Coal Ridge Sweeps Cross-Country Titles at Basalt Invitational

Aspen —The obvious take is that this was a big win for Basalt. They hosted the race, they put on the show, and their runners finished near the top. That take is wrong.

Coal Ridge swept both high school team titles at the Longhorn Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 22. They took the boys’ crown and the girls’ crown at Crown Mountain Park in El Jebel. The host, Basalt High School, finished second in the boys’ race and tied for fourth in the girls’. Make no mistake: the visitors owned this meet.

The Aspen Times reported that Coal Ridge junior Lucas Von won the boys’ 5-kilometer race in 17 minutes, 27.94 seconds. He built a lead and never looked back. Aspen junior Ryan Marcinkowski finished second in 18:27.86, and Aspen senior Jack Diaz took third in 18:42.46. The distance between the winner and the rest of the field was significant enough to separate the top three from the pack.

Basalt’s best finish came from junior Levi Friday, who placed seventh in 19:20.65. Sophomore Elliot Galbraith and junior Kaiden Werth rounded out the top ten for the hosts. But individual placement doesn’t win team points. Coal Ridge accumulated 42 points to claim the title. Basalt sat at 71. Lake County followed with 78, and Aspen finished fourth with 88. The gap between the winner and the host was nearly 30 points. That is a chasm in cross-country scoring.

The girls’ race told a different story, but the team result was the same. North Fork senior Saskia Marlin won in 19:13.97. She passed Rangely senior Taya Wren down the final stretch to take first place. Coal Ridge senior Effie Fletcher finished third, just a few steps behind the winner. The photo finish was tight, but the team math was not.

Coal Ridge swept the girls’ team title with 70 points. Lake County finished second with 87, and Aspen took third with 89. Basalt tied for fourth with North Fork at 95 points each. The hosts were outscored by the visitors again.

In the middle school races, the local picture looked better. Craig’s Kaden Kuberry won the boys’ 2,500-meter run in 10:12.39. Aspen’s Brisbane Jennings finished second, and the Aspen team took the boys’ title over Craig. In the girls’ middle school race, Craig ran 1-2-3, led by Lucy Wattles. They won the team title easily.

The season is just getting started. Aspen will host its home race on Oct. 3 near the high school. Then, on Oct. 23, Aspen Golf Club will host a Class 3A regional race that determines state qualifiers.

Basalt hosted the opening weekend, but they didn’t win it. Coal Ridge did. The hosts will have to answer for that gap when the regional qualifiers come around.