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Steamboat cross country teams win at mentally challenging Craig course

The Steamboat Springs girls team prepares to race at a cross country meet at Loudy-Simpson Park in Craig on Saturday morning.
Shelby Reardon/Steamboat Pilot & Today

CRAIG — Steamboat Springs High School senior Caroline Baur wasn’t sure if she was going to race Saturday morning in Craig. Ahead of the start, she wasn’t feeling well but opted to at least give it a go.

Baur was planning on taking it easy, but muscle memory had her at the front of the pack about halfway through the race at Loudy-Simpson Park.

At around the 3-mile mark, Baur hit her limit. She was spent and ready to be done. The finish line was so close, though. She and Rangely senior Mary Scoggins were elbow to elbow in the final stretch. Baur finished second, with junior teammate Autumn Oslowski 15 seconds behind in third. Four Sailors women finished in the top 10, giving Steamboat the victory.



“Right before the last 200 meters, I was done. I’d hit my limit. The hills, the last mile kind of got you. I was like, ‘You know what, Caroline, just keep strong.’ I tried my best. … I decided to just try, and I’m really happy with how it went,” Baur said.

The men had similar results. Senior Bowden Tumminello won with a time of 17 minutes, 35 seconds, his best in a long time. Sailors junior Casey Wolf was 30 seconds behind him in second, and junior Xander Dalke also finished in the top 10, helping Steamboat to the win.



“It’s weird, this is only our second race,” Bowden said. “We still have some to go, and they’re the fast ones. It’s nothing but speed for me right now and everybody.”

Head coach Lisa Renee Tumminello was impressed with the Steamboat runners, especially since they haven’t competed in three weeks. The team has been traveling less to avoid quarantining due to COVID-19. So, they’ve had competitive and longs runs on home turf the past couple weekends.

“(It’s great) to see that translates well into their fitness but also they’re mentally tough,” Lisa Renee said. “I would say this course more than anything, it’s a mentally tough course. That’s good for them and to be spread out a bit and run their own race.”

Hayden senior Kale Johnson, who runs with Moffat County, is getting closer to his goals for the year. He keeps comparing himself to two years ago when he felt healthy, strong and fast. Last year was disappointing for him, but he thinks he’s on the right track this year. He’s coming back from an injury but still managed to take 10th Saturday with a time of 18:55.5.

“I’m getting more consistent. I just want to get back to where I was sophomore year. It’s real hard,” Johnson said.

Kale Johnson, a senior out of Hayden, finished 10th at a cross country meet at Loudy-Simpson Park in Craig on Saturday morning.
Shelby Reardon/Steamboat Pilot & Today

Johnson has been pushing himself this year, determined to have races he has zero regrets about. The number he has in mind is 17:30. He’s got some time to chip off, but it’s within reach. He thinks he’s on track to peak at regionals and compete at state for his last fall running with the Bulldogs.

“I’ve been eating healthier; I’ve been doing more weight training, obviously going harder in workouts,” he said. ‘It’s been helping a lot.”

A small version of the Soroco High School cross country team also attended the Moffat County Invite, led by Alan Mayer and Lexi VandenBurg. The volleyball players who also run cross country did not attend, leaving just two boys and four girls for the Rams.

Mayer said the team would likely be better if there were more athletes, that way they could compete in team standings, but he loves the atmosphere of the small team.

“It’s really fun,” he said. “We’re like a family. We all know each other. We have a fun time on the bus rides.”

Although just a sophomore, Mayer is a leader on the team. He said he does his best to motivate everyone, make sure they’re working hard and enjoying the sport.

Of course, he’s been pushing himself, as well. On Saturday, he took 39th with a time of 21:55.3.

“I did OK,” he said. “I would have liked a 20, but I settled a little bit in my third mile. … I’d like to go to state or break 20. Either one.”

Moffat County Invite

Girls team scores: 1. Steamboat Springs 27. 2. Moffat County 44. 3. Uintah (Utah) 54.

Girls top 10: 1. Mary Scoggins, Rangely, 20:57.6. 2. Caroline Baur, SS, 21:01.10. 3. Autumn Oslowski, SS, 21:17.2. 4. Halle Hamilton, MC, 21:26.9. 5. Emma Jones, MC, 21:26.9. 6. Allura Luna, West Grand, 21:45.8. 7. Kelsey Hamilton, SS, 21:58.4. 8. Bree Meats, MC, 22:02. 9. Courtney Vargas, SS, 22:03.1. 10. Brighton Bair, Meeker, 22:18.2.

Other local finishers: 15. Morgan Yeiser 24:12.7. 16. Madeline Moss 24:13.3. 18. Sam Campbell 24:41.7. 19. Lillian Hammer 24:49.5. 20. Elise Colby 24:53.5. 21. Alex Hanna 24:56.9. 22. Emily Davidoff 25:05.6. 25. Lexi VandenBurg 26:01.8. 26. Trinity Delto 26:20.2. 31. Nicole Nolting 27:21.1. 32. Alyvia Cox 27:23.6. 38. Aspen Bennett-Manke 28:28.6. 40. Sophie Cowman 28:47.9. 41. Molly Smith 28:50.4. 44. Emma Broyles 29:43.5.

Boys team scores: 1. Steamboat Springs 36. 2. Moffat County 59. 3. Uintah (Utah) 65. 4. Rangely 87. 5. West Grand 110. 6. Meeker 142.

Boys top 10: 1. Bowden Tumminello, SS, 17:35.1. 2. Casey Wolf, SS, 18:06. 3. Andrew Dorris, Rangely 18:16.6. 4. Bridger Mccurdy, Uintah, 18:24. 5. Kaleb Slaugh, Uintah, 18:28.7. 6. Ian Trevenen, MC, 18:40.2. 7. Xander Dalke, SS, 18:41.5. 8. David Anderson, Uintah, 18:42. 9. Owen Gilford, MC, 18:42.5. 10. Kale Johnson, MC, 18:55.5.

Other local finishers: 12. Tomas Niedermeier 19:20.7. 14. Trevor Harms 19:39. 18. Nik Keyek 20:23. 24. Connor Prost 20:31.7. 28. Thomas Reilley 21:05.5. 31. Micahel Hagney 21:15.4. 39. Alan Mayer 21:55.3. 40. Tommy Hagney 22:01.1. 45. Mac Redfern 22:56.2. 49. Wyatt Trout 23:36.9. 51. Brandon Kolb 23:54.7. 53. Garrett Bush 24:49.6. 57. William Reilley 26:26.7. 58. George Slowey 28:20.4. 59. Jason Heid 30:13.3.


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