The Gunnison High School cross country team competed at the CHSAA State Championships in Colorado Springs with the girls placing 14th and the boys placing 16th.
For the first time since 2021, both the boys and girls qualified for the final meet of the year. Head coach Blake Davis emphasized that everyone was up for the challenge and didn’t let the moment get too big for them.
“The coaches and I were extremely proud of how they competed,” said Davis. “A lot of times when you get to a state meet or you get to a bigger race like regionals or state, a lot of times kids get overly nervous to where it impacts them negatively. I was amazed to see how calm and collected they were and how focused they were on the task at hand.”
The boys team was led by Ari Eberly who placed 44th with a time of 17:31.00. Behind him was Ian Baker who placed 63rd with a time of 17:49.30, Brandon Hallock who placed 65th with a time of 17:52.90, Jesus Chona who placed 129th with a time of 19:06.90 and Riego Koepsel who placed 137th with a time of 19:25.30. These five boys rounded out the top-five scoring Cowboys.
Houston Stair placed 142nd with a time of 19:39.50 and Rylan Sahgagun placed 154th with a time of 20:45.00.
The boys placed 16th out of the 20 teams that scored with 361 points, just three more points than 15th place Wellington Middle-High School.
“Ari Eberly did a phenomenal job,” said Davis. “This was his first state competition in high school, and he didn't get sucked in. He didn't get convinced by others to get away from his race plan. He did exactly what he needed to do. He moved up, the boy told him to move up, and the results followed.”
Davis also highlighted the performance of Baker, who raced in the state meet for the second time in two years.
“Last year he had a pretty good race, this year he had a really good race,” said Davis. “And his leadership throughout the season, and his just calm demeanor, really helped the rest of the team take care of what they needed to take care of.”
On the girls side, Elora Jones placed 26th with a time of 20:25.00 to lead the way. Behind her was Bristol Buffington who placed 89th with a time of 22:23.20, Lucy Orgill who placed 99th with a time of 22:47.40, Brooke Terry who placed 100th with a time of 22:48.80 and Avery Crean who placed 101st with a time of 22:53.20. These five girls were the top-five scoring girls at the meet.
Autumn Terry placed 129th with a time of 24:24.60 and Caris Storkel placed 130th with a time of 24:26.70.
The Cowboys placed 14th overall out of the 20 teams that competed with 339 points.
“Elora Jones was very impressive,” said Davis. “This was her second time racing at the state meet, and last year she didn't have the race she wanted. And this year when she got there, she (was) very composed, very calm, very focused on the task at hand and she ended up having one of her best races of the year.”
Davis also highlighted Buffington’s performance at the meet, saying, “she had an incredible summer, had an incredible season, had a couple hiccups, and was still able to come up and really help our team, contribute a lot to our team this year.”
While reflecting on the year, Davis noted that at the beginning of the season he didn’t know what this team’s identity was, but the athletes have really found out who they truly are as the 2026 cross country season has come to a close.
“We really focused on the task at hand, we focused on what we could control,” said Davis. “And that really reflected throughout practice, day in and day out. It didn't matter what the circumstance was, it didn't matter if it was raining, it didn't matter if it was crappy weather, it didn't matter if someone was injured, or if someone...it just didn't matter. They did an incredible job of understanding and figuring out, as a group, what do we need to do today to be successful?”
Davis emphasized that the success of this year wouldn’t be possible without the foundation laid by his seniors. He went as far as to say that it all started last year when they were juniors and has been building up until this moment.
“What they were doing works,” said Davis. “And to buy into that is scary and not easy to do. And I applaud the seniors so much for believing in it and living it out and doing it to the best of their ability, because they've done a great job of showing these freshmen and these sophomores what the hard work looks like and why it is important to get to where we want to go.”
Even though the year just ended, Davis is already excited for next year. Now that the foundation has been set, the team can hit the ground running. He also noted that he is excited to see new athletes step up into leadership roles next year.
“I'm also just excited to see where we're at at the beginning of the year and see who we become as the year goes on,” said Davis. “That was the most rewarding thing, to see these kids really just gel by the end of the season. I think that's what I'm looking forward to.”
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