Steamboat Pilot & Today

Making it to the state meet in Denver has been a yearlong goal for the members of the Steamboat Springs cross-country teams and it was obvious at last weekend's regional in Delta.

"Everybody ran personal bests," Sailors runner Cody Firestone said.

The local runners' top showings helped the Steamboat girls team place third in the regional results. The boys' combined times earned them fourth place. Both teams' places were good enough to qualify for the state meet, which will be held at Kent Denver this Saturday.

"I'm not sure what to expect," Firestone said.

This is Firestone's first season with the cross-country team. He placed fifth in last Saturday's race in Delta with a time of 16 minutes, 54 seconds. Montrose runner Mark Tobler won the race and helped his team top the boys team standings with a score of 45. Tobler finished the race with a time of 16:05. Chaz Soloman of Glenwood Springs was second at 16:31. Glenwood was second with 57 points and Moffat County came in third with 73 points.

Other top Steamboat finishes included Matt Hayne with a time of 17:59 and Daniel Ward with a time of 18:15.

"It was definitely one of the fastest courses we ran this season," Firestone said. "The biggest challenge was that everyone else was running fast."

The Steamboat girls team will also advance to the state meet this weekend after finishing third in Delta. As expected, the Moffat County girls dominated the regional meet recording a score of 23. Montrose was second with 35 points.

"We've been chasing the guys in blue all season," Firestone said. "I don't think it will change this weekend in Denver, but it's hard to tell right now."

Rachel Starr led the Steamboat girls in ninth place with a time of 20:37. She was followed by Tara Wernig at 20:55 and Jessica Philip at 21:58.

The race was won by Palisade's Natalie Hughes, who finished with a time of 18:17. Moffat County's Danielle Brown was second at 18:58 and teammate Stephanie Hurd was third with a time of 19:18.

Bulldogs also finished fourth with Caroline Cretti (19:26), fifth with Charlotte Steele (19:32), sixth with Beth White (19:34) and seventh with Sheila McNicol (19:56).

"The whole team is excited about going to state," Firestone said. "I don't have any idea about where I can place. I'm expecting a lot of fast runners, and I think if we can just reach our own personal goals we will be happy with wherever we finish."

The state meet will take place this Saturday at the Kent Denver High School in Denver.