High school runners competed in cross country regionals at Monument Valley Park on Thursday for a chance to compete at the 2025 Colorado High School Activities Association’s Cross Country State Championship next week. 

The top four teams and the top-15 individuals from each region qualified for the state championship. 

Cheyenne Mountain girls capture back-to-back regional championship titles

The Cheyenne Mountain girls won the 4A Region 5 championship for the second consecutive year, led by junior Raegan McRae, who took the overall title in a time of 19:02.5. 

Senior Mia Binnings was second in 19:19.7 while Coronado’s Reagan Duncan, Palmer’s Aspen Roberson, and Coronado’s Olivia White rounded out the top five. 

The Red-Tailed Hawks took the team title with 29 points, followed by Coronado in second (48), and Palmer in third (83).

It’s been a special year for the girls’ team, according to coach Sean O’Day. 

“This is the tightest, strongest group of girls we’ve ever had,” O’Day said. “It’s the first year in 20 years that our girls have been stronger than our boys, and it’s been a long time coming. They’ve had a lot of adversity thrown at them, and today their goal was to qualify, and they executed the plan perfectly.”

Oliver Horton takes individual title in dominant fashion to help Coronado to regional championship title 

It was all Oliver Horton from the gun in the 4A Region 5 championship race. 

Horton, a junior, took the regional individual title in a time of 14:37.9 with senior teammate Xzavier Campos in second in a time of 15:44.0. 

Coronado placed four runners in the top five to take the regional team title with 19 points, followed by Cheyenne Mountain in second (63), and Palmer in third (91). 

Having not raced in about a month, Horton is happy with how the team performed. 

“It’s a confidence booster,” Horton said. “We’ve had a few bumps since our last race, so having four in the top five shows that we are ready to roll for state.”

Last year, Coronado tied with the Red-Tailed Hawks for the team title, but the Cougars were without Campos due to injury, making Thursday’s win extra special for Campos. 

“Last year I didn’t race, so it’s exciting to be placing this high this year,” Campos said. “This year, everyone being healthy and at their best means a lot.”

Notably, Cheyenne Mountain was without 4A state champion Aiden Le Roux on Thursday. Aiden Ogg was the top scorer for the Red-Tailed Hawks, finishing in sixth with a time of 16:19.9.  

The Classical Academy girls, boys take regional titles  

The Titan girls cannot be stopped, taking the first five spots for a perfect score of 15 points and their third consecutive 3A Region 5 title. 

In a ‘tempo effort,’ Vivian Jack, a junior, took the individual win in a time of 18:45.5, followed by teammates Ellie Askew, Gabriella Harding, Joy Ahnfeldt, and Brynlee Nygren. 

“I was just focusing on running with my teammates and focusing on pack running to prepare for state,” Jack said. “We are going for the state championship again.”

After taking second in last year’s regional meet to Banning Lewis, TCA boys took the team title with 36 points over Banning Lewis in second (77), and Strasburg in third (83). 

Braden Yarmer led the Titans with a second place finish in a time of 16:22.9. The Vanguard School’s Max Miller took the individual title with a time of 16:08.6. 

“Building a team with depth just means a lot,” Yarmer said. “Getting to state is the main goal, trying to win state this year for sure. We have a good shot. We had five in the top ten today, and trying to do that again at state.”

Around the state 

Elsewhere in Colorado, Air Academy girls took the 5A Region 5 team title at deKoevend Park in Centennial on Thursday. 

The Kadets won with 26 points, followed by Durango in second (62), and Castle View in third (99). Air Academy placed three in the top five, led by Chamorra Cooper, who took the individual title in a time of 17:20.7. 

Air Academy boys placed third behind Castle View and Rock Canyon, with Carson Smith taking the individual title in a time of 15:02.7.