Eskelson and Russell, both sophomores at MHS, qualified for the state competition at the 2A-Regional meet in Delta the previous week. The 2A girls’ race started the day at the Norris Penrose Event Center. The beautiful weather conditions complemented the views surrounding Colorado Springs, coach Marty Casey said. “It was a great morning for racing. Julia had been here before, having competed at state last year. She knew the course and was ready to go. It showed, with a 25th-place finish and a time of 22:52, almost 20 seconds faster than last year’s time.”
The boys’ 2A race started at 11:30 a.m., and the temperature and level of competition had increased, Casey said. In fact, the fastest time on the course for the day was logged by the winner of the 2A race. “This was Austin’s first year of cross country, and it was great to see him competing at the state level,” Casey said. “He was certainly nervous before the start, but he came out strong and had a great showing.” Russell ran a 19:22 for 32nd place in a field of 106 runners. “We had a good time, and ran some great races,” Casey said. “I look forward to seeing what these two can do in their next couple of years.”
Rangely High School freshman Patrick Scoggins, No. 129 near center, was the only boy runner at the 2A level state cross-country meet wearing green. At one mile, Scoggins was in 50th place. The group headed up a long hill outside Colorado Springs and by the time they reached the top, he was in 14th place. By the finish, he had moved up to 11th overall, missing a medal by one place. Scoggins finished in a time of 18:21.60 out of a field of 106 boys.
