Cross Country: Eight Teams, Eight Individuals Crowned State Champions
COLORADO SPRINGS – All eight team and all eight individual state champions were crowned Saturday at the 2023 Cross Country State Championships at Norris Penrose Event Center.
Over the course of the day, three course records were broken and three first-time champions were crowned.
In 2A, both the boys and girls winners were first-time champions, as Golden View captured their first boys title and Heritage Christian won their first girls championship. Rock Canyon was the other first-time champion, as it capped off the day by claiming the 5A boys race
The Classical Academy and Niwot swept the 3A and 4A races, respectively. The Classical Academy boys claimed their ninth title and third-consecutive, while the girls team won their 15th state championship, and first since 2021. In 4A, Niwot won their sixth-straight girls title and third boys championship, and first since 2020.
In 5A, Air Academy won the girls race to mark a third state title for the program, and its second-straight 5A title.
The Vanguard School’s Nadhia Campos started the day hot, winning her third-straight state title in a course record time of 18:19.1 for 2A girls. The Classical Academy’s Matthew Edwards set the 3A boys course record at 15:20.7 and Niwot’s Addison Ritzenhein broke the 4A girls record, finishing in 17:39.0.
Team Champions
2A Boys: Golden View
2A Girls: Heritage Christian
3A Boys: The Classical Academy
3A Girls: The Classical Academy
4A Boys: Niwot
4A Girls: Niwot
5A Boys: Rock Canyon
5A Girls: Air Academy
Individual Champions
2A Boys: Andrew Bel, Colorado Springs Christian (16.16.6)
2A Girls: Nadhia Campos, The Vanguard School (18.19.1*)
3A Boys: Matthew Edwards, The Classical Academy (15:20.7*)
3A Girls: Isabel Allori, Liberty Common (17:32.4)
4A Boys: Will Brunner, Battle Mountain (15:19.9)
4A Girls: Addison Ritzenhein, Niwot (17:08.2*)
5A Boys: Brennan Draper, Chaparral (15:14.4)
5A Girls: Rosie Mucharsky, Denver East (17:28.8)
* – denotes course record
Race Recaps
- 5A boys: Rock Canyon Captures Program’s First Championship
- 5A girls: Air Academy Places 5 in Top 8 to Defend Title
- 4A boys: Battle Mountain’s Will Brunner Stands Atop The Podium
- 4A girls: Niwot’s Addison Ritzenhein Sets State Meet Record As Cougars Win Sixth-Straight Title
- 3A boys: The Classical Academy’s Matthew Edwards Leads Team to Title
- 3A girls: Depth Propels The Classical Academy to Title
- 2A boys: C.S. Christian’s Andrew Bel Emerges as State Champion
- 2A girls: The Vanguard’s Nadhia Campos Wins Third-Straight Title
Photo Galleries
- 5A boys (by Alan Versaw, Josh Genz and Steve Abeyta)
- 5A girls (by Alan Versaw, Steve Abeyta, Josh Genz)
- 4A boys (by Alan Versaw, Josh Genz)
- 4A girls (by Brad Cochi, Alan Versaw and Josh Genz)
- 3A boys (by Brad Cochi, Steve Abeyta and Josh Genz)
- 3A girls (by Brad Cochi, Josh Genz, Alan Versaw, Steve Abeyta)
- 2A boys (by Brad Cochi, Josh Genz, Alan Versaw)
- 2A girls (by Brad Cochi, Josh Genz, Alan Versaw)
- Unified Race (by Alan Versaw, Josh Genz)
- More coming soon
