Faith Christian Eagles Cross Country
Congratulations to the 2010 FCA Cross Country Team for a great season!!!
FCA State Cross Country Championships
10/30/10
Our runners returned to the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds for the first time since the Pre State Invitational on September 4th. Between our girls and boys teams, seven of our twelve state runners were freshmen, and only two of our twelve runners had previous state championship experience.
Our boys ran first and performed well. Sam Yeager and Evan Fortney were with the early leaders and Luke Yeager was not far behind. By the second lap the quarter mile long power line climb began taking a toll on all of the runners. Our boys team took 7th in state, with Sam (7th place) and Evan (10th place) the first top ten finishers for Faith Christian Academy since 2002. Our boys improved their times by an average of 54 seconds compared to when they ran this course in September.
A light wind had picked up by the time our girls ran, blowing in their faces as they faced the power line climb. Beth Xiong and Hannah Payne led the way for Faith in the early going, with Kiara and Audrey not far behind. In the end, Kiara was the first Faith runner across the line, with Hannah, Beth, Audrey, Madison and Hannah Levesque following. Our girls team came in 14th place and their average time improvement at this course was an amazing 2:11.
Looking back, the Faith Christian cross country team had an amazing 2010 season. We had not sent a girls team to the state meet since 2007. Four of our girls ran faster times than our team has seen since at least 2006, and all of our girls are coming back next year. Our boys team improved throughout the season, beating the pre-meet expectations of a 10th place finish. We lose senior Sam Yeager, but bring back a host of talented runners, including junior Evan Fortney (the top ranked underclassmen in 3A) and freshman Luke Yeager (the top ranked freshman in 3A).
Cross Country Regionals
10/22/10
On a cool afternoon with a light rain falling, our young harriers were ready to race. The Clement Park race course in Littleton includes a mixture of soccer fields, rolling hills and cement bike paths.
The rain let up as the girls team raced first and ran a strong race. Beth Xiong led the team with an 8th place finish in a PR of 21:04, followed by Hannah Payne in 12th with a 21:17 PR. They were followed by Audrey Barday (18th), Kiara Durrett (19th), Madison Batug and Hannah Levesque. The girls team finished in third place, missing second place by only three points.
The boys race took place in a light drizzle. Sam Yeager and Evan Fortney took the early lead and never looked back. Faith finished 1, 2, 4 with Sam Yeager running a 16:16 PR, Evan Fortney a 16:28 PR and Luke Yeager a 17:04 PR. They were followed by David Hawkins, Spencer Edsall and Zach Steitz. The boys team also finished third, missing first by five points and second by a single point.
Our girls and boys teams both move on to the state championship races on October 30th at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds. The boys will run at 10:00 am and the girls at noon. Come watch your runners compete with the state’s best runners!
Metro League Championships!
10/15/10
What an afternoon of racing! Our young team went to Holy Family for this meet with high expectations on a beautiful afternoon for running.
The girls team ran a great race, winning the Metro League championship for the first time in school history! The girls beat archrival Holy Family by two points and were led by Beth Xiong in 4th place, Kiara Durrett in 7th, Audrey Barday in 9th and Hannah Payne in 10th. Kiara and Jessica Dickinson both set PRs by over one minute!
The boys team came in 4th, including a one two finish by Evan Fortney and Luke Yeager. Five of our seven boys in the race set season PRs.
The cross country team now heads to the regional races at Clement Park on October 22nd – our girls race at 3:45 pm and our boys race at 5:00 pm. With good results there, we are off to the state championship races on Saturday October 30th in Aurora.
Erie Invitational
10/9/10
The Erie Invitational was our final tune up before the Metro League championships. At long last, our runners were greeted with near ideal running weather. This was offset by running most of the race on grass that was still wet from the overnight dew.
 The Faith Christian girls’ team ran a strong race and placed second in the team competition. Hannah Payne led the girls squad with a 7th place finish, followed by Beth Xiong in 8th, Kiara Durrett in 13th and Audrey Barday in 14th.
Our boys’ team brought home the top prize, finishing first in the team competition, narrowly beating rival Holy Family by two points. Faith swept the top three spots, with Sam Yeager taking 1st, Evan Fortney 2nd and Luke Yeager 3rd. A strong finish by David Hawkins, our fourth runner, gave Faith the win!
In other breaking news, KC Kinney’s runaway shoe (lost in a water crossing at the Runners Roost Invitational on September 28th) returned home, orthotic insole intact. The shoe floated to the surface and was rescued somewhere near the North Platte.
We now head to the league race at Holy Family High School on October 15th. Beyond that, we are looking forward to regionals on October 22nd at Clement Park in Littleton. With a good finish there we will be off to the state championship races on October 30th.
Dakota Ridge Invitational
10/5/10
This was our third consecutive year participating in this meet and we fared well in spite of being one of the smaller schools and teams. The weather was warm and the finishing hill was long.
Our boys team ran a strong race, placing second out of thirteen teams. Sam Yeager and Evan Fortney again finished first and second, pulling away from two challengers just after the one mile mark. Luke Yeager placed sixth and was followed by David Hawkins (36th), Spencer Edsall (38th) and Zach Steitz (47th).
Our girls team placed sixth out of thirteen teams and had one runner, Madison Batug, who set a season PR. Hannah Payne led the girls with an 11th place finish and was followed by Audrey Barday, Kiara Durrett, Jackie Ross, Hannah Levesque, Jessica Dickinson and Jill Mellecker.
 Horizon Runners Roost Invitational
9/28/10
The Runners Roost Invitational at Addenbrooke Park is one of our runners' favorite races, but not a place for fast times. Following a mass start (330 in the girls race, 450 in the boys race), runners cross grass, pavement, gravel, a muddy creek that is nearly three feet deep, then four more water crossings.
Our girls team was led by Beth Xiong in 14 th place, Hannah Payne in 23rd and Audrey Barday in 28th. Hannah Levesque and Jackie Ross both practiced their backstroke after becoming submerged at one water crossing!
On the boys side, Sam Yeager and Evan Fortney finished first and second, respectively, completing a Faith Christian sweep of the top spots. They were followed by David Hawkins, Spencer Edsall and Zach Steitz. KC Kinney has to go shopping, as he lost a shoe in the muddy creek bottom and had to run the last half mile of the race with only one shoe!
We are into the final month of the season and have begun the push toward regionals and state. Our next race is the Dakota Ridge Invitational on Tuesday, October 5th.
John Martin Invitational at Fort Collins
9/24/10
 The John Martin Invitational is a multi loop course around the campus of Fort Collins High School. The 5K course took runners on grass, sidewalks and pavement and allowed parents and fans several good viewing opportunities. The weather was great, but the course was wet and footing was difficult.
Beth Xiong led our girls team in this race, recording a season best time of 21:11. Hannah Payne (21:49), Audrey Barday (21:52) and Kiara Durett (22:51) rounded out the top four spots for our team. Our girls team placed sixth out of ten teams. Jessica Dickinson set a new PR by a whopping 1:53, with six of our nine girls establishing new season best times.
Sam Yeager won the boys race with a time of 16:51 with Luke Yeager placing sixth in 17:28, a PR. Four additional boys recorded season best times in this race, with Jeremy Owens showing the largest time improvement, finishing 1:56 faster than his previous best. Our boys team placed fourth overall in this contest, with only one 3A team beating us.
At the midway point of the season, the Faith girls team is ranked 12th in state while the boys team is ranked 6th.
 Chatfield Challenge
9/21/10
This was the second year that the Faith Christian cross country teams participated in this race at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Run across fields, through groves of trees, across bridges and through a stream, this race presented a true cross country challenge to our runners. 54 teams and over two thousand runners participated in this event.
Our boys team was led by Sam Yeager in 16:41 (2nd place), Evan Fortney in 16:49 (5th place) and Luke Yeager in 17:57. They were followed by David Hawkins, Spencer Edsall, Takuya Nagayabu, Zach Steitz, Andy Pruett, KC Kinney and Jeremy Owens. Sam, Evan, David, Spencer and Andy all ran season best times.
In the girls race, FCA was led by Hannah Payne in 21:53 followed by Beth Xiong in 22:11 and Audrey Barday in 22:31. They were followed by Madison Batug, Kiara Durrett, Hannah Levesque, Jackie Ross, Jessica Dickinson and Jill Mellecker. Hannah Levesque, Jackie and Jessica all ran season bests.
Liberty Bell Invitational
9/17/10
Both our girls and boys teams participated in the Liberty Bell Invitational at Heritage High School again this year. Our runners continue to improve each week, with eleven of our nineteen runners recording their best times of the season at this race!
The FCA girls squad placed 6th in the Division 4 team competition and was led by Beth Xiong who ran a season best time of 21:23. Close behind Beth were Audray Barday in 21:38 and Hannah Payne in 21:44, both season bests.
 Our boys team placed 5th in Division 4 and was led by Sam Yeager in 16:45, taking 4th overall. Close behind were Evan Fortney in 16:50 (5th) and Luke Yeager in 17:44 (17th). All three of these were season best times.
Both of our squads are extremely young with two of our top four runners on both the girls and boys teams being freshmen. The experience they are gaining early in the season is paying dividends and should continue to do so for the next several years.
St. Vrain Invitaional
9/11/10
The boys and girls cross country teams competed in the St Vrain Invitational on Saturday September 11th at Lyons High School. This was the first time Faith Christian has attended this cross country meet.
 The FCA boys team ran ‘‘up’’ in the 4A/5A division and was led by Sam Yeager who took 14th and Evan Fortney who took 15th (they would have finished 1 and 2 in the 2A/3A race). They were followed by Luke Yeager, David Hawkins, Zach Steitz, Spencer Edsall, KC Kinney, Andy Pruett and Jeremy Owens. Eight of our boys set season best times at St Vrain.
Our girls team placed 7th in the 2A/3A team completion and was led by Hannah Payne who took 23rd overall. Hannah was followed by Beth Xiong, Audrey Barday, Madison Batug, Kiara Durrett, Hannah Levesque, Jacquelyn Ross and Jessica Dickinson. All eight of our girls set season best times, with Jessica Dickinson and Hannah Levesque each improving their times by over three minutes!
We are off to a great start to the season, with runners routinely improving on their season PRs. Our next race is the Liberty Bell Invitational at Heritage High School on the 17th, one of the most anticipated races of the year.
Lori Fitzgerald Pre State Invitational
9/4/10
The pre state invitational was held at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, the same course that will host the state meet on October 30th. Over 2000 runners from all classifications took part in this race over rolling, dusty terrain.
Five FCA girls participated in the race, with Hannah Payne leading the way. Hannah was followed by Madison Batug, Kiara Durret, Hannah Levesque and Jessica Dickinson. Three of our girls improved their season best times by over two minutes.
Sam Yeager led our contingent of eight FCA boys. Sam was followed by Luke Yeager, Spencer Edsall, David Hawkins, Zach Steitz, KC Kinney, Andy Pruett and Jeremy Owens. Five of these boys improved their season best times by one minute or more. Another positive is that we expect to have Evan Fortney back from injury next week.
The experience gained through participating in this early season invitational should pay dividends throughout the season, and especially at the state championships in October!
D’Evelyn Dash Cross Country Scrimmage
8/28/10
 The D’Evelyn Dash Cross Country Scrimmage was the first competition of the year for our team. We have a totalof nineteen runners on the squad this year, and nine of them are freshmen. We may be a little short on experience, but the team’s future is bright.
Both the boys and girls teams ran well in this season opening race. Seven boys ran this race, led by senior Sam Yeager who placed 6th overall, followed by Luke Yeager, Spencer Edsall, David Hawkins, Zach Steitz, KC Kinney and Andy Pruett.
Eight FCA girls participated, with junior Bethany Xiong leading the way. Beth was followed by Hannah Payne, Audrey Barday, Madison Batug, Kiara Durret, Jacquelyn Ross, Jessica Dickinson and Hannah Levesque.
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