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ENLARGE
Summit High School's Whitney Anderson dominated the crosscountry running field in 2004, winning three state championships and placing fourth at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship.
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ENLARGE
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Breckenridge's Steve Fisher, seen here at the Chevy Grand Prix earlier this month, took the sport by storm in 2004, a year punctuated by his halfpipe win at the X Games in Aspen.
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Not a bad year to cover sports in Summit County.
We had multiple high school state champions, both team and individual; a Breckenridge local won the Winter X Games snowboarding halfpipe competition live on ESPN; a Silverthorne adventure racer was involved with what might have been the nation's best display of sportsmanship this year, under the circumstances; and one of the winter sports world's premier events announced it will make its much-anticipated return at none other than Copper Mountain.
How good was this year? Well, the stories alluded to above were only our top five. Other notables that would've been right at the top of the list in years past found themselves relegated to honorable-mention status this time around.
Selecting Summit's top sports story of 2004 was a tall task, thanks to the talent and drive (and results) of those involved with athletics around here.
First, we narrowed it down to about 15 that we felt at least warranted mention. Then we pared it down to our final five. Then, in a decision that received much debate, we selected a winner - Summit's top sports story of 2004.
We had multiple high school state champions, both team and individual; a Breckenridge local won the Winter X Games snowboarding halfpipe competition live on ESPN; a Silverthorne adventure racer was involved with what might have been the nation's best display of sportsmanship this year, under the circumstances; and one of the winter sports world's premier events announced it will make its much-anticipated return at none other than Copper Mountain.
How good was this year? Well, the stories alluded to above were only our top five. Other notables that would've been right at the top of the list in years past found themselves relegated to honorable-mention status this time around.
Selecting Summit's top sports story of 2004 was a tall task, thanks to the talent and drive (and results) of those involved with athletics around here.
First, we narrowed it down to about 15 that we felt at least warranted mention. Then we pared it down to our final five. Then, in a decision that received much debate, we selected a winner - Summit's top sports story of 2004.
Without further ado, here they are, beginning with the story of the year.
1. Whitney Anderson's emergence as one of the nation's top high school distance runners. Her year began with an out-of-nowhere performance for the ages at the 4A state track and field championships in May, her first season competing for Summit High. Although an underdog in both races she was competing in - the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs - Anderson left thousands of mouths agape at the packed Jeffco Stadium when she ran perfectly paced races in both events to sweep the state titles. Before her fellow competitors could congratulate her, they had to ask for her name.
Then, this fall, Anderson kept the momentum going. She ran away with the state cross country championship (literally; her time was a minute and a half faster than the next competitor), leading the Tigers to an eighth-place finish as a team in their first trip to the state meet. Anderson then took fourth at the Foot Locker National Championship earlier this month. Considering more than 250,000 girls ran for their high school cross country teams this season, the placing at nationals was her most impressive number of the year.
Still, despite all the results, Anderson is our story of the year because of how quickly she shot to the top, and because of how she got there. Training under a coach, Lyle Knudson, whom she calls a "scientist," Anderson achieved her lofty success in only her second year running competitively. She trained in frigid temperatures, in the dark, alone, yet she never wavered in pursuit of her goals. As incredible an athlete as she is, she is arguably even a more promising person.
2. Breckenridge snowboarder Steve Fisher wins the X Games pipe competition live on ESPN. Similar to Anderson's rapid rise to the top, Fisher enjoyed a breakout season last winter as well, one that was punctuated by his surprise win at the X Games in Aspen. With millions of viewers following his sky-high launches off the pipe, Fisher wowed ESPN's "SportsCenter" audience with a run worthy of victory at the most recognized event in action sports, Olympics excepted.
A Minnesota native, Fisher moved to Breckenridge in October 2003 and became the talk of the town with his X Games triumph five months later. His win was our second choice by the slimmest of margins.
1. Whitney Anderson's emergence as one of the nation's top high school distance runners. Her year began with an out-of-nowhere performance for the ages at the 4A state track and field championships in May, her first season competing for Summit High. Although an underdog in both races she was competing in - the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs - Anderson left thousands of mouths agape at the packed Jeffco Stadium when she ran perfectly paced races in both events to sweep the state titles. Before her fellow competitors could congratulate her, they had to ask for her name.
Then, this fall, Anderson kept the momentum going. She ran away with the state cross country championship (literally; her time was a minute and a half faster than the next competitor), leading the Tigers to an eighth-place finish as a team in their first trip to the state meet. Anderson then took fourth at the Foot Locker National Championship earlier this month. Considering more than 250,000 girls ran for their high school cross country teams this season, the placing at nationals was her most impressive number of the year.
Still, despite all the results, Anderson is our story of the year because of how quickly she shot to the top, and because of how she got there. Training under a coach, Lyle Knudson, whom she calls a "scientist," Anderson achieved her lofty success in only her second year running competitively. She trained in frigid temperatures, in the dark, alone, yet she never wavered in pursuit of her goals. As incredible an athlete as she is, she is arguably even a more promising person.
2. Breckenridge snowboarder Steve Fisher wins the X Games pipe competition live on ESPN. Similar to Anderson's rapid rise to the top, Fisher enjoyed a breakout season last winter as well, one that was punctuated by his surprise win at the X Games in Aspen. With millions of viewers following his sky-high launches off the pipe, Fisher wowed ESPN's "SportsCenter" audience with a run worthy of victory at the most recognized event in action sports, Olympics excepted.
A Minnesota native, Fisher moved to Breckenridge in October 2003 and became the talk of the town with his X Games triumph five months later. His win was our second choice by the slimmest of margins.
3. Summit High ski teams sweep state championships. This might have been higher if the titles weren't Nos. 29 and 30 in the school's storied skiing history, but alas, tradition here is rich for a reason.
After jumping out to an early lead at Steamboat on day one, the Tigers stretched it with a strong performance across the board on the second day and won their crowns rather easily. Three athletes captured individual state titles - senior Pete Richmond (Nordic classic), sophomore Katie Hartman (alpine slalom) and sophomore Brittany Perkins (Nordic freestyle) - but it was the depth of both the boys and girls that was the key.
The championship was the second in as many years for the boys, while the girls' title ended Aspen's four-year reign.
4. Silverthorne adventure racer Danelle Ballengee is among those who finish in a tie for the win at a tragedy-laden Subaru Primal Quest. In a race that included a competitor's death and an ultracontroversial restart after a day-and-a-half pause for grieving, it was the show of sportsmanship by the New Zealand-based team Seagate - an act which made Ballengee's Nike-ACG team co-winners - that defined the grueling multiday competition.
After Ballengee's team jumped ahead of Seagate, its biggest rival, early on, Australian Nigel Aylott was killed by a boulder dislodged by another competitor and the race was stopped. Nike-ACG almost surely would've won the race had it gone as planned, save for an unpredictable injury, but with the adjusted time differences due to the restart, Seagate was able to pull into the lead on the last leg, a paddling section. Instead of exploiting the advantage that came from a friend's death, however, Seagate stopped and waited for Nike-ACG so the two teams could cross the finish as one. They also shared the $150,000 purse that went to the first- and second-place teams.
5. Outdoor Life Network announces Winter Gravity Games will be held at Copper Mountain in March. The catch here isn't that Copper is hosting a big-time winter event; that's to be expected from a premier ski resort. No, the reason for this story's inclusion in our top five is that the big-time event happens to be the reincarnation of the Winter Gravity Games, which were held just once, in 2000, before their owner at the time, NBC, decided to shelf them.
After jumping out to an early lead at Steamboat on day one, the Tigers stretched it with a strong performance across the board on the second day and won their crowns rather easily. Three athletes captured individual state titles - senior Pete Richmond (Nordic classic), sophomore Katie Hartman (alpine slalom) and sophomore Brittany Perkins (Nordic freestyle) - but it was the depth of both the boys and girls that was the key.
The championship was the second in as many years for the boys, while the girls' title ended Aspen's four-year reign.
4. Silverthorne adventure racer Danelle Ballengee is among those who finish in a tie for the win at a tragedy-laden Subaru Primal Quest. In a race that included a competitor's death and an ultracontroversial restart after a day-and-a-half pause for grieving, it was the show of sportsmanship by the New Zealand-based team Seagate - an act which made Ballengee's Nike-ACG team co-winners - that defined the grueling multiday competition.
After Ballengee's team jumped ahead of Seagate, its biggest rival, early on, Australian Nigel Aylott was killed by a boulder dislodged by another competitor and the race was stopped. Nike-ACG almost surely would've won the race had it gone as planned, save for an unpredictable injury, but with the adjusted time differences due to the restart, Seagate was able to pull into the lead on the last leg, a paddling section. Instead of exploiting the advantage that came from a friend's death, however, Seagate stopped and waited for Nike-ACG so the two teams could cross the finish as one. They also shared the $150,000 purse that went to the first- and second-place teams.
5. Outdoor Life Network announces Winter Gravity Games will be held at Copper Mountain in March. The catch here isn't that Copper is hosting a big-time winter event; that's to be expected from a premier ski resort. No, the reason for this story's inclusion in our top five is that the big-time event happens to be the reincarnation of the Winter Gravity Games, which were held just once, in 2000, before their owner at the time, NBC, decided to shelf them.
When OLN bought the games this year, however, the decision was made to bring back the winter games, and Copper proved to be the best location. While many events boast of having the "top names" in winter competition, it appears the Gravity Games will be able to back up that claim come March, which should provide the year's best display of talent on the local slopes.
Other notable stories of 2004:
- Keystone freestyle ski training center gets approved amid heavy debate, then gets nixed due to insurance problems.
- Summit's Nordic ski club reorganizes by hiring 2002 Olympian Matt Dayton, a Breckenridge native, to serve as program director and lead the county's next wave of cross country skiers.
- Summit High School cancels its softball season due to poor turnout.
- Locals Jim Grotemeyer and Randy Veeneman win the Breckenridge Powder 8 Championships for the first time after more than a decade of competing together.
Other notable stories of 2004:
- Keystone freestyle ski training center gets approved amid heavy debate, then gets nixed due to insurance problems.
- Summit's Nordic ski club reorganizes by hiring 2002 Olympian Matt Dayton, a Breckenridge native, to serve as program director and lead the county's next wave of cross country skiers.
- Summit High School cancels its softball season due to poor turnout.
- Locals Jim Grotemeyer and Randy Veeneman win the Breckenridge Powder 8 Championships for the first time after more than a decade of competing together.
- The Summit High boys soccer team advances to the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
- Frisco resident Jake Fiala finishes the 2003-2004 World Cup season in 27th place for super-G, a career best.
- The Summit High golf team erases a 19-stroke deficit in the final league competition to tie for the Jeffco title.
- Ullr's/Donkey Punch wins its fourth straight Breckenridge flag football championship, the latest crown coming at the end of an undefeated season.
Devon O'Neil can be contacted at (970) 668-3998, ext. 231, or at doneil@summitdaily.com.
- Frisco resident Jake Fiala finishes the 2003-2004 World Cup season in 27th place for super-G, a career best.
- The Summit High golf team erases a 19-stroke deficit in the final league competition to tie for the Jeffco title.
- Ullr's/Donkey Punch wins its fourth straight Breckenridge flag football championship, the latest crown coming at the end of an undefeated season.
Devon O'Neil can be contacted at (970) 668-3998, ext. 231, or at doneil@summitdaily.com.
