Boys Cross Country: Coronado Staying the Course in Hunt for State Title
By Brock Laue
Photo: Lorna Horton
The Coronado boys cross country team nearly won gold at the 4A state championships last year.
What changed the outcome was taht one of their top three runners, Xzavier Campos, had to miss state due to a broken toe. They were narrowly defeated by a terrific Thompson Valley team, 64-69.
“It was devastating, because that really would’ve changed things having him as our low stick,” Coronado coach Lisa Rainsberger said.
Now Campos is back for a fully loaded and determined Cougar group.
“We talk about the banner,” Rainsberger said. “Coronado’s gym has state championship banners that line the wall and we haven’t had a banner up there since 2012 (in cross country). We focus on the banner. We want the banner.”
“The team goal is definitely to win 4A,” number one runner Oliver Horton added. “That’s been our goal for the past two years. The goal still remains the same, but I think this year we’re in a pretty good spot.”
In Rainsberger’s four years as the head coach, her boys team has finished sixth in 2022, fourth in 2023, and second in 2024 at the 4A State Meet. This may be their best opportunity yet to secure the school’s No. 2 state championship in the sport.
All have been course records, even his 14:23 at one of the country’s most cutthroat competitions. That mark ranks second in America among all high school runners, according to Milesplit.com. He won the race by two seconds over Flagstaff’s (Ariz.) Yohanes Van Meerten. Campos also performed well, placing seventh in 14:55.
“My time, I was pretty happy with it,” Horton said. “That was about as fast as I could’ve run that day. My goal when I got down there was definitely to go for the win.”
Rainsberger is enthused by the progress her fantastic junior has made.
“Every time he races is a highlight,” she said. “He comes out and is breaking course records, records held by very fast and just amazing runners. The first meet, I was a little scared. I was like, ‘Oh man is he coming out too hot? Is this the peak of his season?’ I had this little pit of doubt. Then I was like, ‘No, everything has led up to this. Now we’re just staying the course and getting ready to peak for state.’ After state, we’ll go down and run Nike Regionals.”
Horton shattered the course record at Arapahoe that was held by former Denver East great Cerake Geberkidane. His three performances this season have established him as the favorite to earn the 4A individual crown.
He’s one of several athletes to watch during CHSAA postseason competition. Cross country regionals are scheduled for Oct. 23 through 25, and the state championships will be held Nov. 1 at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.
The only returning individual state champion is 4A’s Aiden Le Roux of Cheyenne Mountain, who was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado but is currently dealing with an injury. The 2024 boys team champions were Niwot (5A), which is ranked number one in the nation and is the defending Nike national champion, Thompson Valley (4A), Salida (3A) and Golden View Classical (2A).
And yet, this could be Coronado’s chance to shine. They’ve performed well in the past under Rainsberger, slowly building up to this year. At the moment, they’re ranked 18th in the country by Dyestat.com thanks in large part to a runner-up showing at Desert Twilight.
Horton, who is being recruited by the likes of Northern Arizona University, the University of North Carolina, Villanova University, Wake Forest University, Brigham Young University, and the University of Notre Dame, and Campos are the two dominant forces at the top of the lineup.
“I’m sure his mom feels like Mrs. Tuohy from The Blindside right now, because of all the calls he’s getting from recruiters,” Rainsberger said, with a laugh, about Horton.
There’s plenty of competition in 4A, from runners such as Le Roux, Summit’s Jay McDonald (14:39 personal record), and Eagle Valley’s Dylan Blair (14:43), but Horton and Campos have a chance of beating everyone at the state championships. The other team contenders appear to be Summit and Thompson Valley.
“He’s got to go to the starting line going this is my race to win,” Rainsberger said of Horton. “It’s not my race to lose. It’s not an arrogance, it’s just a confidence. He’s a scholar of the sport. He learns it, he understands it. He has a singular focus right now, not only for himself but more importantly for his team. He wants his team to win.”
Horton was third at the 4A state championships last year, behind now graduated Cheyenne Mountain star Brogan Collins (second place) and champion Le Roux. The junior was ninth at the State Meet as a freshman.
But Campos is just as important for Coronado’s opportunity at team success.
“The unique thing about Xzavier is his spread of distances from his 400 all the way up to the 5k,” Rainsberger said of his range of elite times at several distances. “I think coaches are really intrigued by that. He’s getting recruited by teams in the SEC, teams in the Big Ten. It’s been late, because of his foot surgery last year. It took him awhile to build back, but he’s stronger than ever right now.”
After running personal records of 1:51 for 800-meters and 4:08 for 1,600-meters at lower altitude during this past track season, Campos is poised to do well at the cross country state championships.
“He’s probably one of the hardest workers that I know,” Horton said. “He works so hard day in and day out and now that he’s fully healthy he pushes me every day in practice and I push him. We’re just pushing each other to be better and better. To be able to come back from that injury and do the things he’s been doing is pretty spectacular.”
Also putting in the effort to strive for a team crown has been John Stanczak (15:32 personal record), Braxton Oliver (15:52), Isaac Sanchez (16:07), Eli Salazar (16:28), and Eastyn Gutowski (17:12).
“I had a kid (Sanchez) who showed up last year,” Rainsberger said. “This is his second year of cross country. He’s a senior this year. He’s now our fifth man. As you know, the fifth man in cross country is the most important man. He’s improved so much. You look at these kids that have never run and they’re surprising themselves, they’re surprising us. It’s because of the culture. They train together, they boost each other up, they support each other, they cheer for each other. This team is like none other in terms of the love that these boys share and that these girls have for each other. Being a small team allows everyone to get to know each other on a personal level and the coaches to get to know every single athlete on the team.”
With only 15 boys and 15 girls, a girls team projected to place fifth at state, they’re a small but united group. Oh, and they believe in Rainsberger’s coaching.
“Coach Rainsberger’s experience is second to none,” Horton said of the former professional athlete who shattered three American records and won the Boston Marathon. “We’re all really lucky to have her and to have a coach with all that experience and all that knowledge she has about the sport. She’s a huge reason why we do as good as we do. We trust in her, we trust in her training.”
Rainsberger has been coaching for about 40 years, having formerly led a club program and working with high-level athletes such as her daughter, Katie, who used to be the state record holder in the 1,600-meters during her time at Air Academy.
“You just stay the course and do the best you can as a coach,” she said humbly. “I love the school. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
