When runners cross the finish line at the state cross-country meet, the first 10 bodies are ushered to the side so they can easily be gathered to accept their medals and spots on the podium. Manitou Springs junior Cody Kelley was the second guy to cross who was blocked from entering that area.
Kelley finished 12th in the 3A state meet and was the top Manitou runner at the event. He finished with a time of 16 minutes, 27.5 seconds, about 41 seconds behind the winner, TCA’s Chandler Wilburn.
Cody Wyman was the second Manitou runner to cross the finish line, for 28th overall. Those two paced the Mustangs to a ninth-place finish as a team, which accomplished the team’s goal of being in the top 10. Twenty teams competed in the race.
But the result has the Mustangs who are returning next year — Kelley, Wyman and Connor Cassidy chief among them — wanting more.
“(Coach Andy) Sherwood had a talk with us before the race and his favorite saying was we were playing with house money,” Kelley said. “It doesn’t mean a lot for this year but next year, we’re ready to show everyone that we’re legit.”
This year was a bit of a reflection of the overall state of the program. The Mustangs lost a major contributor in Henry Ilyasova from last year’s squad, but in some ways overachieved from where they should be.
That means even a few days removed from the end of the 2022 season, the team is already establishing high expectations for what it wants to do in 2023.
“If you take out all the seniors from the state meet, we’re a top two or three team,” Sherwood said. “I think we have more upside than anyone else in 3A, considering two of my top five were playing soccer last year.”
The key to reaching those expectations is continuing to work. Rather than relaxing on the first day of the offseason, Kelley threw on his training gear to head out for a run. That’s the tone that he’s looking to set for the team in the offseason.
“I didn’t get the results that I wanted this year so it’s right back into the work,” Kelley said. “I kind of wish it was Aug. 21st again.”
They still have plenty of work to do before the next cross-country season. And a big part of that will be competing in track when spring rolls around. But until then, Kelley and his teammates will be bearing the cold, hitting the pavement and working to be better in 2023.