Courtesy Summit High Cross Country
FRISCO — The Summit High School cross-country team continued its strong start to the 2019 season Saturday in Littleton, with the boys team finishing in third place in the 24-team Division 2 competition.
The Tigers were led on the day by their super senior duo of Max Bonenberger and Jeremiah Vaille. In the 165-athlete race, Bonenberger ran to his fastest 5,000-meter time: 16 minutes and 5.9 seconds. The time, 36 seconds off the winning pace of Evergreen senior Colin Szuch (15:29.4), earned the Tigers two points in the boys team competition.
In Colorado high school cross-country competitions, five runners contribute to each team’s varsity score, and the lower the score, the better. Each first-place finisher earns one point and so on.
Right behind Bonenberger, Vaille’s personal-record time of 16:09.60 earned the Tigers three points. Vaille and Bonenberger’s fellow senior veterans Paul Hans and Sam Wescott also posted career-best days, with Hans completing the course in 17:17.60 in 30th place and Wescott crossing the finish line in 17:18.50 in 33rd place.
Summit’s varsity scoring on the boys side was rounded out by blazing-fast freshman Zach McBride setting his own personal-record 5,000-meter time. McBride’s time of 17:30.90 slotted him into a 41st place finish, earning the Tigers a team total of 109 points, just six points behind runner-up University High School (103 points). Cheyenne Central High School won the Division 2 boys meet with a score of 95 points.
Just outside of Summit’s boys varsity scoring slots, freshman Dom Remeikis continued his elite start to the season for a freshman, crossing the finish line in 17:48.90, in 57th place.
The Tiger boys also saw personal-record 5,000-meter times for the seventh-fastest boys runner on the day: Junior Korben Long bested his previous top time by finishing the race in 18:17.40.
The Tigers finished ahead of familiar High Country rivals Steamboat Springs (10th place, 273), Eagle Valley (13th place, 379) and Glenwood Springs (16th place, 455).
Courtesy Summit High Cross Country
In the Division 2 girls competition, Summit was led by another podium finisher in senior veteran Grace Staberg. She was the top senior runner in the 153 athlete Division 2 girls race, completing the 5,000-meter course in 18:48.50 for sixth place. The girls race was won by sophomore Ella Johnson of Glenwood Springs, who was just 33 seconds faster in 18:15.30. Staberg’s performance at the Liberty Bell on Saturday was the fourth fastest 5,000-meter cross-country time run by a Summit High School girls runner.
The Tigers girls earned 314 points and 12th place finish in the girls race thanks to Staberg and top five varsity finishers junior Alice Wescott (46th place, 21:24.40), freshman Logan Reid (82nd place, 22:19.20), freshman Paige Wescott (90th place, 22:45.80) and sophomore Aubree Confer (94th place, 22:52.00).
The Tigers appear poised to continue the top finishes when they take on High Country rivals Saturday at the Eagle Valley Invitational in Gypsum.