, having Coronado finishing 15th, 16th, and 17th place. Although the lady Cougars finished further back in the team standing than last year, sophomore Grace Abernethy and senior Taylor Dutton were missing from the line up. Both out with injuries, the two varsity members will hopefully be back at full strength this week and ready for the rest of the season. Finishing 7th at the state meet last year, the girls’ varsity cross country team has a lot to prove in the season ahead.

With the gun sounding at 6 P.M, the varsity boys had slightly cooler weather for their race. Leading the Cougar’s pack was Conor Strizich,12, and Ben Swanson, 11, who finished 12th and 13th overall. Andrew Burton, 12, and Charlie Schroeder, 10, finished close behind, helping the Cougars place 7th out of 15 teams. With the loss of #2 varsity runner Clay Rahaman, many worried that the team would not reach the high performance level of last year, but the boys have stepped up and have shown everyone that they are not a team to take for granted.

The Cheyenne Mountain Stampede is known for being a brutal meet with soaring temperatures and little shade under the August sun. However, the Cougars will get another chance on this challenging course on October 28th at the Colorado State Cross Country Meet. Come out and support your Coronado Cross Country teams at their various meets of the season, especially the Cougar Classic on 9/21, but make sure you wear your running shoes or it will be hard to keep up!