STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Sailors junior cross country runner Ben Bogan closed out the Steamboat Springs High School home cross country meet in style.

When he came into the final stretch of the boys race Saturday, he actually walked for a few steps, but then proceeded to chase down Soroco High School sophomore Gavyn Salberg.

“(I had to dig) really deep. My lungs were really feeling it after that first 2 miles,” Bogan said. “I just had to keep telling myself, ‘One more mile.’ The last hill really made me want to throw up. I just pushed through and tried to finish strong.”

Masked athletes and parents lined up to cheer the two on as they battled to the finish line. Bogan pumped his arms and his glasses fogged up from his rapid exhaling. He passed Salberg just before the line. 

“I tried to beat him at the end,” Salberg said. “It was a good race. My shoe got loose. He had a mullet, so I couldn’t compare.”

It was an invigorating finish to the first Steamboat home cross country in about 15 years, which the Sailors girls and boys teams ended up winning.

Neither Bogan or Salberg are typical cross country runners. They usually play football in the fall, but with the rearranged schedules, both opted to run cross country to stay in shape. His wrestling coach and agriculture teacher, Jay Whaley, suggested that Salberg wasn’t tough enough to run cross country.

“He knows that’s my trigger to get me to do something,” Salberg said. “That very day, I signed up last second and was ready to go.”

Bogan’s older brother ran for four years, so he knew it was a challenging sport, but Salberg admitted he used to not think of cross country on the same level of football and basketball. Now, he has a whole new respect for the sport and those who are good at it.

Bogan and Salberg were the last ones to cross the finish, Steamboat senior Jaydon Fryer was the first. 

Fryer finished in 17 minutes and four seconds, quickly followed by teammate Bowden Tumminello. Soroco senior Alex Colby earned fifth with a time of 18:15. Matt Sullivan and Spencer Ashley were the next Rams across the line in 22nd and 28th. 

On familiar territory, Sailors sophomore Autumn Oslowski won the girls race in 20:42. 

“My goal was to get under 21 (minutes) for regionals if I made it,” she said. “I got under 21 today, and I was so happy because I didn’t think I was going to get it. I’m just so proud.”

Right behind the young Sailor was teammate Sidney Barbier, who finished in 21 minutes flat. 

Soroco runners Larhae Whaley and Eden Mayer crossed the line just seconds apart in 24th and 25th, respectively. The pair helped the Rams take fourth as a team. 

The course was a fast one, looping around the ballfields and the rodeo grounds rather than using the hilly trail system. Regionals are a week away, so the route was designed to not completely destroy the runners, but still challenge them. 

Hopefully, the Sailors can add a home meet to their schedule in future years as well. 

“It just feels different. It’s your home, it’s your community, it’s your home turf,” Steamboat Springs head coach Lisa Renee Tumminello said. “I think there’s team pride, school pride and community pride. They can just show off a little bit of where they live. Especially with COVID, and having to work our way through the season. It is the culmination of, ‘We made it here.’”

Steamboat Springs Invitational
Boys team scores: 1. Steamboat Springs 35. 2. Eagle Valley 47. 3. Battle Mountain 91. 4. Summit 54. 5. West Grand.
Top 5: 1. Jaydon Fryer, SS, 17:04. 2. Bowden Tumminello, SS, 17:40. 3. Sam Burke, Su, 17:57. 4. Charlie Schafer, EV, 18:10. 5. Alex Colby, S, 18:15. 
Area finishers: 8. Casey Wolf, SS, 18:57. 11. Jameson Tracy, SS, 19:12. 13. Hunt McClary, SS, 19:22.15. Connor Prost, SS, 19:41. 20. Jeremiah Kelley, SS, 20:02. 21. Jaxson Fryer, SS, 20:13. 22. Matt Sullivan, S, 20:14. 24. James Lahrman, SS, 20:19. 28. Spencer Ashley, S, 20:42. 30. Bennett Jones, SS, 20:59. 33. Xander Dalke, SS, 21:34. 34. Ezra Graham, SS, 21:48. 36. Alan Mayer, S, 22:19. 38. Christopher Morris, SS, 23:15. 39. Ben Bogan, SS, 25:12. 40. Gavyn Salberg, S, 25:15. 
Girls team scores: 1. Steamboat Springs 34. 2. Battle Mountain 50. 3. Summit 64. 4. Soroco 134. 5. Eagle Valley 150.
Top 5: 1. Autumn Oslowski, SS, 20:42. 2. Sidney Barbier, SS, 21:00. 3. Quincy Pribramsky, BM, 21:19. 4. Gabby Leonardo, BM, 21:26. 5. Logan Reid, Su, 21:27. Area finishers: 8. Marcada Baker, SS, 21:48. 9. Kelsey Hamilton, SS, 21:52. 14. Hailey Moss, SS, 22:35. 16. Courtney Vargas, SS, 22:38. 17. Ella Chapman, SS, 22:49. 23. Zoe Bennett-Manke, SS, 23:40. 24. Larhae Whaley, S, 23:41. 25. Eden Mayer, S, 23:47. 28. Skyler Clark, S, 24:00. 29. Emily Schneider, SS, 24:25. 30. Kayedence Bruner, S, 24:30. 33. Elise Colby, SS, 24:42. 36. Nicole Nolting, SS, 25:03. 37. Rachelle Dudley, S, 25:12. 38. Emily Davidoff, SS, 25:22. 39. Jazzel Gardea, SS, 25:24.  40. Samantha Campbell, SS, 25:26. 41. Lexi VandenBurg, S, 25:27. 44. Trinity Delto, S, 26:43. 47. Kendra Sollars, SS, 31:09. 48. Skylar Cason, SS, 31:42. 49. Dyllan Spitzley, SS, 32:11.

To reach Shelby Reardon, call 970-871-4253, email sreardon@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @ByShelbyReardon.

Shelby Reardon is the assistant editor at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach her, call 970-871-4253, email sreardon@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @ByShelbyReardon.