The Mountain-Ear
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| Nederland Cross Country teams take State |
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| Written by administrator | |
| Friday, 13 November 2009 | |
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Barbara Lawlor FORT COLLINS They ran through their pain. They pushed aside their illness. They did their best for each other and the Nederland High School cross-country teams made history last weekend. With a state championship to defend, the girls team put forth a mighty, courageous effort and are now two-time state champs. In spite of illness and injuries, the NHS girls pushed themselves to their limit and became the best high school running team in their conference in Colorado, again. The good news doesn’t end there. For the first time in NHS history, the boys’ team brought home a state championship trophy, coming in second place. Although they have had an exceptional season, the boys put their dream on the line and then went for it, doing the best they’ve done all season. The runners were ecstatic and exhausted; the coaches were bursting with pride and awe; parents were hugging each other and fellow runners began setting goals for the future. The NHS cross-country teams proved that it can be done; a small mountain school can produce the best runners in the state. With thousands of people attending the event in Fort Collins and at least 50 NHS supporters cheering them on, the boys’ team, consisting of one senior and four sophomores, took second place, five points behind Rocky Ford. Center, Del Norte and Alexander Dawson filled in the top five slots. In his best performance of the year, probably of his running career so far, senior Kyle Headrick was the lead Nederland runner, coming in sixth place with a time of 17:46, a personal best for him. Captain Kyle Headrick has made remarkable strides this year, says Coach Sabrina Robinson, in his ability to run a "complete" race without any mental lapses. His courage at the League Championships by going out really hard to compete head to head with Dawson kids was nothing but gutty and admirable. “He risked everything for our boys team to win the League title—which they did. He again ran a gritty and competitive race at the Region Championships, and again risked everything for our boys’ team to win the Region Championships, which they did.” Coach Ken Robinson said he knew Kyle was going to have a great race in the state competition, by his body language. “You could see it in his shoulders, the way he carried his arms. He was relaxed, which helped him run faster.” It was an all-out phenomenal effort by the determined senior who ran the fastest 5K in NHS history. Sophomore Dan Johnson came in ninth place with a time of 17:50, also a personal best by eight seconds. Dan Johnson has stormed to the front of the pack this year. Coach Robinson told his parents that Dan would be one of the best in the state one day, and he is now, as a sophomore, ranked top 10 in the state. He has been a lead runner all season long, and has demonstrated that he can race hard and still have lots of fun when he runs. Sophomore Parker Landry-Murphy came in 18th with a time of 18:17. The exceptional cross-over athlete had been sick for three days, but pushed himself to do his best. Parker thought a dream had come true when he came to the coaches and said that he would like to run some cross-country races. “He makes it look easy, has great form, and is a true competitor. He sets his eyes on a goal and achieves it,” says Coach Robinson. Parker ran a 18:08 5k time at the Regional Championship race to achieve all-region status. Sophomore Jordan Wood came in 50th with a time of 19:42 and sophomore Mark Plumb came in 20:03 in his first season of cross-country running. Mark is coach-able, positive, and enjoys running. He is a natural runner and did a great job at the Regional CC meet where he placed 13th, which would have enabled him to qualify for state as an individual. It was a joyous moment for the hard working boys’ team who thought they could go farther than their fourth place win last year, and then proved they could. It has been a year of struggle for the girls’ team, fraught with injuries and illness. Although none of their races have been easy, they consistently performed to the best of their ability, coming in first at district and regionals. Only one of the girls reached a personal best time in the state meet, but they all gave 110 percent and came up with the win, beating Mancoast by 14 points. Fountain Valley, Vanguard and Telluride followed. For the last week, it was uncertain if senior Kat Robinson would be able to run after spraining her ankle in practice. But she was not about to miss her last chance at a high school state competition. The Ned girls wanted to continue their status as best in the state and it would take all of them to reach that goal. Kelley Robinson came in second with a time of 19:30. Kelley is the 2008 CC champion and had a "bull’s eye" on her back all year long. She won the Mud Lake Scrimmage, won the pre-state meet, was the lead runner, coming in second, at the Lyons CC Invitational, second to Kat Robinson at the Limon Invitational and won the Region Championships. As spectators watched at the finish line, Kat, Kelley’s sister, came into view, obviously hurting, obviously pushing through the pain. Coach Robinson says, “Her ankle was bruised and swollen, but she didn’t let it affect her. The last mile was painful to watch but Kat made a courageous effort and finished the race. We had to carry her off the at the end.” Kat came in sixth with a time of 20:07. Kat is a senior who loves cross-country. She has had a spectacular four years of running high school CC. She has not only had many victories and course records, but has helped develop the CC program to what it is today. This year Kat won the prestigious Liberty Bell CC Invite, won the Snow Mountain Ranch Invitational, was our second runner at the Lyons Invite, the top runner at the Limon Invitational, and won the League Championships, and second at the Region Championships. Bex Hermann came in eighth with a time of 20:19; Bex has remarkable talent—a really naturally gifted runner who does not even know what she can do yet. She is still finding her way, and making it look so easy. She is a great teammate, has a positive attitude and is hard-working—everything a coach wants from an athlete, says Sabrina Robinson. Jess Ousley came in 21st with a time of 21:52, a personal best. Jess has been running since sixth grade and just keeps getting better and better. She is a good competitor and was the alternate on the girls’ state championship team. Her goal for this year was to make the top five so that she could run in the state championships this year and she did. Dyani Chapman came in 39th with a time of 23:39. The girls went to Fort Collins to win as a team, to support each other and they reached their goal. “They are all pleased they came together as a team,” says Coach Robinson. “They love each other and work harder as individuals for each other as a team. It was fantastic to win state once; it is remarkable to win it twice.” Robinson said that the goal of the team was to have Nederland known as a school with exceptional athletes. He also said that the teams supported other sports by sharing their joy of running. The state championship trophy was presented to NHS principal Rich Salaz and the school. There will be an assembly honoring both of the teams. |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 November 2009 ) |
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