COLORADO SPRINGS — Summit sophomore Ella Hagen looked to her right, her left — all green jerseys. Luckily, she wasn’t green herself this time around at the state meet.
Hagen won the Class 4A girls race by holding off a sea of Niwot runners at Norris Penrose Event Center Saturday afternoon, clocking in at 17 minutes and 48 seconds. She immediately turned to greet the green-cladded Cougars, who placed second through sixth to run away with their fifth straight team title.
“You’re up there and it’s just you and them,” Hagen said a year after placing seventh at state. “It’s really energizing and motivating, and you just want to give it your all because they’re giving their all out there.”
Hagen credits some of her success to training in the high elevations of Summit County, which ranges from 7,947 feet above sea level to 14,270. Battle tested this past week, she was prepared for anything as the team ran in high winds and snow.
“Last year I was just trying to find my feet and getting used to being in a crowd with so many incredible girls,” she said. “This year I knew that I could be one of them if I really tried this year. And I’ve kind of come into my own.”
Niwot freshman Addison Ritzenhein finished behind Hagen, crossing in 17:56. As temperatures heated up on the course in the afternoon, Hagen pulled away from Ritzenhein in the third mile to finish with an eight-second difference. It was her fourth win this month.
Niwot’s Mia Prok (18:18), Bella Nelson (18:24), Madison Shults (18:29) and Lex Bullen (18:35) followed in line. Mia’s younger sister Anna Prok took eighth.
“That was exactly the plan, just run as a pack, stay together and honestly just have fun together,” said Mia Prok, who finished inside the top three for a third straight year. “It’s just another kind of more high-stakes workout. We were just having the mindset of staying calm and running together.”
Scoring five runners, the Cougars tied their own class record (set last year) with just 20 points. Battle Mountain placed second with 122.
Niwot won the cross country national title in December.
“I was so excited to join this team,” freshman Ritzenhein said. “When I was middle school I always saw the high school team running around town and I was like ‘Oh my God, I can’t wait to do that next year.”
