Bulldogs take bronze — Moffat County cross country runners headed to state
Andy Bockelman/Craig Press
The Moffat County cross country program will be sending more runners to state than it has in four years.
MCHS fared well at Friday’s 3A Region 1 Meet in Fraser, with the full Bulldog boys team making the cut for the CHSAA State Championships and two members of the girls team doing the same.
Hayden freshman Sydney Wattles had the best individual finish, ranking third in the girls 5K at a time of 21 minutes, 45 seconds. With the first 15 runners guaranteed a spot at state, senior Josefina Kuberry was comfortably in the mix, placing 12th at 22:33.
The team earned sixth as a group among a mix of Western Slope and Denver-area schools.
This is the first time since 2020 that MoCo girls XC has sent more than one runner to state.
A strong season for the boys will go on for another week, with the Dogs ranked third among 10 teams.
Junior Haven Carr and sophomore Zach Womble made the top-15 rankings, less than 10 seconds apart at fourth (18:45) and fifth (18:52), respectively. Though the MCHS group couldn’t outscore D’Evelyn or Coal Ridge, their strong finish was evidenced by a gap of more than 40 points better than fourth-place Aspen — Brady Nunez 18th, Quinn Allen 19th, Daniel Gomez 21st, Ryun Pressgrove 24th and Travis LeFevre 40th.
MCHS coach Todd Trapp noted that the team’s familiarity with the Fraser Valley course — run at the beginning of the season — helped greatly, as did athletes’ ability to keep going near the end of the schedule.
“They were ready for the challenge and just performed when it really mattered,” he said.
The 3A CHSAA State Championships take place Saturday, Nov. 2 at Colorado Springs’ Norris Penrose Events Center.
Whistle Pig Invitational 5K results
Moffat County Boys — 4. Haven Carr, 18:45; 5. Zach Womble, 18:52; 18. Brady Nunez, 19:49; 19. Quinn Allen, 20:00; 21. Daniel Gomez, 20:11; 24. Ryun Pressgrove, 20:37; 40. Travis LeFevre, 22:47. The team placed 3rd overall.
Moffat County Girls — 3. Sydney Wattles, 21:45; 12. Josefina Kuberry, 22:33; 22. Alyssa LeWarne, 23:16; 35. Hannah Kilpatrick, 24:49; 53. Haley Duran, 29:30. The team placed 6th overall.
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