COLORADO SPRINGS - Tensions were high at the regional 2A Cross Country meet. Fourteen of the 2A region’s fastest and most competitive schools eagerly anticipated one of the most important and intimidating races of the year.  

Performance in the regional race would be the deciding factor of whether or not a team would be racing in the 2025 CHSAA State Championships, which would show that they are among the fastest high school athletes in the entire state of Colorado. 

Every position matters here. Each person that a runner passes is a point for the team overall. The four teams with the highest number of points will get to take their six fastest runners to State.

If a runner achieves top 15 in the race individually, then they will qualify by themselves, and take on the meet individually.

The Nederland girls’ team earned third place as a team, and secured their spot at the State meet, just one point behind the second place rival team, Loveland Classical. 

This is the third year in a row that the Nederland girls’ team has qualified together for the State meet, proving how very strong their team really is.  The six girls of the team are Abigail Hess, Amika Begin, Eva Wrobel, Elizabeth Chandler, Isla Harmon, and Lillian Troy.

The boys’ team had an outstanding race as well. Everyone raced harder than ever before, which paid off when every single team member set a Personal Record (PR). 

Benjamin Weber secured fifth place overall, qualifying him to race in the State meet as an individual and represent the whole Nederland boys’ team.

The day came together well, with coaches Gavin Coombs and Kathy Butler winning the Foothills League “Coaches of the Year” award, well deserved as a result of their hard work and dedication to the whole team throughout the season.

The day before the State meet, on the afternoon of Halloween,  the team headed down to Colorado Springs in high spirits.

When the team first arrived at the course, they spent some time getting to know what twists and turns to watch out for, which hills to push on, and when to start kicking the hardest. 

The State meet is clearly the most competitive race in all of Colorado high school cross country, and the course is one of the hardest an athlete can run. It consists of huge hills, slippery rocks, and, most notably, an unpredictable river that all athletes must run through. 

What seems like hundreds of teams join in the pre-race day shakeout. This is the last few hours of normality before these same people will all become each other’s competition.

Race day arrives at last. Everyone is up early, as they prepare for the day ahead. The girls’ race began at 9:40 a.m. and then, suddenly, everyone was off. 

Begin started in the lead pack and maintained her quick pace the entire race. She ran hard and ended up finishing in 22nd place. 

Hess, Harmon, and Chandler stuck together as a team for a large part of the race, and all three ran within around 100 meters from each other for the entire course, pacing each other and cheering each other on.

Troy finished the meet with a huge PR, and a good hard sprint to the end. Wrobel ran a speedy race and concluded her first ever year of cross country with a bang.

The boys’ race began an hour after the girls’ with 20 teams and 28 individuals, including Weber. 

The gun went off, and Weber began what would turn out to be a great race. Each mile a hard effort and fast time. He ran in the front pack, made a PR, and finished out with a very strong 16th place. 

It's safe to say that the 2025 Colorado CHSAA State meet treated the Nederland Cross Country team well, and they cannot wait to see what next year has to offer.