AURORA – Delaney Reuter often sets a new standard when she races.
 
“I’m pretty sure that every course she’s run on so far, except Liberty Bell, she’s broken the course record this year,” Eaton cross country coach Jen Fishman said of her sensational runner.
 
That makes five records and counting.
 
“A lot of it has been just being more confident in her racing ability and being comfortable just going out and putting her nose in it from the get-go,” Fishman said. “She doesn’t have a ton of opportunities to race people (close), given we’re 3A, we’re kind of out east, and even in the Fort Collins area there aren’t really any girls up running with her.”
 
The one record she didn’t break? It was at the prestigious Liberty Bell Invitational, one of the most competitive races in the country. She was second by a whisker, right behind Heritage’s Emery Schwalm (16 minutes, 43.2 seconds), in a fantastic time of 16:43.4.  
 
“I talked to my coach and there really wasn’t anybody I wanted to sit behind,” Reuter said of her gameplan for Liberty Bell. “I was just going to go for it and go at my pace. It was all going well until literally right at the end, those last three steps. Overall, it was a really good race, and I executed the plan well.”
 
It went so well, in fact, that her time ranks 10th in the United States among all prep girls for 5 kilometers, according to Milesplit.com. It was perhaps the top accomplishment of the junior’s illustrious cross country career.
 
Reuter is among the athletes to watch during CHSAA postseason competition. Cross country regionals are scheduled for Oct. 23 through 25, and the state championships are Nov. 1 at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs. Three of the four 2024 girls state champions return -- Addison Ritzenhein of Niwot was the 5A winner and Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado, while Taya Wren of Rangely is the returning 2A champion. The 2024 girls team champions were Mountain Vista, Timnath (4A), The Classical Academy (3A) and Heritage Christian (2A).
 
Some of Reuter’s other achievements are winning four races in a row as a freshman and placing sixth at the 3A championships that year. She earned seven meet victories as a sophomore, which included the state title. Her time of 17:26 at state was 55 seconds faster than Alamosa’s Elizabeth McQuitty, who finished second.
 
 “I did track all through middle school,” Reuter said of her start in running. “And my mom runs, so I would always kind of tag along with her. Freshman year, I did volleyball and cross country. Sophomore year, I went all in on cross country. Volleyball was never really my thing, and I realized I was kind of good at cross country.”
 
That’s putting it lightly. Asked when she first realized how capable of a runner she was, she said:
 
“I think it was my freshman year when I was winning some meets, getting second at big meets, and just really competing with some really talented girls.”
 
Reuter has gradually built up her training. She ran about 35 miles per week as a sophomore and is now up to 40 to 50 on average.
 
“She’s a bit of a distance monster and she handles a big volume pretty well,” Fishman said.
 
The 2024 state champion seems to have a clear path to defending her crown. Her coach acknowledged that there’s always a chance another girl has an incredible race, but she’s confident in Reuter. 
 
“She’s probably going to win by a decent chunk, barring any unforeseen circumstances,” Fishman said. “So we’re aiming for the postseason more so, so a lot of the races she’s not gone into fresh.”
 
The Eaton harrier does have her sights set on more than just the state championship.
 
“I want to keep improving, keep training strong,” Reuter said. “My ultimate goal is to perform well at Nike Cross Regionals, which will be in Phoenix, and then make it to Nike Cross Nationals.”
 
Last season, she finished third at Nike Southwest Regionals in Arizona and 24th at Nike Nationals in Portland, Ore.
 
Reuter certainly has a laundry list of accomplishments, which also includes a third-place showing in the 5K at the Nike Outdoor National Track Meet, but her running career hasn’t been without adversity.
 
During the 3200-meter state championship this past track season, she cut in from the outside lanes too early in the race. Veering into lane four instead of lane five, Reuter and four others got disqualified for their infraction. The Eaton Red found out about the violation after the race, in which she won by a wide margin.
 
“My initial reaction was disbelief,” Reuter said of losing her chance at a 3200 state championship. “At first I was upset, but then I kind of accepted it because you have to own your mistakes and it wasn’t anyone else’s fault but mine. I had to shift my focus and focus on to the next race and the plans I needed to execute in the next two races (800 and 1600).”
 
She responded by placing third in the 800 and winning the gold medal in the 1600. Fishman isn’t the least bit surprised Reuter was so mature despite the disappointing result. She’s very humble, despite all her triumphs, and is an excellent communicator.
 
“It’s kind of a little frightening, because she’s 17 years old and she communicates better than some adults I know,” Fishman said.
 
“She’s one of those athletes where there’s a lot of back-and-forth,” her coach added. “We talk about the training and why we’re doing the training. This year, she’s been more confident in self-advocating and talking about the things that have been working for her. And if it doesn’t work for her, she’s very communicative. Her knowing what she’s doing, trusting the training because she’s very much involved in it, has really been a game-changer for her.”