Cowboys cross country teams place second at home meet

The Gunnison High School cross country team hosted four other schools this weekend at the 17th Annual Mountaineer Cowboy Cross Country Meet.

After taking a year off due to construction, the Cowboys once again hosted their home meet Saturday, Sept. 19. Salida, Olathe, Crested Butte and Lake City Community School all joined the Cowboys at the campus of Western Colorado University for the race.

“It went wonderful. It was perfect weather,” head coach Blake Davis said. “It was amazing being able to race at home in front of all the families and the whole Gunnison community. So it went really well. The kids competed great.”

Because it was a smaller meet, the team got to work together on strategy and move up together in packs.

Both the boys and girls teams finished in second place overall at the meet.

Ari Eberly placed fifth with a time of 17:35.00 to lead the way for the boys. Brandon Hallock finished right behind him in sixth with a time of 17:49.00, Ian Baker placed seventh with a 17:54.00, Jesus Chona placed eighth with a time of 18:17.00 and Riego Koepsel placed 13th with a time of 19:02.00, rounding out the top five scorers at the meet.

Houston Stair placed 22nd with a time of 20:20.00, Beck Schwab placed 25th with a time of 20:30.00, Jack Siegrist placed 30th with a time of 21:31.00, Blake Hill placed 32nd with a time of 22:25.00, Roman Loken placed 38th with a time of 23:06.00 and Casen Foltz placed 40th with a time of 24:43.00.

Davis emphasized that Eberly and Chona each got out quick and did not fall off in the second half of the race.

“[They] were able to really focus on the task at hand and get out fast, be smooth, and then we're still able to finish, which that's really hard to do in a three-mile race,” Davis said.

On the girls side, Elora Jones led the way, placing fourth with a time of 21:05.00. Brooke Terry placed eighth with a time of 21:58.00, Avery Crean placed 16th with a time of 22:54.00, Lucy Orgill placed 17th with a time of 23:00.00 and Bristol Buffington placed 18th with a time of 23:03.00, rounding out the top five scorers at the meet. 

Sophie Nold placed 19th with a time of 24:03.00, Emma Carr placed 20th with a time of 24:20.00, Kinley Dziekan placed 21st with a time of 24:26.00, Caris Storkel placed 22nd with a time of 24:31.00, Autumn Terry placed 23rd with a time of 25:07.00, Mila Jorgenson-Clair placed 25th with a time of 25:16.00, Sofia Rascon placed 28th with a time of 26:34.00, Kendall Clark placed 32nd with a time of 29:43.00 and Arianna DeMarco placed 35th with a time of 32:44.00.

Davis shouted out both Brooke Terry and Emma Carr after the meet. 

“Those two girls did really, really well this weekend,” Davis said. “They were working with groups and then they were working out. They were aggressive throughout the whole race and had great finishes.”

The Cowboys will not race this upcoming weekend because of homecoming, but will instead use the extended break to make their last big push before the end of the season.

“We get to really focus on having three to four great workouts before our next meet,” Davis said. “And with that being said, it's really our last big push for fitness before we start backing off a little bit, making sure that the kids can run their best come late October.”