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PHOTOS: Summit cross-country team sweeps 4A Region 1 meet for 2nd-straight year 

Kayla Broecker and Jay McDonald crowned individual champions

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Cody Jones

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Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Kayla Broecker leads the 4A Region 1 girls cross-country race on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Gypsum. Broecker was crowned the individual champ, leading the team to a first-place finish and a ticket to next week's state meet.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

When the Summit High School cross-country team began training back in June, the team already had a good idea of its goals for the upcoming fall season.

After sweeping the regional cross-country race for the first time in program history during the 2024 fall season, Summit dreamed of once again punching its ticket to the state cross-country meet by winning the regional races again this fall.

Throughout the summer and fall, the team logged miles side-by-side, practiced race tactics and ticked off supplemental goals like winning the team’s home race a few weeks ago. 

On Thursday, Oct. 23, the Tigers finally got an opportunity to defend their regional titles, taking to the cross-country course at the Siena Valley Club in Gypsum for the 4A Region 1 cross-country meet. 

As rain blanketed the pristine golf course, the Summit girls cross-country team stoically took to the start line, poised to make a statement as a team. As smoke from the starter’s gun filled the sky, freshman Kayla Broecker — clad in a pair of racing shades — confidently cruised to the front of the pack and fell into a steady pace.

Broecker stayed close to the rest of the field for the first mile or so before the burgeoning star broke free and began chasing her first regional title. By the 2-mile mark, Broecker had at least a 50-meter gap on Battle Mountain sophomore Eden DeMino. 

With her shades now off, Broecker expanded upon her lead over the final mile of the 5K race, crossing the finish line at the 4A Region 1 champion in a time of 18 minutes, 46.00 seconds. 

“It feels really good because now I can open up to other goals and really train hard this week to get some more goals at state,” Broecker said. “The history Summit has at the regional meet really inspires me and I am excited to start a new era.”

Broecker’s win joins a long lineage of individual champions at the 4A Region 1 race. Class of 2025 graduate Ella Hagen famously won titles at the meet from 2022-24, paving the way for Broecker to follow in her footsteps.

DeMino, who raced against Broecker consistently in middle school, took second in 19:13.30. A handful of seconds later, Summit was able to put its second runner across the line. Running  one of her strongest races of the season, sophomore Sophie Dinse took third in a time of 19:39.80. 

The performance marks a four-place improvement from last season, highlighting Dinse’s dedication, growth and hard work. 

Two more Summit runners crashed into the top 10. Junior Lily Benbow kicked hard to the finish line to take ninth in a time of 20:23.50 with freshman Leah Noble swiftly following in 20:25.30 for 10th. Broecker, Dinse, Benbow and Noble all earned all-region honors by placing within the top 15. 

The Tigers’ final scoring runner of the afternoon was junior Ashley Adkins. Adkins took 18th overall in 20:50.10. Junior Milla Phaf and freshman Lucia Templeton both finished within the top 25 for Summit. Phaf took 24th (21:07.60) with Templeton taking 25th (21:08.00).

Lucy Greenwood finished 33rd (21:36.90) and sophomore Paige Ratliff took 36th (21:43.30).

Although the team race was close, the Summit girls claimed its second-straight regional title with a total of 41 points. 

“We really train well together and push each other during training so we can accomplish these goals,” Broecker said. “It is nice to see that it is starting to pay off.”

Battle Mountain finished in second with 49 points, Grand Junction took third with 92 points. Conifer was the final state-qualifying team in fourth with 125 points. 

Dillon Benbow/Courtesy photo
The Summit High School cross-country team poses for a photo after sweeping the 4A Region 1 cross-country meet for the second-consecutive season on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Gypsum.
Dillon Benbow/Courtesy photo

Soon after the girls race had finished up, the Summit boys took to the rain-sodden course to defend its regional title. With the team not finishing lower than second so far this season, the Summit boys were quick to position themselves at the front of the race in order to vie for all-region spots. 

Leading the charge for the team were juniors Jay McDonald and Lukas Remeikis. McDonald and Remeikis ran down the course’s opening fairway alongside a pair of twins from Eagle Valley — Dylan and Tyler Blair. 

After an initial mile of controlled running, McDonald began to open the race up, slowly pulling away from Remeikis and Tyler as Dylan stayed close by. As McDonald entered the final mile, the experienced runner dug a little deeper, steadily developing a gap between him and Dylan. 

After taking fourth at last year’s race, McDonald broke across the finish line as the 4A Region 1 champ in a new course-record time of 15:52.10. A Summit runner has now won the 4A Region 1 boys race the past two years, with class of 2025 graduate Josh Shriver winning the race last year. 

Dylan Blair took second in 15:55.80 and Tyler Blair finished in third in 16:15.40. Dropping 10 spots from last year, Remeikis took fourth overall in a time of 16:23.80.

“It means a lot,” Remeikis said. “From my freshman year and not even being able to break 17 to now coming here and running like 16:30 on a hard course. It means a lot.”

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Jay McDonald leads the 4A Region 1 cross-country meet on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. McDonald was crowned the boys individual champion, setting a new course-record time.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

Displaying the team’s desire to stand atop the podium at next week’s state meet, Summit put five more runners within the top 15 — all earning all-region honors. Junior Johnny Ryan, junior Owen Fallon, senior Carter Niemkiewicz and freshman Crosby Hume all finished within the top 10. 

Ryan took sixth (16:30.10), Fallon finished in eighth (16:40.60), Niemkiewicz finished in ninth (16:54.90) and Hume took 10th (16:56.50). 

Senior Cain Steinweg was Summit’s seventh runner across the line, taking 15th in 17:08.30. The all-region performance marked a four place improvement from last year. 

Summit’s eighth and ninth runners also finished within the top 20. Junior John McDonald took 17th (17:19.90) and sophomore Cooper Levi took 19th (17:37.80).

Summit won the boys regional race by a landslide, scoring a total of 28 points. 

“It’s a little bit of a boost for team morale, because training is getting hard, it is getting colder and the days are getting shorter,” Remeikis said. “It is going to be a little bit of a taper. We need to stay motivated after this week’s win, go to state and crush it.”

Eagle Valley finished in second with 76 points, Central Grand Junction took third (100) and Grand Junction High School finished in fourth (148). 

The Summit High School cross-country team will now have a little over a week to prepare for the 4A state cross-country meet in Colorado Springs on Saturday, Nov. 1. The race will take place at the Norris Penrose Event Center with the girls scheduled to race at 12:20 p.m. and the boys set to start at 1:40 p.m.

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