The Summit High School cross-country team came into the Vista Nation 2-mile Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 23, focused on knocking off any rust that had settled during the summer between track and cross-country training. 

Although it was the first race of the season, Summit looked anything but rusty, instead showing that the team is a strong contender in the 4A classification throughout the rest of the season. 

Unlike other races, the Vista Nation 2-mile provides the opportunity for underclassmen, upperclassmen and varsity-level runners to square off against one another in three different race divisions per gender. 

The morning of racing in Highlands Ranch began with the boys freshman and sophomore 2-mile race.

Leading the field for Summit was freshman Crosby Hume. In his debut for the Summit Tigers, Hume put together a strong race, crossing the finish line just under the 11-minute barrier in a time of 10 minutes, 59 seconds. 

Hume finished in 16th place overall in the race and was soon followed by sophomore Cooper Levi in 20th place (11:15). Sophomore Bodhi Adnan finished third for the Tigers in the race, taking 42nd in a time of 12:10. 

Freshman Connor Boots took 52nd in 12:51 and freshman Francis Yeager finished in 79th with a time of 14:15. 

It was in the freshman/sophomore girls race that Summit got to display the youth and depth of the girl’s roster. After winning numerous races in her three years at Summit Middle School, freshman Kayla Broecker got her first taste of racing at the high-school level on Saturday morning. 

Displaying her vast potential in the sport, Broecker hung tough at the front of the race and crossed the finish line in third place overall in a time of 12:07. Broecker was proceeded by Mountain Vista’ sophomore Addison Baker in first (11:53) and freshman Ephie Hagen of Niwot in second (11:56).

“It was really exciting,” Broecker said. “I got to see the team spirit at the race course. It was fun to stay in a group and pace off each other and have other competitors that I will be racing against over the next couple of years.”

Three places behind Broecker was sophomore Sophie Dinse. Although only in her second season at Summit, Dinse displayed her racing IQ, putting together a smart race and taking sixth overall (12:21).

From there, the floodgates opened for the Summit girls. Freshman Leah Noble took 15th (13:13), sophomore Paige Ratliff finished in 16th (13:16) and freshman Lucy Greenwood took 17th (13:21).

Freshman Lucia Templeton and sophomore Marin Little also managed to place within the top 30, taking 24th (13:52) and 30th (14:36), respectively. Freshman Maeve Niemkiewicz rounded out the results for Summit, finishing in 43rd place in a time of 15:16.

With five runners within the top 20, the Summit girls took second in the freshman/sophomore girls team race with 51 points. Niwot won the team race with a total of 26 points.

“It is nice to know that we are all around the same age and that we have a few more years where we can push each other and work hard,” Broecker said. 

The strong racing from the freshman/sophomore girls set the stage for the Summit varsity boys to string together their own dazzling performances.

From the pop of the starter’s gun junior Jay McDonald went for it, positioning himself at the front of the field and allowing others to pull him along the course marked out behind Mountain Vista High School.

Coming off a strong spring track season, McDonald confidently queued off Mountain Vista junior  Benjamin Adams. After testing one another for the majority of the 2-mile course, it was Adams who secured the individual race title, finishing his home race in 9:34.

Not far behind Adams was McDonald in second place overall in a time of 9:40. Trent Gabrielson from Thompson Valley High School rounded out the podium in third with a time of 9:44.

“It was a good start,” McDonald said. “Pretty much all of us raced faster than last year and we are fitter. This is probably the best the team has ever been. We put ourselves up there with the top teams in the state. We established the bar and the standard for the rest of the year.”

Displaying the fitness he built over the summer, junior Lukas Remeikis started his season off with a bang, securing sixth place overall (10:11) to be Summit’s second runner across the line. 

Summit was far from done though as the deeply talented team continued to pile runners into the top 20. Junior Owen Fallon finished in 13th place with a time of 10:31 while senior Carter Niemkiewicz took 14th in 10:32.

The Tigers’ final scoring runner in the varsity race was senior Cain Steinweg. Finishing just 81 seconds behind McDonald in second, Steinweg took 20th in a time of 11:01. Junior John McDonald was Summit’s sixth runner of the race, taking 26th overall (11:27).

With a total of 51 points, the Summit boys won its first race of the season. The Tigers were followed by Mountain Vista in second (55) and Fort Collins High School in third (63).

“We are going to stay locked in for the rest of the year,” McDonald said. “Keep doing what we have been doing and hopefully it carries on until October.”

Two Summit athletes competed in the girls varsity race in junior Lily Benbow and senior Lila Ellison. Both runners were able to notch impressive finishes within the top 25 with Benbow taking 13th (12:49) and Ellison taking 23rd (14:34). 

Summit will now have a week off from meets for Labor Day weekend before traveling to Gypsum for the Eagle Valley Cross-Country Invitational on Sept. 6. For a full list of results from the meet, visit FitMap.app.