COLORADO SPRINGS — When the calendar clicked over to November, Kenny Wilcox felt pretty good about the chances of his Salida boys cross country team going into Saturday’s Class 3A state championship race.
On a “Salida weather day” at the Norris Penrose Event Center, the Spartans captured the program’s first state championship since 2009 and second all-time as the meet took place a bit outside its normal time frame of late October.
Boosted by the performance of a pair of freshmen, plus another strong state race from senior Ezekiel Wilcox, Salida scored 85 points for a comfortable victory over Jefferson Academy (116) with Banning Lewis Preparatory Academy third with 126.
“I’m not a superstitious guy, but it was in November of that year (2009) that the guys lifted the big trophy, so we like it when state happens in November,” Kenny Wilcox said with a grin. “Let’s hope they keep having it in November so we can keep doing this."
Wilcox noted the large contingent from Salida — both part of and outside the program — who made the trek to Colorado Springs and lined the course with supporters.
The Spartans put on a strong display and were led by Ezekiel Wilcox, who was 11th as a junior in the 2023 race, but climbed up four spots for a seventh-place finish with a time of 16 minutes, 34.04 seconds. He had higher aspirations individually, but leading the way on a team that broke a lengthy title drought meant much more.
“Obviously there’s always dreams of being a state champion, but today it was more than that,” he said. “It’s a lot more fun to be surrounded by a team, so at the end of the day, it was a perfect performance."
What really helped Salida get over the top was the addition of another Wilcox — Joaquin — in addition to fellow freshman Jackson Shomion. Joaquin Wilcox grabbed 19th place in 17:08.49, while Shomion took 21st with a time of 17:09.59.
“You don’t often see what our freshmen did this year,” Kenny Wilcox said. “You see it more sometimes on the girls side, but how young guys can run with poise and confidence in their first state meet really makes a difference.”
Individually, Resurrection Christian senior Jackson Fagerlin translated the success he had found in track & field into cross country with his first career state championship. He is a two-time state champion in the 1,600 meters and also owns crowns in the 800 and 4x400, but finally got his chance to win an individual cross country title.
He was ninth in the state race a year ago and the eight finishers in front of him all graduated, which opened up the chance for him to take the state championship.
“Cross country is such a beast and a lot of it is mental,” he said. “You’re out there a long time and you really have to stick with it. Consistency is big."
Fagerlin had previous state experiences to draw on and made sure he didn’t make mistakes as he had previously, like when he went out too fast in the first mile as a freshman and faded later in the race to finish 26th, the only time he didn't not make the top 10 in four career trips to state.
As a senior, he constructed a race that went ideally and ended with a final time of 16:05.24.
Fagerlin entered the stadium with the finish line in sight and a good distance between himself and runner-up Matthew Heyden of Frontier Academy, which allowed him to appreciate the significance of his accomplishment.
“I think I took a little look to the side and then I got to soak in all in since this is my last year,” he said. “To finish it like this is amazing."
Heyden secured second place with a 16:07.03 — a big jump over his 16th place finish in 2023 — with third place going to Peak to Peak Charter School’s Jack Cerullo, who was 18th a year ago.
Rounding out the top 10 podium spots were TCA’s Noah Askew (fourth), Lamar’s Joel Davis (fifth), Jefferson Academy’s Aden Garza and Rylan Mills (sixth and ninth, respectively), Jackson Dalleck of Gunnison (eighth) and Kalid Fanning of Frontier Academy (10th).