Pine Creek senior Boutelle eclipses 9-minute barrier for first time in his career, with Basalt champion Maley elevating to No. 2 sophomore performer in the country this fall, leading several strong efforts under the lights at Brophy Prep

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Whether it was the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, presented by The Garrett Companies, in Terre Haute, Ind., or the RunningLane National Championships in Huntsville, Ala., both cross country meets in November were synonymous with elite Colorado distance runners getting to compete closer to sea level for the first time during the fall and reaping the benefits by achieving several impressive results.

The first chance to test their fitness on the track came Saturday for many more Colorado prep standouts under the lights at the Valley of the Sun 3,200 at the Brophy Prep Sports Complex in Phoenix, Ariz., and they didn’t disappoint.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Pine Creek senior Caleb Boutelle became the third high school athlete to eclipse the 9-minute mark since the new school year began and reigning 3A state cross country champion, Basalt sophomore Katelyn Maley, enjoyed a strong prep outdoor track debut after having her first spring season canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic to prevail in 10:34.36 and lead a pair of sub-11 efforts in the girls invitational race.

Boutelle, the third-place finisher Oct. 17 at the 5A state cross country final, moved up from fifth at the midway point to take the lead with two laps remaining and then closed the final 400 with a 60.7-second split to clock 8:59.08, ascending among the top 15 prep performers in state history.

Casteel senior Dayton Carlson also elevated among the top 15 all-time high school competitors in Arizona with his 9:01.81 effort, covering the final 400 in 62.4 seconds.

Alex Baca, the first state cross country champion in Gunnison High history after winning the 3A title at Norris Penrose Events Center in Colorado Springs, took third in 9:08.48, with LaGrange High of Illinois senior Owen Hays placing fourth in 9:10.33.

Boutelle and Baca, a Colorado signee, had both benefited from running the prestigious Liberty Bell course Nov. 1 at the Colorado Classic, allowing them another competitive opportunity at 5,350 feet elevation with each athlete covering the 5-kilometer course in sub-15:10, before racing at just above 1,000 feet Saturday in Phoenix.

Maley had also excelled at the Colorado Classic, finishing third in 17:21 on the 5-kilometer layout.

Both she and sophomore teammate Ava Lane, who also ran a personal-best 18:32 to start the month at the event near Heritage High in Littleton and was seventh Saturday in 11:16.07, hadn’t competed in an official outdoor track race since their middle school league meet in May 2019.

Maley became the second-fastest sophomore performer in the country during the new school year and one of the top five 10th-graders in Colorado state history, covering the second half of the race in 5:10.42, including a 71.9-second last lap. She also ranks among the top 20 all-time Colorado prep performers at the 3,200 or 2-mile distances.

Senior Anna Weirich of The Harker School in California, a UCLA signee, took second in 10:47.86, improving on her 10:49.10 from Aug. 15 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, Tenn. Harker still found an opportunity to compete on the Saturday that would have been the normal date for the CIF State Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Sophomore Lauren Boutelle of Pine Creek was third in 11:01.38, also in her first official high school outdoor track competition. Boutelle ran the second-fastest final 400 split in 77.6 seconds, but just missed breaking the 11-minute barrier for the first time.

Julia Ray of Mary Institute-Country Day School in Missouri was fourth in 11:03.41, just ahead of Ayanna Donwerth of Liberty Hill High in Texas, who clocked 11:03.75. Rujuta Sane of Hamilton High was the top Arizona finisher, securing sixth in 11:15.04.

Several of the top competitors, including Maley and Weirich, had attended the annual Team Prep USA camp led by coach Trent Sanderson in Colorado, and had the opportunity to reunite Saturday.

A trio of Arizona state cross country champions took the next three spots behind Hays in the boys invitational race, with recent North Phoenix Prep graduate and Northern Arizona freshman Jordan Black, who captured the Division 4 title last fall, finishing fifth in 9:13.99, followed by reigning Division 1 winner Xander Black of Brophy Prep in 9:15.54 and Division 3 champ Roshan Tinoco-Miranda of Rio Rico placing seventh in 9:16.15.