Throughout the course of the fall cross-country season, there are certain meets that athletes across the state of Colorado circle on their calendars. 

From the state meet at the beginning of November, to the Nike Southwest regional meet around Thanksgiving, distance runners in the Centennial state have a fair amount of fan-favorite meets to look forward to. 

While the state meet is beloved by many because it decides state champions, the annual Liberty Bell Invitational is revered for another reason. Taking place annually at Heritage High School in Littleton, the Liberty Bell Invitational is routinely one of the state’s most competitive and fastest cross-country meets of the season. 

Set on a net downhill 5-kilometer course, the meet produces some of the quickest times seen in the state every year. The 2025 Liberty Bell Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13, was no different. 

Among the nearly 100 teams at the meet was the Summit High School cross-country team. With both the Summit boys and girls cross-country teams entered in the sweepstakes race, the Tigers took to the start line prepared to make a statement in a loaded field. 

First off from the start line was the Summit boys cross-country team. Undefeated so far this season, the team quickly, but safely navigated the crowded opening pavement stretch before settling into a steady pace.

Leading the charge for the team was junior Jay McDonald. Wanting to finish within the top five, McDonald led the star-studded field through the first mile. After a rapid opening mile, McDonald and the lead pack continued to dig into the pace, using the slight downhill to get their legs truly rolling.

McDonald continued to lead the front pack through the two-mile mark before Mountain Vista High School junior Benjamin Adams made a push to take over the reins of the race. Familiar with Adams’ race tactics after finishing second behind him at the Vista Nation 2-mile back in August, McDonald followed Adams’ move alongside several other talented distance runners.

With a little under a half-mile to go, McDonald sat in fourth place, running side by side with Eagle Valley senior Dylan Blair and Fort Collins senior Cadel Ruthven. As McDonald made the final turn into the lengthy finishing shoot, McDonald found another gear, emptying his tank as his competitors tied up.

McDonald crossed the finish line in 14 minutes, 39.80 seconds to place second behind Adams’ time of 14:32.30. The time marked a nearly 44 second improvement from his time at last year’s meet and broke Dom Remeikis’ 2022 school record by 30 seconds. 

“It was me, Dylan and Cadel and we were just pushing each other the last mile,” McDonald said. “It was just a dog fight down that hill. There were surges and it was tactical. We hit that last hill and I felt like I had a lot left and those boys kind of tied up, so I just went by them and got second.”

McDonald was just the first Summit athlete to set a new personal best at the Liberty Bell Invitational. Throughout the rest of the sweepstakes boys race, six more Tigers set personal bests.

Junior Lukas Remeikis marked the second Summit athlete to cross the finish line. After tirelessly putting in work over the summer and early fall, Remeikis earned a 59-second personal best, finishing in 15:16.30 to take 20th overall.

Close behind Remeikis was senior Carter Niemkiewicz. The talented senior took 30th overall in 15:33.80 for a nearly 22-second new personal record. Summit’s top five was rounded out by junior Owen Fallon in 44th (15:44.10), and junior Johnny Ryan in 72nd (16:07.30).

Senior Cain Steinweg and freshman Crosby Hume were the Tigers’ sixth and seventh runners, respectively. Steinweg finished in 77th (16:07.90), and Hume took 82nd (16:10.20). 

After beginning the season undefeated, the Summit boys finished second overall with a score of 145. Summit finished behind Boulder in first (97) with Mountain Vista taking third (160).Summit emerged as the top 4A team in the sweepstakes race, further solidifying its trajectory toward a strong result at the state meet.

“It is exciting, all of the boys ran fast and I think our team is going to look great especially come state,” McDonald said. “Today shows all the work we put in this summer. We just got to continue running fast.”

The Summit girls were just as dominant in the sweepstakes girls race. Despite only being a freshman, Kayla Broecker flashed her racing IQ, aerobic capacity and determination in her first high school 5K. 

Rubbing elbows with the vast majority of the top girls in the state, Broecker took 11th overall in a time of 17:31.50. Although it was just her first 5K in a Summit singlet, Broecker now holds the fastest time ever run by a Summit freshman.

“At the beginning of the race I just tried to tell my self that racing is a celebration and to know that all of my hard work paid off makes me super happy,” Broecker said. “I’m glad that I was just able to race my first race at a super competitive race like this so I can really push myself.”

The sweepstakes girls race was won by Heritage High School senior Emry Schwalm in 16:43.20.

With Broecker helping to set the tone, the Summit varsity girls saw four more personal bests. Sophomore Sophie Dinse and junior Lily Benbow both placed within the top 100. Dinse took 71st in 18:48.00 with Benbow taking 93rd in 19:16.20.

Junior Milla Phaf took 103rd in 19:23.40 while freshman Leah Noble finished in 109th in 19:31.00. Dinse, Benbow, Phaf and Noble all ran new personal bests with Phaf notching an over 90-second improvement.

Summit’s sixth and seventh runners were junior Ashley Adkins and sophomore Paige Ratliff. Adkins crossed the finish line in 137th (20:27.90) and Ratliff took 147th (21:07.30). 

Like the boys, the Summit girls finished as the top 4A team in 15th place with a score of 368. The sweepstakes girls team race was won by Heritage with a score of 95.

“I’m just super excited for the bigger meets to come such as states and regionals, knowing that we might be able to achieve our goals,” Broecker said.

Summit will now prepare to travel to another highly competitive meet in the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 20. The meet will take place at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and will feature some of the best teams in the Midwest.

“I’m looking forward for another competitive race and the opportunity to travel there with a part of the team,” Broecker said. “This should be a fun race and I’m excited to race on such a nice golf course like that one.”