Another day, another record for Summit High senior Ella Hagen.
The local cross-country superstar (and soon-to-be CU Buff) was fastest girl on course Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Liberty Bell Invite in Littleton, beating 660 of Colorado’s best runners with a 16:54.00 in the Sweepstakes division.
It’s her third-consecutive sub-17-minute finish at Liberty Bell – the first time in history for a high school girl. She owns seven school records and three state titles: one for cross country, one for track (1,600 meter), and one for Nordic skate skiing.
Liberty Bell is no small-time meet. It’s one of the biggest events of the regular season with 100-plus teams and more than 1,200 runners in seven divisions. Summit ran in the most competitive division.
Hagen’s record finish led the Summit High girls team to third among 4A schools and 16th overall.
The Summit High boys team did even better, finishing first in the 4A and eighth overall. The boys dazzled with speed and depth: Jay McDonald in 22nd, Josh Shriver in 32nd and Will Bentley in 50th. Every scoring runner finished in the top-100.
How could the Summit boys finish outside the top-20 individually and still win the team 4A title? Cross-country team scores are based on your five fastest runners. The faster your team the better the score, even if no individuals stand on the podium.
Tigers head coach Mike Hagen says this is a promising start for a team with its sights set on a 4A state title. Summit was outpacing its two biggest local rivals, Battle Mountain and Eagle Valley.