High school sports |

Fall ‘Four’cast: Storylines to watch out for on the local XC scene

Since winning her first state title in cross country last year, Niwot’s Addy Ritzenhein has become a household name in the world of running.

Visually, like a polygraph needle in Congress, her last handful of months have spiked off the charts. She won the Nike cross country national championship as a sophomore in December, before being named the Gatorade’s national runner of the year a month later. She claimed three more titles in track and field during the spring. And just last week, she was spotted among the top athletes in the world at the 2024 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.

All of Niwot High School Nation & the @SVVSD can be proud of Addison Ritzenhein for being a part of last night's ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, CA!@SVVSDsupt @goSVVSD @SvvsdSchuh @niwotathletics @BoCoPreps @lefthandvc pic.twitter.com/FZIeHUDbrb

— Niwot High School (@NiwotHS) July 13, 2024

The 5-foot-3 wunderkind, of course, leads our coverage of the upcoming high school cross country season, which is set to begin in three weeks. Below are four early storylines to watch across the local scene.

Throughout the rest of the month, we will focus on each fall sport, diving into some of the most interesting storylines and unanswered questions about the programs around Boulder, Broomfield and Longmont.

Storyline one: Ritzenhein will be the favorite to win another XC title barring any unforeseen circumstance. It’s the kind of prediction the betting community would call a “lock”, even though gambling on high schoolers is off-limits, and even as we’re more than three months away from the state cross country meet. But what about her team, which has won six straight titles themselves? Are they a lock?

The Cougars lost three seniors from their 2023 state title team, which beat second-place Cheyenne Mountain by 130 points in 4A. But there is — and always seems to be in the case of Niwot — plenty of talent in the wings.

Junior Avalon Beltran ran a 17:38.10 5K a year ago, 13th-fastest in the state last season, and went on to finish eighth at the state meet in Colorado Springs. Meanwhile, classmate Anna Prok finished 10th in a second straight top-10 performance.

Those two and Ritzenhein are among the top-five returning runners from last year’s 4A state meet. A good start to winning a seventh straight title. This year, the Cougars are moving up to 5A, per coach Kelly Christensen.

Two: It’s easy to get overwhelmed in Niwot green when looking at last year’s 4A girls’ bracket of runners. But Silver Creek’s Cloe Ruth has had a marvelous career heading into her senior season. What can we expect in her finale?

Since finishing 55th at the state meet her freshman year, Ruth has placed seventh and 11th in her past two tries in Colorado Springs. Now, she’ll stay in 4A while Niwot moves up.

This past spring, she had one of the best all-around performances at the state track and field meet, where she took second in the 800-meter run, third in the 400 and ninth in the mile.

Another podium finish could be in store for her in October.

Three: Speaking of the podium, Niwot’s Rocco Culpepper has been on quite a few of late. And now, he said recently, he’s looking to add a 5A state title in cross country to his budding resumé. Like Culpepper, who are some of the other top names to watch in the area?

Culpepper won three state titles in track and field this past spring, including the 800 and the mile. That came after he finished third to a pair of 2024 graduates at last year’s state cross country meet.

And while he’ll be among the favorites to win a title this fall, teammates Cole Mazurana, Ryder Keeton, Hunter Robbie, Evan Kear, Keegan Geldean and Quinn Sullivan could make a strong case, too. Last fall, Mazurana and Keeton finished eighth and 11th in 4A, respectively. The other four finished between 20th and 26th.

Elsewhere, Holy Family’s Anabella Descalzo could make a strong run of her own as the Tigers move to 4A. Last year, she finished seventh in 3A. And this past spring, she placed eighth in the 3A two-mile, sixth in the mile.

Four: From last year’s 5A running scene, gone is decorated runner Kiki Vaughn of Boulder on the girls’ side. Meanwhile, names like Holden Krizek of Fairview, Morgan McCuen of Boulder and Jacob Schwarting of Centaurus have graduated from the boys’ top ranks. Outside of newbie Niwot, who steps up now in 5A?

The answer could be someone we haven’t seen on the high school trails yet. Maybe an incoming freshman or an uber talent finally giving the sport of cross country a go.

From what we’ve seen in the past years, Monarch’s Sofie Donker looks like a strong candidate heading into her senior season. She finished 19th at the 5A state meet, then had a personal-best time of 18:30.76 at Nike regionals a few weeks later.

Boulder’s Anika Leovy and Fairview’s Sierra Wall are strong bets for top-20 places this year, too. Leovy was 22nd last year, Wall 27th.

The top 5A state meet returner on the boys’ side is Boulder’s Ulysses Paulsrud. As a sophomore, he finished 37th at the state meet and was 10th at the Nike regionals.