COLORADO SPRINGS - What a quick rise to the top it has been for Ridgway. 

In just their second year as a cross country program, the Demons earned the 2A girls team championship at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs. 

“It’s completely overwhelming,” coach Trevor Peterson said. “Last year we came over, first-year program, three freshmen and a senior and we finished well. Third place, just off the podium. Going into the year, we knew we had the potential to do this. Potential is just a word. You never know what’s going to happen. The work the girls put in all year, seeing it come to fruition is just so amazing to experience.”

Ridgway had stiff competition from Lake County (11 girls state cross country state championships) and Heritage Christian (two-time defending champions), but twin sisters led the charge. 

Nastasha (first place, time of 18:49) and Ariel (fourth place) Hessler were a dynamic duo at the top of the lineup. 

“A lot of if starts up with Ariel and Natasha, who have been running for a long time with their Dad,” Peterson said. “They’ve been around running their whole lives. Their Dad has done a wonderful job of not overcooking them when they’re young. Now that they’re in high school, they’re getting stronger and stronger.” 

After being in a lead pack of six runners through the mile-one marker, which included two Heritage Christian competitors and individual defending champion Taya Wren of Rangely, that strength started to show up. 

Ariel Hessler decided to push the pace, despite having to endure the hilly second mile. 

“I credit Ariel for pulling the race open,” Natasha Hessler said. “As a racer, my tendency sometimes is to stay back. Either that or lead and then blow up. At a mile, I was kind of sitting back and my sister moved up and actually led the race. She dropped a bunch of the girls. It ended up being a matchup.” 

As a few individuals fell behind the leaders, a duel emerged between Natasha Hessler and Heritage Christian’s Emma Lukens for first. Lukens took a one-second lead at the two-mile marker as Hessler began to suffer. 

“I was kind of fading away from two to two-and-a-half miles,” Hessler said. “The girl who got second, Emma, was leading and I didn’t know if I could beat her today. Then, I saw my Dad pretty close to the creek crossing and he was like, ‘You can do this. You’re stronger than her.’ I switched my brain and was like, 'okay I can do this. Once I cross this creek, I can see the finish.'”

The Ridgway sophomore surged through the creek, up the hill, and into the stadium. Her winning time of 18:49 was a five-second gap ahead of Lukens. Monte Vista’s Shae Romero was third and Ariel Hessler was fourth. Brooklyn Minihane of Colorado Springs Christian was fifth and Wren was sixth. 

The new cross country program, which had to travel about six hours to the state meet from near Ouray, had an impressive top two finishers. 

But, so did Heritage Christian as Kate Lukens was seventh. The race for the team title was in doubt early.

In the end, the third and fourth runners for Ridgway made the ultimate difference, finishing far ahead of HCA’s last scorers. 

In Class 2A, four runners score for the point total and Ridgway’s Macey Cornell (19th) and Emery Cornell (21st) came up huge. 

“They came by me in the last tenth of a mile,” Peterson said. “They were right next to each other. Each race it feels like one person is a little stronger. It’s a wonderful thing. They run together and support one another.”

The final point tallies were 38 for Ridgway, 77 for Lake County, 88 for Denver Christian, and 91 for Heritage Christian.

Peterson noted how prepared his runners were for Little Willis, the daunting hill on the state course. 

“We hit hills every week from the first week on,” he said. “Hills are a big component of our training. Really being ready for that, you saw that with the kids really attacking the last hill. They weren’t dying. We do this all year, just one more. They really did a wonderful job.”

It’s even more wonderful knowing how new they are to cross country. 

In their very first season, they were third at the 2A state meet as Natasha (sixth place) and Ariel Hessler (seventh) earned podium finishes. Then, during track season they won the 3,200-meter relay state championship. Now they’ve already reached the mountain top in cross country.

“People often view us as up-and-coming underdogs,” Natasha Hessler said. “Doing this today really proves that we’re a good team.”

“It’s such a community win,” Peterson added after Ridgway won their fifth team championship across all sports. “Being able to celebrate it with everybody around, it’s such a wonderful thing to be able to share with the team and the school.”