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GHS boys defend title in Delta

Stice takes first at regionals, girls finish third

Brandon Warr

Times Staff Writer

 

GHS Cross Country — Start strong, finish strong. That is exactly what the Gunnison High School (GHS) boys cross country team did this past Friday in Delta.

After winning the 3A Region 1 championship last season, GHS boys took to the course looking to defend their title — which they did, placing three runners in the top five.

“The boys ran great from the start of the race and made it hard for Moffat County to match their pace,” said head coach Gregg Smith. “The boys were excited to go get a fourth regional title in a row.”

The Cowboys returned four runners from last year’s regional team. Led by Colten Stice and Jon Wilkinson, GHS won the 3A Region title for the fourth consecutive time, beating Moffat County for the second year in the row.

Stice improved drastically from last year, when he took fourth place at regionals. This time around, he finished first with a time of 16:46.

“It felt good,” said Stice. “Three years of hard training finally paid off.”  

Wilkinson had an impressive day as well, as he moved up two places from last year’s finish to take third with a time of 17:15. Freshman Alex Baca finished on the heels of Wilkinson as he crossed the finish line fifth with a time of 17:23.

Rounding out the scoring for the Cowboys were Brennan Stice and Garrett Butts who finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

GHS will have a tough task at this Saturday’s state championship meet in Colorado Springs, as Alamosa is still favored to win even after graduating their top-four runners from last season.  

The Cowboys still have a chance, however,  as CHSAAnow.com has deemed the GHS boys cross country team as a state title contender.

“The boys are going to see some tough competition at state,” Smith noted. “There are several very similar teams running for the title. If everyone runs their best they should place pretty high as a team.”

Classical Academy, D’Evelyn, Peak to Peak and Faith Christian along with the Cowboys will hope to unseat Alamosa as state champions.

Girls make it 16 in a row

While the GHS girls didn’t compete as well as many were thinking they would at regionals, they will keep a 16-year streak alive of sending a girls team to the state championships.

“I expect us to show more effort at state,” said Annelise Pelletier. “We didn’t give it 100 percent this last meet.”

Unlike the boys, the girls returned five runners from last year while adding a strong freshman duo — Ivy Pelletier and Aulea Rollins.

The girls had a repeat performance of last year’s 3A Region I championships by finishing third as a team.

“The girls were definitely in a much tighter race,” said Smith. “As the race was going it was hard to score, with all the back and forth between a handful of teams.”

Leading the way for GHS was Aulea Rollins who finished 12th, followed closely by Annelise Pelletier and Ivy Pelletier who finished 13th and 15th, respectively.

Freshmen Ivy Pelletier and Rollins had impressive showings in their first regional appearance. The girls will look to improve on last year’s fourteenth place finish at state.

“It feels good to keep the tradition alive,” said Rollins. “It's a big accomplishment for this team.”

The Colorado State Cross Country Championships will take place at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs this coming Saturday, Oct. 28. The boys race is scheduled for 12:40 p.m., while the girls race at 2 p.m.

GHS RESULTS

Girls

12. Aulea Rollins, 20:35; 13. Annelise Pelletier, 20:39; 15. Ivy Pelletier, 20:49; 17. Bria Rickert, 20:57; 32. Joslyn Hays, 21:49; 45. Esperenza Antonerez, 22:42; 48. Kali Wiggin, 22:53; 66. Clara Schulte, 24:33; 71. Leah Weak, 25:07.    

Boys                    

1. Colton Stice, 16:46; 3. Jon Wilkinson, 17:15; 5. Alex Baca, 17:23; 9. Brennan Stice, 17:36; 10. Garrett Butts, 17:38; 41. Wulf Stark, 19:07; 53. Zeb Alexander, 19:37; 61. John Kattnig, 19:55; 71. Jason Vader, 20:30.

 

                         

(Brandon Warr can be reached at 970.641.1414 or brandon@gunnisontimes.com.)

 

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