Two weeks ago, the Coronado cross country team found success at Woodland Park’s Run Above the Clouds. The 2,000 foot altitude gain and the small schools in attendance were a departure from the Cougar’s usual meets, however not all these were necessarily unwelcome changes. The team faced little competition from opposing schools with the exception of Cheyenne Mountain, who bested both the boys and girls teams by narrow margins. The girls were especially close; only a two point difference separated them from the Cheyenne runners.

On the boy’s side, Cheyenne Mountain won by a slightly larger margin of 7 points due to some impressive pack running from the opposition. Conor Strizich,12, and Ben Swanson, 11, however, refused to be denied a spot in the top five and finished 4th and 5th place respectively. Teammates Andrew Burton, 12, Ben Hays-Lemmon, 10, and Charlie Schroder, 10, were not far behind, finishing in 8th, 9th, and 12th. “It was a really fun meet, and I think the team did great despite a difficult week of practice. The season is picking up quickly and I think this meet really demonstrated the progress that we’ve made so far” said Strizich.

The cougar girls had a strong pack, led by Chloe Cassens, 12, Madeline Morland, 11, and Taylor Dutton, 12. Morland and Dutton finished 3rd and 4th, followed closely by Faith Roth, 11, and Hannah Besse,12, who finished 7th and 23rd. Cassens won, setting a new course record of 20:42. “Everything fell into place nicely for me” said Cassens of the race. “I’ve wanted to go run up in Woodland Park at a meet since 6th grade, I’ve been putting in all this work over the summer and since the season beginning, the last two races I’ve just barely come in second for the team, and it all worked out this time for me! I remained strong and confident the whole race and remember just thinking about attacking every bit I could… I want to take the drive from this race and put it into my other performances throughout the season, really find that strength on all the courses.”

Come support the Cougars at their next home meet this Thursday at Monument Valley Park!