State champs! Fort Collins' Groendyk, Liberty Common's Allori lead trio of local title winners
COLORADO SPRINGS – Fort Collins High School’s Christian Groendyk and Liberty Common’s Isabel Allori each capped unbeaten cross-country seasons in impressive fashion Saturday, winning state titles at the Colorado state championships at Norris Penrose Event Center.
Groendyk won the Class 5A boys race in 15 minutes, 13.5 seconds.
Allori took the Class 3A girls race in 17:10.3, breaking the previous state-meet record for the classification by more than 50 seconds.
Heritage Christian’s Jack Nauman also was a state champion, winning the Class 2A boys race in 15:55.1.
“Fort Collins showed up today,” Nauman said.
Dozens of other runners from Fort Collins-area schools qualified for the meet.
Here are some of the highlights:
Fort Collins' Christian Groendyk wins on ‘greatest stage in the country’
The senior Groendyk took the lead for the first time Saturday with about 400 meters remaining, overtaking Mountain Vista’s Tyler Downs and pulled away as he entered the rodeo arena that serves as the finish line, with hundreds of fans cheering him on.
“It’s just a crazy feeling, just the greatest stage in the country,” Groendyk said. “I’ve raced at Hayward Field (in Eugene, Oregon), and it doesn’t match the energy here at state.
“Everybody knows how tough this course is, how much this matters to the people running it. Nothing’s ever going to touch that feeling.”
Iron Man:Fort Collins' Christian Groendyk sets the pace as Colorado's top cross country runner
Groendyk and runner-up Drew Costelow of Valor Christian, who set a fast pace early, both passed Downs on the final uphill into the arena. Costelow finished second, nearly 10 seconds behind Groendyk in 15:23.3, and Downs was third in 15:24.5.
“My whole race plan this entire season really has been to prepare for state, and I knew that last mile is what makes or breaks the race,” Groendyk said.
Groendyk was an alternate on Fort Collins’ team at the 2019 state championships and didn’t compete. He finished 52nd at state as a sophomore and ninth as a junior.
Fort Collins finished ninth as a team.
Fossil Ridge, led by the 11th-place finish of Cy Teruel in 16:02.9, was 14th.
The Fossil Ridge girls finished eighth, with junior Tatum Berg leading the way and finishing 14th in 18:40.4. Fossil Ridge’s team score was 215. Fort Collins’ girls were 18th with a score of 387 and Poudre was 20th at 526.
Liberty Common’s Isabel Allori wanted to ‘do something special’ this year
Allori knew she was the favorite to win the Class 3A girls championship coming into the race. After all, nobody had beaten her in any race this season.
Still, to actually win a state championship was a big deal, with the 3A state-meet record and a personal-best time sweetening the deal.
“It’s great,” she said. “I got fifth last year, and I was really happy that I had done everything I could do that day. But I wasn’t satisfied with it.
“I knew I wanted to come back this year and do something special, so I was able to do that.”
More:'Mighty Miler' Isabel Allori of Liberty Common sets sights on state cross-country title
Allori and runner-up Katelyn Maley of Basalt, the defending state champion, set a blistering pace early while leaving the field behind.
Allori started pulling away up a hill near the 1-mile mark, matching the 5:25 pace for the first mile that she and coach Rory Schulte had set as her goal.
“And then I started to get a gap and then that’s when I started really feeling confident; yeah, I’ve got this, just me.”
Her winning time was nearly 65 seconds faster than Maley, who finished in 18:15.2, and well ahead of the 18:56.7 Allori ran on the same course at last year’s state meet.
And it was 10 seconds faster than her previous best on any course, eclipsing the 17:20.2 she ran Sept. 3 at the Wyoming Open in Cheyenne.
“I’m just super happy with it,” Allori said. “It felt really good, and it was a lot of fun, and I’m so happy to come away with my PR.”
Her Liberty Common team finished fourth with a score of 197, 11 behind third-place Holy Family.
Alamosa was the 3A girls team champion with a score of 57, and The Classical Academy was second with 88.
Timnath, a first-year program competing with only freshmen, finished 10th with 271.
Lily Wale was the Cubs’ top finisher, placing 15th in 19:23.3.
Heritage Christian’s Jack Nauman wins 2A title
Heritage Christian’s Jack Nauman ran in the state championships as an individual his freshman year and was on Class 2A state championship teams as a sophomore and junior.
As a senior, he got to do what he had wanted since that first state meet in 2019.
“I’ve been dreaming about it for four years, just to run in here by myself,” Nauman said. “I almost got it at pre-state (a meet on the same course) last year. But state is a different animal. I’m so excited.”
Nauman, who finished second in the 2021 state meet, ran in a tight pack of 10 through the first mile, then pulled away with Lake County senior Jace Peters through the hilly second mile. He owned the third mile, pushing the pace along a boardwalk just past the 2-mile marker and building enough of a cushion to ensure that solo finish of his dreams.
Nauman’s winning time was more than 26 seconds ahead of Peters, the runner-up in 16:21.3.
Nauman’s Heritage Christian teammate, senior Ryan O’Laughlin, was third in 16:33.6.
Heritage Christian’s hopes of a three-peat for the team title fell just short, with St. Mary’s Academy taking the title with a score of 73. Heritage Christian was second with 82, four ahead of third-place Peyton.
Freshmen twins Ian and Owen Molgaard were the Eagles’ other two scorers, finishing 34th and 44th, respectively in team points with times of 18:04.9 and 18:37.4.
Heritage Christian’s girls team finished second with 48 points, 14 behind winner Lake County. Freshman Mikaela Kendall was the Eagles’ top finisher, placing fourth in 20:16.6.
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Kelly Lyell reports on CSU, high school and other local sports and topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, follow him on Twitter @KellyLyell and find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado cross country championships: Groendyk, Allori win state titles
