Young Athletes Shine at USATF Colorado Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships

Results

Fehringer Ranch Park played host to the 2025 USATF Colorado Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships on Sunday, November 2. The event marked the first step in the national qualifying series as the young runners began their journey toward the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships, set for December 13 in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Rising Stars Claim Individual Titles

The runners battled warm fall conditions and a rolling, spectator-friendly course that offered ideal racing terrain. The Colorado association champions were:

• Boys 8U (2 km): Ashton Lederman (Peak Performance Running) 
• Girls 8U (2 km): Diem Romero (Penguins XC Track Club) 
• Boys 9-10 (3 km): Rainer Young (Rock Creek Track Club) 
• Girls 9-10 (3 km): Evangeline Schopp (Peak Performance Running)
• Boys 11-12 (3 km): Robert Stepanov (Unattached) 
• Girls 11-12 (3 km): Avery Piala (Peak Performance Running)
• Boys 13-14 (4 km): Teo Trujillo (Rock Creek Track Club)
• Girls 13-14 (4 km): Sloane Groendyk (Rock Creek Track Club) 
• Boys 15-16 (5 km): Giordano Ayers (Unattached) ran 17:26 for the win.
• Girls 15-16 (5 km): Isabella Haas (Peak Performance Running) 
• Boys 17-18 (5 km): Finn Watson (Unattached) 

The above are now the current leaders for the Colorado Youth Athlete of the Year in their respective age divisions.

Team Honors

In the team competition, Peak Performance Running continued its strong tradition of excellence, capturing first-place team titles in five of the divisions - Boys 8U, Girls 8U, Boys 11-12, Girls 9-10, and Girls 11-12. Rock Creek Track Club captured the Girls 13-14 division, and the Front Range Elite won the Boys 13-14 title.

On to Region 10

With state titles secured, qualifiers now turn their attention to the next stop on the Junior Olympic trail — the USATF Region 10 Championships, scheduled for November 15 in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. The top 30 finishers and top five teams there will advance to the National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Shelbyville, Indiana, this December, where the nation’s best young runners will compete for All-American honors.