The Classical Academy claims second straight girls cross country state title
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BVM) — The defending Class 3A state champion Classical Academy girls cross country team had navigated through most of its 2020 season without much trouble despite the uncertainty that goes along with the COVID-19 pandemic, and head coach Alan Versaw had every reason to believe that his runners were ready to win a 13th state title for the program.
That was until about 9 o’clock the night before the state meet. Versaw received a call from his athletic director and learned that sophomore Sawyer Wilson, who was far and away the team’s top runner, wouldn’t be available to compete. Wilson was feeling fine, but she would have to quarantine after being in close contact with someone who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Versaw felt it was too late at night to call his athletes, so he sent emails to make them aware of the situation and hoped they would still be in the right frame of mind to race for the championship the next day.
“I felt pretty confident that we had the kids that could do it,” Versaw said, “but what I didn’t know, and I didn’t know until midway through the race, is what kind of frame of mind we were in. You could have all the talent in the world, but if the kids aren’t ready to run, it’s not going to happen.”
The Titans were ready. On the strength of three top-10 finishes, they took first place for the second straight year, claiming the program’s 13th state title — the latest one being unlike any Versaw has experienced before.
“Every story is different,” Versaw said. “I never dreamed of this story. It never crossed my mind that we would be facing that scenario. It crossed my mind that we might have a quarantine situation, but finding out about it the night before … I thought we were in the clear.”
Junior Kennedy McDonald led the way without Sawyer. The three-time state medalist finished second overall individually with a time of time 19 minutes, 13.4 seconds. Her freshman sister Cassidy McDonald placed eighth (19:35.1) and junior Sophia Valentine (19:37.5) was right behind her in ninth.Versaw, who’s been on board for all 13 of the girls program’s state titles, said the circumstances of this one made the accomplishment more satisfying.
“When you walk to the line and you feel like you’re going to just smash it, and you win, which we’ve done a few times, those are nice,” Versaw said. “But when you go to the line, you don’t know what’s going to happen next and you realize that if we’re not on top of our race there are certainly teams in the field that can beat us, and then the girls overcome the adversity … that makes for a very exciting day.”
And the Titans have more than just their most recent title to be excited about. Their top four runners, including Wilson, will be back next season.
“I’m already looking forward to next year,” Versaw said.
