Blake Davis saw an inexperienced GHS cross country team reach its peak. The young Gunnison roster gained valuable experience and advanced three runners out of the Class 3A Region 2 race on Oct. 23 at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs.
Freshman Jordan Callahan (19 minutes, 56.77 seconds, 11th) and sophomore Elora Jones (2:06.44, 14th) on the girls side and sophomore Ian Baker (16:57.28, 15th) on the boys side advanced to the state meet at Norris Penrose Event Center on Oct. 25 in Colorado Springs. The girls team finished 5th with 152 points in the 10-team field. The GHS boys finished 7th with 105 points in the 11-team field.
“Being in one of the most competitive regions, it was right there for the girls,” Davis said. “The boys did what they needed to do to put themselves in a position at races. We feel like they’ve taken the next step to be a state level team.
“Our team culture was extremely positive and very welcoming. It was great to show up regardless of where a runner’s skill level was with the goal to get better no matter where it was when you came to us.”
When Callahan and Jones can find each other in the pack, they have the ability to find inspiration in their strides.
“They do a good job of making each other better at practice,” Davis said. “They run at meets together and make each other better when they get out and find each other. They’ll push each other and when that happens they pass everyone which has been awesome to watch. They are competitive with each other in the best way possible.”
Even though Ian Baker’s regular season meets might not have met his high expectations, the rugged courses on the Cowboys’ schedule proved to be solid prep work for regionals. Davis said his “ascent” started at Grand Junction and carried into Colorado Springs last Thursday.
“Ian worked hard through the summer,” Davis said. “It actually started during track season for him as he’s been on an upwards trajectory ever since. Early this season we ran a lot of challenging courses, and he didn’t see the success he thinks he’s capable of. But, we saw it in practice day in-and-day out.”
And they’ll get to see it one more time this week at the state meet.
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