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Steamboat Springs — A one-week delay wasn’t what most Steamboat Springs High School cross-country team members were hoping for before the state meet, but the Sailors hope to take advantage of the change of schedule at the competition now set for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins.

The meet originally was scheduled for last weekend, but it was postponed when Fort Collins and the rest of the Front Range were pounded by an early-season snowstorm.

“I know they were looking forward to the season ending because they worked so hard, but I haven’t heard one bit of complaining,” Steamboat coach Andy Reust said about his runners. “They are all still positive.”

It’s more than that, he said. They team is flat-out excited. As aggravating as an extra week of practice might have been for the teenagers, many relish the chance to run on a dry and fast course.

Had the meet gone off as planned, it would have been a snowy disaster. Even before the storm, however, the Sailors expected to have to slog through a muddy mess.

Now they’re hopeful a week of warm weather will result in a hardened track.

“They get that one last chance to run fast times, and they are excited about that,” Reust said.

The team essentially repeated its workout from the week prior, one designed to ease the team into the most pressure-packed meet of the season.

Reust said it was a little worrisome that two weeks of easy practices will lead up to the meet instead of the carefully designed schedule that had athletes designed to peak last week.

Still, he said he and the team were confident heading in to state.

“We did gear everything toward being ready last week, but everyone is in the same boat,” he said. “What it will come down to Saturday is which kids are mentally tough enough to fight through it and get the job done.”