Regional editor: Mike Elder
 
 
Region 6 - Southwest
 
 
AZ, CO, NV, NM, UT
 
 
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Liberty Bell Invitational
Sep 17, 2004 at Heritage HS, Littleton CO - 3.1 miles.
Course relatively flat and fast.  Approximately 1.75 miles on paved roads and 1.25 miles on a hard packed dirt ditch bank.
93 teams, 4
,000 runners.

Results - Preview

US#2 SW#1 Smoky Hill Aurora CO girls win despite injury to Katelyn Kaltenbach. SW#5 Albuquerque Academy NM boys and SW#9 Denver South CO boys win separate divisions. D'Evelyn's John McGuire 15:30 3.1m and Fort Collins' Katie Follett 17:54 are fastest individuals of the day.

Results

Boys - Girls

SW#1 Smoky Hill Aurora CO girls win Division 1 easily despite injury to their ace, Katelyn Kaltenbach. The defending national Foot Locker cross country champion injured her ankle and finished fifth in 18:20, as Fort Collins' Katie Follett was first in 17:54. Smoky Hill got third from Keara Sammons 18:16 and 10th from Erin Stratton 18:59 to outscore SW#6 Cherry Creek CO, 55-97. SW #7 Orem UT and SW#9 Albuquerque Academy were 9th and 10th.

Follett took the lead after 2 miles as Kaltenbach had shooting pains in her ankle and cramping in her calf. Kaltenbach said she twisted the ankle in last week's Aurora city championships and did no workouts this week.

Boys team power was divided between Division 1 and 2. In Division 1, SW#5 Albuquerque Academy NM 66 beat SW#6 Fort Collins CO 95 behind the 4-6-9 finish of Cody Harper 16:01, Mitch Bible 16:02 and Dustin Martin 16:10. In Division 2, SW#9 Denver South 62 was led by the 1-2-8 showing of Mohamud Ige 15:38, Aden Ahmed 15:42 and abiud Mojica 16:36.

John McGuire, D'Evelyn, 15:30 had the fastest time of the day while winning Division 3 to continue his fine early season.

Boys

Division 1

1, Albuquerque Academy 66 SW#5
2, Fort Collins 95 SW#6
3, Campbell County, WY 124
4,Cherry Creek CO 128
5, Rocky Mountain CO 153
6, Orem, UT 154
7, Smoky Hill CO 160
8, Rock Springs WY 199
9, Thornton CO 254
10, Heritage CO 261.

1, Tim Rowberry, Orem, 15:49.1
2, Graydon Curry, Campbell County, 15:51.1
3, Aaron Brown, Rocky Mountain, 15:55.7
4, Cody Harper, Albuquerque Academy, 16:00.7
5, Matt Herzel, Heritage, 16:01.6
6, Mitch Bible, Albuquerque Academy, 16:02.1
7, Kyle Lohman, Cherry Creek, 16:03.0
8, Paul Burke, Campbell County, 16:08.8
9, Dustin Martin, Albuquerque Academy, 16:09.4
10, Dan Standke, Smoky Hill, 16:10.4.

Division 2

1, Denver South 62 SW#9
2, Liberty, 86
3, Columbine 134
4, Dakota Ridge 165
5, Wasson 179
6, Greeley West 184
7, Thompson Valley 199
8, Wheat Ridge 239
9, Loveland 245
10, Chaparral 246.

1, Mohamud Ige, Denver South, 15:37.3
2, Aden Ahmed, Denver South, 15:41.3
3, Logan Kanode, Loveland, 16:02.6
4, Keith Mertz, Liberty, 16:14.0
5, Carl Arnold, Wasson, 16:25.3
6, Kyle Carney, Dakota Ridge, 16:28.1
7, Chris Molaney, Columbine, 16:31.0
8, Abiud Mojica, Denver South, 16:35.5
9, Chris Sweeney, ThunderRidge, 16:38.4
10, Ian Moore, Thompson Valley, 16:40.5.

Division 3

1, Scottsbluff, Neb. 68
2, D'Evelyn 97
3, Moffat County 144
4, Sierra 164
5, Evergreen 165
6, Woodland Park 169

1, John McGuire, D'Evelyn, 15:29.6
2, Albert Rios, Scottsbluff, 16:18.1
3, Jeremy Freed, Evergreen, 16:21.9
4, Tim Gaskins, Centaurus, 16:28.6
5, Mike McKinney, Scottsbluff, 16:39.8
6, Will Nemirow, D'Evelyn, 16:45.0
7, Jake Miller, Moffat County, 16:48.2
8, Brian Pierre, Laramie, 16:48.9
9, Eddie Sabala, Scottsbluff, 16:49.9
10, Filemon Loa, Sierra, 17:00.0.

 

Girls

Division I

1, Smoky Hill 55 SW#1
2, Cherry Creek 97 SW#6
3, Rocky Mountain 132
4, Fairview 134
5, Fort Collins 155
6, Heritage 156
7, Campbell County, Wyo., 181
8, Boulder 210
9, Albuquerque Academy 211 SW#9
10, Orem, Utah, 218. SW#7

1, Katie Follett, Fort Collins, 17:53.2
2, Maddie McKeever, Heritage 18:08.5
3, Keara Simmons, Smoky Hill, 18:15.7
4, Dani Parry, Rocky Mountain, 18:17.8
5, Katelyn Kaltenbach, Smoky Hill, 18:19.5
6, Meredith McGregor, Fairview, 19:30.6
7,Elsa Goshu, George Washington, 18:37.3
8, Lyndsay Harper, Albuquerque Academy, 18:51.4
9, E. Rustall, Rocky Mountain, 18:56.1
10, Erin Stratton, Smoky Hill, 18:58.7.

Division 2

1, Littleton 119
2, Dakota Ridge 128
3, Sand Creek 137
4, Thompson Valley 140

1, Erin Weber, Wheat Ridge 18:52.8
2, Maggie McManigal, Wasson, 19:55.2
3, Kristen Anderson, Loveland, 20:04.0
4, Kelly Anderson, Littleton, 20:14.7
5, Leann Ganzer, Littleton, 20:15.1
6, Melanie Schlaak, Sand Creek, 20:17.0
7, Jackie Lewis, Lewis-Palmer, 20:19.0

Division 3

1, Mullen 63
2, Woodland Park 104
3, Cheyenne Central 115
4, Evergreen 123

1, Marissa Urban, Woodland Park, 19:14.8
2, Heidi Suder, Laramie, 19:18.5
3, Angela Potrykus, Conifer, 19:20.4

Preview

by Adam Kedge, co-editor, Southwest Region.

Approximately 95 schools from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.  4 divisions based on size and travel considerations.   Start Time:  3:45pm. 

Girls Preview:

Contending Teams:  All in Division I   (Listed alphabetically) 

Albuquerque Academy, NM-  Third in 2002 and 4th in 2003 at Liberty Bell the Academy always seems to make a push for the awards podium.   Youth and a lack of depth through #5 - #7 may cost the Chargers in 2004.  State Champion in last springs 1600 meter run Ariel Emig leads Academy with early meet victories in New Mexico this fall. 

Campbell County, WY-  The Camels are back after a two year absence from the Liberty Bell Invitational.   Scheduling conflicts with their home invitational kept the long time Liberty Bell power from competing the past two years.  With a NTN NW Region ranking of #6 the Camels will once again be a force at this meet.  Campbell County has their top 4 girls back from the 2003 State Championship team.  Leading the way will be Sarah Gross who was 7th at State last fall. 

Cherry Creek, CO-  With a #6 Southwest ranking and a runner-up finish to Smoky Hill in the 2003 Colorado State Meet Cherry Creek looks to be the top contending team. With an 11:33 at the State Championships last spring senior Kristen Johansen should be one of their leaders this fall despite a 24th place finish last fall at State.  

Fairview, CO-  Not currently in the Southwest Regional rankings this is one team we should see creep up the pools very soon.  Their two-point victory over a strong Fort Collins team at the Allen Patten Invitational is a good indication of what we can expect to see from them at Liberty Bell.  Their top runner is Merdith MacGregor, 10th at State in 2003.   

Fort Collins, CO- Currently #10 in the Southwest Region Fort Collins has been making nose early in the season making them a team to watch.  Katie Follett lead them two weeks ago at the Allen Patten Invitational winning that meet by a :38 second margin.  They were 5th at the Colorado State Championships last fall but look to move up.  

Orem, UT-  Runners-up in class 4A at last fall’s Utah State Championship the Tigers from Orem return their top 3 girls.  Senior Heather Mella leads the way. 

Rocky Mountain, CO- Impressive at the Harrison Invitational  (2nd with 66 points) this 4th place team at last fall’s State meet should move up in 2004.  Danni Parry ran 5th at State in 2003 and will lead the Lobos of Fort Collins once again in 2004. 

Smoky Hill, CO-  #2 nationally and #1 in the Southwest defending Liberty Bell and Colorado State Champs should have an easy time with the rest of the field.  They will be lead by the 1-2 punch of seniors Katelyn Kaltenbach and Morgan Schultz. Their depth from #3 - #7 is equally impressive.  

My picks:  1.  Smoky Hill,  2.  Campbell County,  3.  Cherry Creek, 4.  Fort Collins  5.  Fairview

 

Boys Preview:

Contending Teams:  (Alphabetically)

Albuquerque Academy, NM- To this coach rankings and predictions don’t mean a thing.  Being the Coach at Albuquerque Academy I’ll take a wait and see attitude on my Chargers.  Nationally ranked at #6 by The Harrier and a #1 NTN SW Region ranking look to make my Academy Chargers the clear favorites.  Liberty Bell will have far too much quality for me to think that it will be anything but a bar brawl.  We won Liberty Bell in 2002 then faltered to 7th place last year.  My Chargers return 9 of their top 10 including a healthy  Cody Harper (1:51.80 for 800 meters) and Mitch Bible (9:40 for 3200 meters) both ran at 5000 feet elevation.    If we can handle the depth and quality of the 2004 Liberty Bell field then I’ll be sold. 

Campbell County, WY-  4 of the Camel’s top-7 return from a team that won State with a 25-point total.  They lost their #1 runner Andrew Jones to graduation but should fill nicely with T.J. Goddard who was 3rd at State behind Jones.  The Camels came into the season with a NTN NW Region ranking of #7.  Campbell County won Liberty Bell Division I in 2001.

Cherry Creek, CO-   Know around the Southwest for its depth Cherry Creek is consistently strong.   2nd at Liberty Bell and State in 2003 look for them to be fighting for the title despite not being ranked in the top-10 of the Southwest Region.  Both of those feats in 2003 were done even without a top-10 individual finisher.  Kyle Lohman and Stephen Kotch will lead the Bruins in 2004.   A dominating JV may be able to compete with the likes of York, IL and the Woodland, TX. 

Denver South, CO-  Early results for Colorado have not told the whole story.  The Rebels are still waiting for their third transfer student to become eligible.  Abuid Mojica will boost their varsity when he is granted varsity legibility come September 17th.  Coach Brad Barnes’ team should be a lock to win Division II of the meet and will likely have to best showing of the day when times are compared to the Rebels Division I counterparts.  Top runners for Denver South are Mohamed Ige and Aden Ahmed, 3rd and 4th in 5A at last fall’s State Championships.  The Rebels are currently NTN SW Region #3 and National #13. 

Denver West, CO- Graduation, transfers, and inexperienced youth make the once powerful Cowboys an after thought when talking contenders.  Two-time State Champs have to take on a “build for the future” attitude. 

Fort Collins, CO-  This is a team that opposing coach say “smells blood this year.”    A team that runs 8 deep with interchangeable parts the Lambkins has made heads turn around the state.  Thus far Paul Ringenberg has been leading Fort Collins but the pack time is so tight that any one of their 6 state returnees could be #1 man.  Last year they were 4th at Liberty Bell and 3rd at State.  

Orem, UT-  Third in 4A last fall in Utah Orem returns their 2 of their top 3.  Both seniors Tim Rowberry and Race (great XC name) Ostler should lead the way for the Tigers. 

Rocky Mountain, CO-  An impressive 3rd place finish as last weeks Harrison Invitational shows the ability of Rocky Mountain.  The Lobos of the Fort Collins area have a solid 1-2 punch with Aaron Braun and the half miler Will Buchanan.  Only 8th at State last fall depth may be their downfall. 

My Picks:  1. Denver South (by avg. time),  2.  Fort Collins,   3.  Cherry Creek,  4.  Albuquerque Academy,  5.  Campbell County

 

Southwest Region Index page

 


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