Peter's XC Season

After training with Kokopelli's during COVID, Peter was a little nervous that his last XC season wouldn't happen. Peter was so excited when he finally found out the beginning of August that cross country was a go. Even with all of the new guidelines and the cancelled invitational meets, Peter was just happy that he would be able to compete his senior year. It wasn't until the time trial that we realized Peter was going to have a rocky season. With all of the smoke from the various fires in the west, Peter really had a hard time breathing. It was then that we knew he had to start using his inhaler that he never really had to use before. The very first meet of the season was at Doherty HS. It was delayed by one day due to some torrential rain and flooding the day prior. Peter forgot to use his inhaler and had the worst meet ever. Not able to break 19 minutes and no kick at the end, I knew Peter would be so disappointed. He decided to take the next meet off to recoup and wait for better air quality. Meets 3 and 4 were also disappointing races for Peter and he couldn't seem to get his time below 19 minutes. With hot weather and bad air quality and lungs that were inflamed, Peter struggled to run at the pace he ran last season. It wasn't until the 5th meet at Fountain Creek Regional Park where Peter finally had a great race. He looked focused and after using his inhaler and being able to run in good weather, he destroyed it on the course. He came in at 17:52.94, cutting more than a minute off of his previous times and beating out some of his teammates that were in the first wave. I couldn’t have been more excited for Peter and everyone on the team heard it as he rounded the last few corners and passed an opponent he had been trailing the entire race! This race would turn out to be the highlight of his season. The last three races of the season went ok. He was able to knock out times in the low to mid 18's but was never able to break into that 17 minute time again. If there is anything Peter learned from this season it was to never give up and keep working hard. Peter did work hard the entire season, even when he was down emotionally and physically. He had awesome teammates who helped him along the way. This may not have been the season Peter had hoped for, but he should be proud of himself for what he accomplished with all of his physical problems and during a time when things were not normal during COVID. This will definitely be a season he will never forget.

MEET RESULTS:

Meet 1 (Doherty HS) - 19:02.12 
Meet 3 (Rampart HS) - 19:03.5
Meet 4 (Norris Penrose Events Center) - 19:07.80
Meet 5 (Fountain Creek Regional Park) - 17:52.94
Meet 6 (Greeley, CO) - 18:39.50
Meet 7 (MVP - League) - 18:41.24
Meet 8 (MVP - Regionals) - 18:16.68

MEET #1 - DOHERTY HS

I love how they pray before they race. What a great tradition they started two years ago.

MEET #3 - RAMPART HS

MEET #4 - CHEYENNE MTN STAMPEDE (NORRIS PENROSE EVENTS CENTER)

Warming up with masks...COVID rules

Most of the races took the top 7 but the Cheyenne Mtn. Stampede and Regionals only took 6 runners. Since there were really 8 boys on Varsity sometimes some of the boys had to sit out of the race. It was a tough season like that.

MEET #5 - FOUNTAIN CREEK REGIONAL PARK

This was the fire I waited for all season long. This was his best race of the season. He rounded the last few corners like his life was on the line. It was such a cool moment. 

MEET #7 - LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS (MVP)

MEET #8 - REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (MVP)