Blair defends title by holding off Burns in exciting finish, with Middaugh also relying on late surge to win 5.4-mile boys race; Valor Christian girls, Niwot boys capture team championships in Colorado

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Joslin Blair prevailed by the narrowest margin in event history to defend her title and unheralded Sullivan Middaugh made quite an impression in his race debut Saturday at the National High School Trail Championships in Salida, Colo.

Blair, an Eagle Valley graduate and Vanderbilt signee, held off Princeton-bound Madeleine Burns of Durango in the 5.4-mile race that ranges between 7,057 and 7,558 feet elevation, edging her fellow USA Mountain Running competitor at the finish line.

Blair clocked 37 minutes, 29.29 seconds, with Burns running 37:29.41, both well under the course record of 38:53.36 achieved last year by Blair, a 2018 World Mountain Running Association International Youth Cup gold medalist in Italy.

Burns held a three-second lead over Blair at the 1.5-mile mark, with the two athletes both facing a five-second deficit against Ella Johnson of Glenwood Springs at the 4.1-mile mark. Blair achieved a split of 7:57 in the  final 1.3 miles, compared to Burns’ 7:58.

Johnson, a rising junior, took third in 37:34.60, with Eagle Valley rising junior Samantha Blair – Joslin’s younger sister and last year’s runner-up – placing fourth in 37:46.58, all under the previous girls record.

Valor Christian, with three athletes placing in the top 20, won the girls team competition with 29 points, ahead of runner-up Niwot with 41.

Rising sophomore Jocelyn Millican, a transfer from Palmer Ridge, was sixth in 39:04.12, followed by rising junior Lanie Szuch in seventh in 39:26.47 for Valor Christian. Isabella Prosceno, a rising senior, placed 16th in 40:56.47.

Mia Prok, an incoming freshman, led Niwot with a fifth-place finish in 38:55.74. Rising junior Eva Klingbeil took 10th in 39:32.56 and rising junior Amelia Philofsky placed 26th in 42:23.66.

Despite starting in the third wave of 10 in the boys race, Middaugh – a rising junior at Battle Mountain – remained patient and surged past early leader Colby Schultz of Palmer Ridge in the final mile to clock 31:52.60, eclipsing the course record of 32:50.49 achieved last year by Grand Junction’s Tyman Smart.

Sean Korsmo, a rising senior at Bismarck High in North Dakota, took second in 31:54.24, and Green Mountain rising senior Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos placed third in 31:55.34.

Schultz, a rising junior who maintained the advantage through the 4.1-mile mark, finished fourth in 31:56.54.

Erik Le Roux, a rising junior at Cheyenne Mountain, also ran faster than the previous record by clocking 32:10.92 to secure fifth place.

Niwot triumphed in the boys team competition with 28 points, ahead of Cheyenne Mountain with 48.

Zane Bergen and Joey Hendershot, both rising juniors, were sixth (32:51.61) and 10th (33:27.90), respectively, with rising sophomore Carlos Cheruiyot finishing 12th in 33:58.45.

Rising juniors Cedar Collins (34:27.05) and Enzo Knapp (34:51.96) were 19th and 24th, respectively, in support of Le Roux for runner-up Cheyenne Mountain.

Morgan Hykes, a 2019 graduate of Windsor High, won the Beas Knees Citizens Race in 38:38.80.