The Manitou Springs boys cross-country team is returning to the state meet this weekend. The Mustangs qualified as a team after finishing third at the Class 3A Region 2 race at Monument Valley Park last week.
“The biggest thing from an overall perspective is that I think Salida and Alamosa are two of the top overall six teams in the state and we got really close to both of them,” coach Andy Sherwood said. “On a good day with a bigger field, we could be right there with them.”
Cody Kelley was the first Manitou runner to cross the finish line as he took third with a time of 16 minutes, 27.3 seconds. Cody Wyman wasn’t far behind with 16:58.8, good for a fifth-place finish.
Connor Cassidy finished 15th and Bennett Gauvin took 21st. Those four, along with Lairden Rogge, counted toward the team standings, which put the Mustangs third out of nine teams.
The top four teams in each region advanced to state. Alamosa was the top team and Manitou’s Tri-Peaks foe Salida took second.
The result is far from surprising, given the standard the team set a year ago as well as the progression of their times through this season.
“I love the position that Cody Kelley and Cody Wyman are in right now,” Sherwood said. “I think they bring it to those front packs and they have that (winning) mindset going in.”
The Mustangs now have an idea of the goals they’re aiming for on Saturday at the Norris Penrose Event Center. A runner like Kelley, who saw Henry Ilyasova come so close to a title, would love to run the race of his life. But the expectation on each team member is to perform at their absolute best — not just for individual honors, but to give the team its best shot at a good finish.
“As a goal, I want to get a sub-18 at the state course,” Cassidy said. “As a team, hopefully we can get a Top 5.”
If the boys come away with a top-five finish it would be for just the third time in school history. The program finished fourth in 1993 and second in 1995.