Boys second at South Fork regional
Looking at the cover of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 2024 Cross-Country Bulletin, one can see a photo from the ’23 State Championships’ Class 2A Boys’ race. And in it, Ignacio’s then-freshman prospect Cayson Burcham.
When the ’24 season began, however, the Bobcats’ picture for success perhaps wasn’t as clear, considering a new head coach had taken the program’s reins and Burcham had decided to test himself on the football field. But lucky for rookie skipper Kent Gillin, juniors Trace Crane and James Martin both returned … and both proved crucial in earning IHS a return to Norris-Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.
Even if their typical finishing order was reversed.
Competing Friday morning, October 25, at the 2A-Region IV Championships in South Fork, Martin laid down a time of 18 minutes, 10.74 seconds in placing third overall, while Crane clocked 18:32.88 and came in seventh as the ’Cats accumulated an adjusted score-4 total of 41 points.
Only Crested Butte Community School, with a near-perfect low of 13 points, fared better, while Dolores (47) and meet-hosting Del Norte (55) rounded out the top four of nine title-eligible teams. Buena Vista (70 points), Blanca-based Sierra Grande (142), Monte Vista (145), Antonito (146) and San Luis Centennial (156) each had to hope to qualify individual runners for State.
CBCS senior Giles Billick was the individual champion in 17:48.38, and junior teammate Max Sullivan took second in 18:02.98. Junior Cody Pleak (18:13.56) then followed Martin across the finish line, and DNHS sophomore Mads Kreutzer (18:16.05), trailing Pleak by roughly the same margin of time as Pleak did Martin, took fifth.
Two Ignacio entrants ended up battling for 16th place – one needed a top-15 result if one wasn’t part of a State-qualifying team – on the golf-course route at Rio Grande Club & Resort, with sophomore Judah Ashley (19:40.16) out-kicking sophomore Thunder Windy Boy (19:44.22), and ’24 senior newcomer Li Zhenghui (25:34.01) placed 54th in the field of 68.
IHS unfortunately had no entrants in the Region IV girls’ feature, won by Ridgway. With their three starring freshmen finishing within the top five, the Lady Demons accumulated 16 points while second-place Crested Butte ended up with 29 and third-place Dolores 39. RHS’ Emery Cornell (21:00.30) was the winner over classmate Natasha Hessler (21:03.80) and CBCS freshman Tazzy Pozner (22:07.20).
Set for Saturday, Nov. 2, the 2024 State 2A Boys’ race is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and the 2A Girls’ at 2:20 as CHSAA’s 82nd season of boys’ cross-country – and 47th of girls’ – concludes.