11/10/2009 1:55:00 PM CROSS COUNTRY: STATE CHAMPIONS Boys team edges Rio Rico while girls team takes 6th out of 18 teams
COURTESY PHOTO
COURTESY PHOTO
The Mingus Union High School Cross Country teams traveled to Cave Creek Golf Course in Phoenix on Saturday. The boys and girls team made the trip to the 4A II State Meet and came up big against other top runners round the State.
After an afternoon of races, the Mingus girls took 6th out of 18 teams while the boys team won the State Championship in the 4A II Conference.
The Boys Team
"The Mingus boys come away with State championship ... I would have never thought, starting the year with an 8th place finish behind both Rio Rico and Flagstaff in September ... I would never have thought with four sophomores on the 7-man team ... I would of never have thought at the state meet when the announcer said it was Rio Rico, Flagstaff and Mingus in that order at the 2-mile mark in the 3.1 mile race ... that we would win State," said coach Jim Bostwick."
What a solid team effort. For those unfamiliar with cross country scoring, a team's score is tallied from its best 5-out-of-7 runners and low score wins.
Well it is next to impossible to tabulate scoring while watching the race, the announcer gave an unofficial call of the race saying it appeared it was a toss up between Rio Rico, Flagstaff and Mingus, In fact it appeared Flagstaff (6th, 10th, 11th), Mingus (4th, 8th, 14th,) and Rio Rico (2nd, 7th, 9th,) were trading blows after three runners finished.
"That is why the old adage in our sport - the motto is - you are only as good as your 5th man comes into play, so when I saw our 5th runner tandem of Chris Ortiz and Colin Garttmeier (Chris was actually 5th today but they have been interchangeable all year) come in before any other 5th runners on other teams, I felt good about our chances," said coach Bostwick.
When scores were announced and hour later, Mingus had edged the other teams with a low score 55 for the State Championship.
Rio Rico finished in second place with a 66, followed by Flagstaff with 81 and Page with 123 points. Greenway (5th-143), Notre Dame (6th-224) rounded out the top teams in the 18-team field.
"We talked about running a smart race, running a controlled 1st mile and it paid off in the final mile of the race," said coach Bostwick. "Could go on all day about each kid but basically it comes down that are some of the most positive kids I have ever been around, never was their a complaint about what I asked them to do in practice and I think a lot of that credit has to go to our Captain Wilson Cutbirth, who set the tone each and everyday and the other athletes just fed off of him as our experienced leader."
Senior Wilson Cutbirth finished 4th place in the 127-runner field, in 16:22. Cutbirth earned 1st team All State and has been 1st or 2nd team All State all four years at state, not many athletes have accomplished that. Sophomore Juan Wells was 8th place (top sophomore in the race) in 16:40. He earned 2nd team All State honors. Junior Austin Covey came in 14th place in 17:16 (2nd team All State). Junior Hunter Rauch finished 16th place in a time of 17:25 (Honorable Mention All State). Sophomore Chris Ortiz finished in 22nd place in 17:43 (Honorable Mention All State). Sophomore Colin Garttmeier finished in 27th place in 18:07 (Honorable Mention All State) and sophomore Lane Gehl was 39th place in 18:30.
"My head's on cloud nine right now," said coach Bostwick. "I hope we to do it again next year."
The Girls Team
The girls team made the trip to State for first time in 10 years as a team.
"Our goal all season was to just get to this race and we know we would represent ourself well," said coach Jim Bostwick.
The girls ran solid team race as they always do and came away as the No. 6 team in 4AII. Region powerhouses Flagstaff and Page reversed their region results at State. The top three teams that finished, was probably the most tightly contested race of the day in all classifications (1A-5A).
1. Page 72
2. Flagstaff 75
3. Rio Rico 76
4. Greenway 104
5. Notre Dame 128
6. Mingus 170
The Marauders put in a solid performance over the 18 teams that qualified for the race. The field was made up of the top three teams in their respective regions and the Grand Canyon Region represented themselves well to say the least.
Sophomore Emma Schraner finished 6th (earning 1st team All State honors) in the 119-runner field, running 20:10 on the 5-kilometers (3.1 miles) course. Freshman Skyler was 36th, senior Stacie Hewitson was 46th, sophomore Alex Henley was 48th, junior Erin Freriks was 50th, senior Chelsea Ishimoto was 77th and senior Jessica Ishimoto was 99th.
"Many thanks to assistant coach Lisa Rauch in her first year in charge of the girls, job well done," said coach Bostwick.
Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Article comment by:
RO
Congratulations to Coach Jim Bostwick for leading these young men to a state championship, the second in 3 years. His demand for hard work and dedication help to inspire his runners to believe in themselves and attain lofty goals. His commitment to the cross country program is an inspiration to all of us.
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
Maegan
