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Faith Christian Eagles Cross Country 2011 Season
Congratulations to Evan Fortney! The 2011 Cross Country State Champion! State Cross Country Championships - Oct. 29th
Our girls team was comprised of Hannah Payne, Beth Xiong, Kiara Durrett, Audrey Barday, Madison Batug and Molly Payne. Each of our girls ran strong races and cut their time from the Labor Day weekend race on the same course. The FCA cross country teams had a wonderful 2011 season, capped off by Evan’s win. We are positioned for a strong 2012 as well, losing only two of our twelve state meet participants to graduation. Regional Championships - Oct. 21st The Faith cross country teams rolled into regionals healthy and ready to race. The boys race got going first and, true to form, Evan Fortney went straight to the lead. The eight boys in the race all ran well and were led to the line by Evan, who took first place and Luke Yeager in third place. The boys squad placed third overall and punched their ticket to the state meet. The girls capped off the afternoon of racing and were led by the normal quartet of Hannah Payne (13th place overall), Beth Xiong, Audrey Barday and Kiara Durrett. The girls team finished in a tie for 5th place and began preparations for state. Metro League Championships - Oct. 14th
The boys ran first and Evan Fortney paced the pack through the first mile, with Luke Yeager a close second. They would finish second and fourth, respectively. Andrew Renfrow (27th) and Alex Fox (32nd) rounded out the Faith scoring. Mitch Sherrick, Spencer Bazz and Asher Voris recorded PRs on the day. Hannah Payne paced the Faith girls through the first mile, with Audrey Barday and Beth Xiong in close pursuit. Over the next two miles, Audrey brought it on and led the FCA girls to the finish line in 13th place and a new PR of 21:22. Beth Xiong (14th), Hannah Payne (20th) and Kiara Durrett (27th) finished the scoring. Three girls, Molly Payne, Jackie Ross and Sarah Bedore, recorded personal bests. Our next race is the Region 3 championships on Friday the 21st, again at Holy Family. The boys and girls teams will each be represented by eight runners and need to finish in the top four to move on to state. Come cheer on your teams – the boys race at 5:00 and the girls race at 5:30. Pat Amato Classic - Oct. 7th
FCA had ten girls run, and Hannah Payne led the way in a PR of 21:07. She was followed by Audrey Barday, Kiara Durrett and Madison Batug in a PR of 22:35. Other Faith runners recording PRs on the day include Molly Payne, Jackie Ross, Sarah Bedore, Hannah Rust and Gabby Choi. On the boys side, senior Evan Fortney led over 250 boys for the first two miles of the race. He was eventually overtaken by a runner from Centaurus, but still finished in a PR of 16:13. The remaining Faith runners to score were Luke Yeager, Andrew Renfrow, Alex Fox and Noah Rodighiero. In addition to Evan, we had twelve Faith boys record PRs on the day: Andrew Renfrow, Alex Fox, Josh Keiter, Zach Steitz, Mitch Sherrick, Roger Queen, Daichi Jameson, Grayland Balmer, Brandon Martine, Asher Voris, Scott Muhonen and Sean Varga. What an afternoon of racing! Dave Sanders Invitational - Sept. 30th
Our girls team placed 16th overall and were led by Hannah Payne in 21:41, just three seconds off her season best time. Audrey Barday moved up to the number two spot for Faith and was closely followed by Beth Xiong. Sophomore Gabi Choi set a season best time of 30:57. On the boys side, Evan Fortney ran a strong race and won from the front in 16:29. Luke Yeager caught a rival from Brush in the closing meters and secured seventh place. Our boys placed 7th as a team. Three freshmen, Noah Rodighiero, Daichi Jameson and Matthew Bassett set personal best times in the race John Martin Invitational - Sept. 23rd
On the girls side, Beth Xiong began the race leading the FCA squad but was overtaken by Hannah Payne just before the two mile mark. Hannah went on to finish first for Faith followed by Beth, Audrey Barday, Madison Batug then Brooke Caldwell, with Brooke recording a season best time of 23:39. Chatfield Challenge - Sept. 20th
Beth Xiong led our girls with a 21:48 finishing time. Madison Batug, Molly Payne and Stephanie Kaiser all recorded season best times. On the boys side, Evan Fortney paced our runners with a 17:31 finish, with Matthew Bassett and Scott Muhonen running their fastest races of the season. Liberty Bell Invitational - Sept. 16th
Our girls team finished in a season best 7th place and were led by Beth Xiong, Hannah Payne, Audrey Barday, Madison Batug and Kiara Durrett, with Madison and Kiara each improving upon their times from the previous Liberty Bell race by a minute and a half! All of our other girls (Jackie Ross, Molly Payne, Sarah Bedore, Lynzee Allen, Hannah Rust and Gabi Choi) set personal best times at this race. Job well done! St Vrain Invitational - Sept. 10th
The Faith boys participated in a stacked field, with 15 of the top 30 3A runners in the state lining up at the start in addition to the two time defending 2A state champion. The lead group charged through the first mile in 5:10 and did not slow much. At the finish line Faith was led by a second place finish by Evan Fortney in 16:33 (a season best time) and Luke Yeager in third place in a personal best time of 16:40. Evan and Luke both finished ahead of the two runners who beat them the previous week at the pre state meet. They were followed by Josh Keiter, Andrew Renfrow, Noah Rodighiero, Alex Fox, Zach Steitz and Roger Queen, adding up to a fourth place team finish, amazing for a team that is composed of 67% freshmen. Our next race is the Liberty Bell Invitational on Friday the 16th of September at Heritage High School in Littleton. Lori Fitzgerald/Pre State Invitational - Sept. 3rd
On the boys side, Even Fortney battled for the lead in the final mile before settling for a third place finish in 17:03, followed by Luke Yeager in fourth place in 17:22. Sophomore Andrew Renfrow ran his first cross country race for Faith and recorded an amazing 19:15. Josh Keiter showed great courage by battling stomach problems and finishing in 20:23. D’Evelyn Dash Scrimmage - Aug. 27th
The boys ran first and were led by sophomore Luke Yeager. He was followed by Josh Keiter, Noah Rodighiero, Spencer Bazz, Roger Queen, Alex Fox, Mitch Sherrick (all six of whom are freshmen), Zach Steitz and David Hawkins. The girls were led by senior Beth Xiong, Hannah Payne, Audrey Barday, Brooke Cauldwell, Kiara Durrett, Sarah Bedore and Molly Payne.
Our next race is the Pre State Invitational Saturday, September 3rd at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds. Come out and support your cross country team!
A special thanks to Karl Fortney for taking all of the pictures of the cross country team |
The snow melted in time for the long morning of races. The boys 3A race began at 10 am and our boys squad of Evan Fortney, Luke Yeager, Andrew Renfrow, Alex Fox, Noah Rodighiero and Josh Keiter were off. Evan took the lead right away and held off challenges from several runners, including two late challenges from rival TCA. EVAN HELD ON TO WIN THE FIRST BOYS STATE CROSS COUNTRY TITLE IN FCA HISTORY!
Faith brought their young teams to Holy Family to compete against several older and more seasoned metro league foes. On a cool Friday afternoon, both the boys and girls teams performed well, taking fourth place in both team competitions.
Faith Christian Academy made its first visit to the Pat Amato Classic and was greeted with wonderful running weather. This large meet allowed our runners to compete against primarily 4A and 5A competition. 
The cross country team closed out September with its first ever visit to this mega meet held at Clement Park in Littleton. Both FCA squads ran in division II, meaning we were running against 3A and 4A schools. The weather for the race was unseasonably warm, but our runners fought through the heat and the crowded field.
Unseasonably warm weather was a concern as we arrived at the campus of Fort Collins High School for this race. Our boys teams ran first and performed very well. Evan Fortney led from start to finish in winning the division II varsity race in 16:40 followed by Luke Yeager in third place, 16:54. Three freshmen, Mitch Sherrick, Spencer Bazz and Daichi Jameson, all recorded personal best times on this course in spite of the weather.
Our runners were met with overcast skies during our annual trek to this meet at the Denver/Chatfield Botanic Gardens. Runners race across fields, through streams and wind between trees during this race.
The Faith Christian cross country team arrived at this meet a little late (traffic) but made a statement once the races started. The boys ran first and they wasted no time taking the lead. At the one mile mark Evan Fortney led the race and Luke Yeager was in third. Luke won the race in 16:07, the fastest 5k by a Faith runner in at least five years, after passing Evan with about a half mile to go. Evan finished in second place in a personal record of 16:18, holding off a hard charging runner from University. Andrew Renfrow broke through the 19 minute barrier, finishing in 18:26. Four additional Faith runners (including three freshmen) broke the 20 minute mark, with the boys team earning third place overall.
This was Faith’s second year participating in the large invitational meet. Our girls ran first and performed very well, earning taking 8th place in the team competition. Beth Xiong led the way in 21:53 and was followed closed by Hannah Payne in 22:11. Audrey Barday came in third for Faith in a season best time of 23:00. Madison Batug showed great courage by finishing fourth for Faith in spite of throwing up in the last quarter mile of the race. Kiara Durrett, Brooke Caldwell, Molly Payne and Sarah Bedore rounded out Faith’s varsity team.
The heat finally relented and the cross country team ran on the state meet course in near perfect weather conditions. Our girls team ran shorthanded, with two of our varsity runners out of town for the holiday weekend. Hannah Payne led our ladies with a 22:38 finish, with Audrey Barday, Kiara Durrett and Brooke Caldwell not far behind.
The cross country team kicked off the 2011 season by participating in the D’Evelyn Dash scrimmage. This annual event draws schools from the all over the metro area and had over 500 participants in each of the races. This year, in addition to the always tough hill near the end of the race, runners had to contend with a water filled ditch just past the one mile mark.
