Tiger runners excel at league meet

Friday’s cold, fall conditions didn’t deter the Summit High cross country team as they competed in the Jeffco League championship at Dakota Ridge High School. In fact, it may have actually helped.

“That’s pretty favorable weather for a bunch of mountain kids,” Tigers’ head coach Heather Quarantillo said.

The Tigers took advantage of the sub-50 temperature and earned top-5 finishes for both the boys’ and girls’ teams.

Senior Chris Rice finished in ninth place to lead the boys’ side to a best-ever fifth-place finish in the 10-team competition.

“They set out with the goal of finishing in fifth and they did it,” Quarantillo said.

Wheat Ridge took home top honors for the boys with a team score of 58 points. Summit finished at 137.

Senior Zach Armstrong was next for the boys, finishing in 12th place with a time of 17:57, and junior Will Radigan (18:06) finished twelfth. Both Armstrong and Rice earned second-team all-conference honors for their performances.

The Summit girls continued their strong season with a second-place finish as a team behind sophomore Cali Greksa, who finished second at 19:59. The Tigers finished just 12 points behind first-place Evergreen.

“We knew they were a really strong team,” Quarantillo said of Evergreen. “We knew it was going to be close.”

Greksa and Alisha Scheifley, who finished in ninth place, both were named all-conference first team. Tess Olson, who finished 10th, earned second-team honors.

The Tigers are now looking ahead to the regional meet in Delta on Sept. 18.

“(Friday) was a positive step in the right direction for us,” Quarantillo said. “It puts us in a great position heading into regionals.”

Bryce Evans can be reached at (970) 668-4634 or at bevans@summitdaily.com.