Next stop on the Adam Sinda (shown here at last year's regional meet) Express? The Dave Sanders Invitational. Photo by Rick Wilson.
Due to the smaller number of high-profile meets this weekend, we should see a serious concentration of top-level competition this weekend. In fact, it may prove to be the best weekend of the invitational season.
Before the weekend starts, however, Bill Stahl of Horizon HS will be holding his annual FunFest at Addenbrooke Park in Lakewood on Tuesday. Everybody gets wet and it looks like the weather is going to cooperate this year so that nobody finishes with hypothermia. This meet isn't necessarily one of the most competitive on the schedule, but it is definitely one of the biggest and one of the most memorable. Stay tuned for results.
Horizon/Prairie View Runners Roost Invitational Meet Results
On Thursday, several southern Colorado teams will converge on Palmer Park in Colorado Springs for the Pikes Peak Invitational. This meet almost died out over the last couple of years, but Wasson is trying to breathe life back to this venerable senior citizen of the state cross country circuit.
Then, the really big action starts. At least four major clashes are scheduled for this weekend, with the action starting at Dave Sanders on Friday. Clement Park in Littleton will be the site of it all. The Division 1 race pits powers such as Arapahoe, Coronado, Castle View, Dakota Ridge, Highlands Ranch, Pomona, Regis, Palmer, ThunderRidge, plus a few more. Division 2 brings together Thompson Valley, Mullen, Evergreen, Rock Canyon and Ralston Valley.
Also on Friday, the Sweetheart Invitational runs through grassy parklands in the heart of Loveland. Headliner teams include host school Loveland, 5A powerhouses Boulder and Regis Jesuit, 4A powerhouses Greeley Central and Niwot, plus a handful of the top 3A programs in northern Colorado and a select handful of the best teams in Wyoming.
There's scarcely a break on Saturday. In Fountain, the Saucony/TCA Titan Thunder Invitational brings together Fort Collins, Chaparral, Moffat County, and The Classical Academy. It's within the realm of speculative possibility that the fully loaded Pine Creek girls team will appear as well since several of Pine Creek's top runners took a hiatus from competition last weekend. Salida comes down from the mountains to measure their recent success against some big school programs. Along with Salida, 3A girls power Discovery Canyon means 3 of the top 4 ranked girls 3A programs will be toeing the line together. Although this meet scores five runners, it should still offer a good preview of the 3A girls state race.
And, a mile south of Limon on a nine-hole golf course, the biggest small school meet of them all takes place. Limon will host Alexander Dawson, Center, Crested Butte, Nederland, Rocky Ford, Vanguard, and possibly a couple more of the traditonal 2A powers. Look for some serious pre-state posturing at this one.
Two of the better western slope meets of the year take place this weekend as well. The Anna Banana Memorial Invitational takes place at Connected Lakes Park in Grand Junction. And, in Mancos, everyone heads to the San Juan National Forest for the Chicken Creek Challenge.
All hands on deck for a simply scintillating weekend of competition!