Colorado’s youth runners delivered standout performances across all age divisions at the 2025 USATF Region 10 Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships held on November 15 at Santa Ana Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM. Region 10 includes athletes from four USATF associations—Arizona, Border, Colorado, and New Mexico—making it one of the most competitive regions in the country. With national berths on the line, athletes battled for the top 30 individual spots and top five team positions, the thresholds needed to qualify for the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships on December 13 in Shelbyville, Indiana. Colorado rose to the challenge, advancing dozens of athletes and several team champions. Here is the division-by-division recap of how the Colorado athletes and clubs performed.
Colorado opened the meet with a statement performance as Diem Romero (Penguins XC Track Club) raced to the Region 10 title in 8:28. Luna Barela (Unattached) added a top-five finish, placing fifth in 9:09. Peak Performance Running delivered a strong team performance, winning the team title with 77 points. Their scorers were Sydney Piala (12th), Sophie Daugherty (18th), Lillian Anderson (26th), Lila Deboer (29th), Vivian Matus (32nd), and Hazel Holm (36th).
Colorado’s youngest boys delivered a strong performance, led by Leland Skaggs (Unattached), who finished 11th in 8:55. Peak Performance Running teammates Ashton Lederman (19th, 9:25) and Cyrus Garrow (25th, 9:37) also finished well within national qualifying range.
Colorado filled the leaderboard in the 9–10 division, led by Abigail Kaye (Unattached), who finished fifth in 12:37. Close behind was Evangeline Schopp (Peak Performance Running), who crossed in seventh running 12:46. Additional strong results came from Penny Hickman (13th), Vivian Martinez (14th), and Rock Creek athletes Blair Campbell (18th) and Cora Mauch (19th). Peak Performance Running once again claimed the team title, scoring 97 points while placing five runners inside the top 38. In addition to Schopp, their team scorers were Sophie Kirkpatrick (21st), Juniper Krofta (30th), Olive McCormick (31st), and Ela Kulikowski (38th).
Colorado dominated the 9-10 boys race, sweeping the top five spots. Greyson Romero (Penguins XC Track Club) powered to the Region 10 title in 10:32, followed by Rainer Young (Rock Creek Track Club) in 11:07. Peak Performance Running athletes Eugene Garrow (11:19) and Collin Romero (11:24) placed third and fifth, respectively, while Tucker Janssen (Unattached) ran 11:20 for fourth. Additional top-10 finishes from Ketch Skaggs (8th) and Julius Martinez (10th) showcased Colorado’s tremendous depth in this division.
Colorado delivered one of the most dominant sweeps of the meet, as Peak Performance Running athletes placed four finishers in the top six. Avery Piala captured the Region 10 title running 11:03, followed by teammates Olivia Haas (2nd, 11:39), Etta Smith (4th, 11:47), and Peyton Formanek (6th, 12:05). Peak's depth continued with Tatum Buxton (10th, 12:21) and Zoe Piala (15th, 12:40), giving the club six runners in the top 15. They cruised to the team title, scoring an almost perfect 16 points.
Colorado commanded the division with a clean sweep of the top four positions. Four-time Colorado Athlete of the Year, Robert Stepanov won in 10:05, followed by Casey Snyder (10:24), Asher Chodorowski (10:32), and Benicio Timm-Rascon (11:05). Peak Performance Running contributed depth with top-30 finishes from Chip Krofta (14th), Rowan Matus (20th), Gavin Gray (22nd), and Ryker Anderson (26th).
Colorado’s 13–14 girls delivered another high-impact performance. Cara Szuch (Unattached) led the Colorado contingent, finishing second in 15;23 with Ella Schubert (Peak Performance Running, 15:27) and Jordyn Grossnickle (Front Range Elite, 15:45) taking the next two spots to nab third and fourth place finishes, respectively. Rock Creek Track Club’s depth powered them to the team title, highlighted by Ava Tweedie (7th, 16:02), Jesse Verhoogen (12th, 16:33), Emma Seibel (15th, 16:55), Evie Mai O'Gorman (17th, 17:01), and Sloane Groendyk (20th, 17:27). The squad scored an impressive 43 points to nab the top spot on the podium.
In one of the most competitive races of the day, Colorado athletes put on a spectacular performance, claiming 11 of the top-12 places. Teo Trujillo (Rock Creek Track Club) captured the Region 10 title in 13:40, leading a flood of Colorado athletes into the top 10. The Front Range Elite quartet of Rigby Ruffer (2nd, 13:59), Flynn Klein (3rd, 14:06), and Owen Kirkpatrick (4th, 14:06), and Grayson Sharp (5th, 14:13) followed Trujillo across the line to take the next four places. Other Colorodans finishing inside the top 10 were: Ari Eberly (6th, Unattached), Hayden Gawart (7th, Rock Creek Track Club), Mateo Corrado (9th, Unattached), and Charlie Steinberg (10th, Peak Performance Running). Front Range Elite secured the team title with 24 points, the lowest team score among all boys divisions.
In the oldest girls division, Isabella Haas (Peak Performance Running) captured the Region 10 title with a composed, wire-to-wire win in 20:00, punching her ticket to the national championships.
The oldest boys division saw Ean Elias (Unattached) run away with the Region 10 title, crossing the line in 16:18. He was joined by additional Colorado qualifiers, including Landon Crowder (18th), Noah Vegas (23rd), and Devlin Fulkerson (25th).
With multiple team titles, several individual champions, and an impressive number of top-30 finishes across all age groups, Colorado enters the 2025 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships poised to make noise on the national stage.