COLORADO STATE MEET

No. 2 Mountain Vista Girls, No. 3 Niwot Boys Ace First Championship Test At State Meet; Addison Ritzenhein Smashes Course Record

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

INTERVIEWS

Addison Ritzenhein of Niwot ran the fastest time ever on the Colorado state meet course at Norris Penrose Event Center on Saturday when she crossed the line in 16:54.7. 

The reigning Nike Cross Nationals champion has remained steady, consistent and improving since her break-out performance last December in Portland. 

The daughter of legendary runner and professional coach Dathan Ritzenhein knows how to handle pressure.

"It can get hard at times. It's a lot of weight on your shoulders, it's a lot of expectations," she said. "But for me, something I've found easiest (to do) is to say at the end of the day, it's not that deep. It's just running. I kind of just tell myself that. Honestly, pressure is a blessing. It's deserved, I believe, and shows how special it can be."

The groundswell of elite girls distance running in Colorado continues. 

Last year, there were 10 girls across all the classification finals that ran under 18 minutes on the difficult Norris Penrose Event Center course in Colorado Springs. And three teams from Colorado took the top three spots at Nike Cross Nationals. 

On Saturday, the number of girls under 18 minutes on the course improved to 12. Five of them ran 17:35 or faster. 

"This state has so much talent. It's unmatched, I think, to any other state, honestly," Ritzenhein said.

Before Katie Rainsberger won NXN in 2015 she ran 17:39 to win her final Colorado state meet. 

Mountain Vista, one of the national favorites for the girls NXN title title, scored 63 points and got fifth and sixth place finishes from Keeghan Edwards and Claire Guiberson. 

Air Academy, the reigning NXN champion, was second with 101 points. Fossil Ridge was next with 108 points. Chaparral was next with 132. Niwot was fifth, moving up from Class 4A last year, with 160. 

All of them are nationally ranked among the top 30. 

Ella Hagen of Summit won the Class 4A race in 17:30.5, an eight-second improvement on her time from 2023. 

Timnath, a school that opened two years ago, won the team title with 98 points. 

Sophomore Delaney Reuter from Eaton won the Class 3A race by a whopping 54 seconds, in 17:26.9. 

The Classical Academy girls put five in the top 18 to overcome Manitou, which had three finishers in the top nine. 

In the boys championships, No. 3 Niwot rolled to victory in its first 5A final with 44 points. The combination of Ryder Keeton (fourth), Hunter Robbie (sixth) and Gabriel Marshall (eighth) led the charge. Usual leader Rocco Culpepper had a rough final mile and finished 29th.  

Mountain Vista teammates Benjamin Anderson (15:09.5) and Benjamin Adams (15.25.8) went 1-2 in the race but the team finished fifth. 

Valor Christian was second with 87 points. 

In Class 4A, Thompson Valley edged Coronado 64-69 for the team title. 

Aiden Le Roux of Cheyenne Mountain ran the fastest time of the day, 15:02.1, to win the 4A final. His teammate Brogan Collins was second in 15:18.1. 

Jackson Fagerlin of Resurrection Christian won the 3A race in 16:05.3. Salida won the team title with 85 points. 

In Class 2A, the Golden View Classical Academy boys and Heritage Christian Academy girls celebrated team championships. 

Team Champions - 

Class 5A - Niwot boys 44 points, Mountain Vista girls 63 points 

Class 4A - Thompson Valley boys 64 points, Timnath girls 98 points

Class 3A - Salida boys 85 points, The Classical Academy girls 36 points

Class 2A - Golden View Classical Academy boys 47 points, Heritage Christian Academy girls 25 points