COLORADO SPRINGS — Kayedence Bruner did everything she could. 

When the Soroco High School sophomore turned the corner and into the middle of the Norris Penrose Event Center, there was just one runner between her and the finish. 

She changed gears and started sprinting. Bruner pumped her arms and lifted her knees higher. She closer the gap, but couldn’t quite catch her before the line. She finished in a time of 23 minutes, 10.4 seconds to take 50th overall and help the Rams earn 10th as a team in the 2A girl’s high school cross country championship on Saturday, Oct. 26.

“I hear the fans, and it gets me hyped up and I just sprint,” Bruner said of the final stretch. “I see the finish line, and I know I’m almost there, so I just go.”

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Bruner was the second Soroco girl to cross the line. Betsy Veilleux was the first. Her finish was even more dramatic. The sophomore Rams runner caught two opponents in the final stretch, but one got back in stride with Veilleux on the doorstep. By a tenth of a second, Veilleux won out, taking 32nd with a time of 22:27.2.

Ten spots behind Kayedence Bruner, was senior Kourtney Bruner. The only graduating Ram took 60th with a time of 23:42.8. Freshman Trinity Delto and sophomore Eden Mayer placed 63rd and 65th, respectively, while sophomore Hailey Minnick rounded out the Rams with a 78th-place finish.

The Rams were actually tied with Colorado Springs with 110 points, but since Delto’s finish was ahead of Colorado Springs’ fourth runner, Soroco cracked the top 10. 

Alex Colby was the only male runner for the Rams. The junior started the race in the middle of the pack and stayed there the whole way. Like many runners on Saturday, Colby crossed the finish line and proceeded to vomit. The heat got to many athletes, some of which passed out upon completing the race. 

Colby said he was fighting the urge to puke for much of the race, and finally let it happen when he clocked in at 18:42.9, good for 50th. 

“The 2nd to 3rd mile, I definitely thought I could have made a push for it more,” Colby said. “But at the end, I was completely out of gas. I can’t complain much.”

Colorado High School Cross Country Championships
2A boys results
Boys top five team scores: 1. Lyons 14. 2. Peyton 38. 3. Rocky Ford 56. 4. Heritage Christian 67. 5. Lake County 81. 10. Soroco 110.
Individual top five: 1. Isaac Roberts, Lyons, 16:19.6. 2. Noel Lopez, Rocky Ford, 16:29.2. 3. Andrew Stablein, Front Range Christian, 16:39.1. 4. Jodzuel Juarez, Ellicott, 16:50.5. 5. Simon Stone, Lyons, 16:54.9.
Soroco finishers: 50. Alex Colby 18:42.9.
2A girls results
Girls top five team scores: 1. Lyons 9. 2. Buena Vista 61. 3. Golden View Classical 69. 4. Rocky Ford 72. 5. Platte Canyon 76.
Individual top five: 1. Quin Gregg, Lyons, 19:24.9. 2, Helen Cross, Nederland, 19:34.5. 3. Jamieson Legh, Lyons, 19:58.4. 4. Audrey Maroney, Rye, 20:00.02. 5. Katie Fankhouser, Lyons, 2:00.08.
Soroco finishers: 32. Betsy Veilleux 22:27.2 50. Kayedence Bruner 23:10.4. 60. Kourtney Bruner 23:42.8. 63. Trinity Delto 23:50.4. 65. Eden Mayer 23:52.7. 78. Hailey Minnick 24:24.5.