COLORADO SPRINGS — While Niwot’s boys team stole the show in Colorado Springs on Saturday — in one of the most dominant 5A state performances ever seen — Erie’s boys made a statement of its own.
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Led by top-15 finishes from Reid O’Brien (15:36.80) and Brett Michalski (15.38.80), the Tigers placed a program-best second in a 5A boys race that felt stuck in a refrigerator at Norris Penrose Event Center.
Following the Cougars’ ridiculous win — scoring a miniscule 28 points in a morning race with temperatures in the 30s — Erie took second with 141. Castle View was third (152) and Boulder fourth (174).
“This season has been great because we’ve just focused on ourselves and focused on putting in good, quality work,” Erie third-year coach Alan Culpepper said. “It’s been kind of fun being under the radar and just doing our own thing.”
COLORADO SPRINGS — Erie’s Reid O’Brien (left) and Brett Michalski at the state cross country meet at Norris Penrose Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Photo by Brent W. New).
The Tigers, however, might not be so easy to look past in 2026. O’Brien will be the only runner who graduates from the state team.
“We’re in a great spot and I’m excited for the future,” Culpepper said.
Boulder 4th in 5A boys and girls races
With a wide grin fitting over her top-10 finish, Calia Vaughn waved to a loud group of her supporters while accepting her award on the 5A girls podium.
To think, she almost “lost hope” in her race.
Vaughn said she had a rough opening mile and a half, but turned things around and eventually finished sixth.
“I was definitely hoping for top 10,” she said after a run of 18:06.70. “But, maybe like the first mile and a half of the race, I wasn’t really in it. And I was kind of starting to get disappointed in myself. But I just decided to switch my mindset and get that (top-10) goal back in front of my mind.”
Vaughn, just a sophomore, finished behind four seniors, including Niwot Addy Ritzenhein, who three-peated (17:08.50), beating the 5A field by more than 30 seconds. The other was Air Academy junior Chamorra Cooper, who finished third (17:48.10).
Boulder’s girls as a whole weren’t far behind the teams in front of it. The Panthers had 126 points, just back of Niwot (103), Heritage (107) and Mountain Vista (122).
The Panthers’ boys — and everybody else — were indeed far back of Niwot 28 points. Yet they were in reach of second and third with 174. Lucas Wik led them in 12th (15:31.70).
COLORADO SPRINGS — Boulder’s Lucas Wik finishes 12th at the state cross country meet at Norris Penrose Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Photo by Brent W. New).
One, and then another
Coming into the final race of her high school career, Jefferson Academy’s Leyna Gibson knew she wanted to shoot for a spot between 20th and 30th. The course at Norris Penrose, after all, was one of her favorites, and she knew how to attack each obstacle that led to the finish line.
She overachieved at 15th with a 19:54.9.
“It’s my last race, so I was like, ‘I’m just going to go and leave it all out there,’ because at state you’ve got to get out fast to get ahead of the pack,” Gibson said. “There are like a couple hundred girls there. My goal was to have like a fast-ish first mile, stay strong up the hills, and then just bring it home with whatever I had left in mile three.”
She did it alongside her season-long competitor from just across town. Through the final few hundred meters, Peak to Peak freshman Lindsay Roy tapped into one last kick, and outpaced Gibson to earn her own mark of 13th (19.51.5). Roy said she’s been chasing Gibson all season and was proud of the way she finished it.
“For me, it felt really rewarding knowing that I got up to her standards,” Roy said. “I would say (the feeling) is a mix of being super proud of myself, and then other times feeling like I could have done a tiny bit better.”
She led the Pumas to a seventh-place team finish, as Skye Williams and Rhea Trivedi also earned top-30 marks at 27th and 28th, respectively.
Jefferson Academy’s Leyna Gibson, left, and Peak to Peak’s Lindsay Roy approach the finish line during the Class 3A cross country state championships at the Norris Penrose Event Center on Nov. 1, 2025. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Notables
Led by Amika Begin in 22nd, Nederland finished 11th in the 2A girls race. The Panthers’ Benjamin Weber finished 16th as an individual in the boys race.
Lyons boys take sixth as Logan Reitz places 20th.
Fairview’s Martina Riley placed 17th, Broomfield’s Savannah Fernandez 19th and Boulder’s Sophia Africa 20th in the 5A girls race.
Jefferson Academy’s Judah Wilson’s 27th-place mark helped paced the Jaguars to sixth in the team race.
Holy Family’s girls placed sixth in 4A thanks to Liberty Ley and MacKenzie McIntosh, who provided a 15-16 punch.
Silver Creek’s Megan Bader took 29th in the 4A race.