One is riding an impressive streak to Colorado Springs. The other two pulled off quite the regional feat. All three will lead their respective teams to state.
Eva-Lou Edwards has yet to lose a high school race this season, while Trevor Gabbard and Luke Webb went 1-2 at the Class 3A Region 1 meet, helping Bayfield High School’s boys and girls cross country teams qualify as full units for the CHSAA Class 3A Cross Country State Championships on Saturday at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.
Edwards, like Gabbard, captured the regional title. She’s also won every high school event she’s entered this year and heads to Colorado Springs to defend her state championship. Edwards also won her age division at the Imogene Pass Run in September in 2 hours, 29 minutes, 0.7 seconds, trailing the overall female champion by just shy of 11 minutes.
BHS head coach Josh Walton, in his first year in charge of the program, said Edwards possesses a natural running ability on top of an intense commitment.
“It’s been incredible just to watch her run and just the amount of work she puts in and her dedication to just running and just everything that she does – she puts in 110 percent into everything that she does,” Walton said.
Walton said a big reason for Edwards’ success this season has to do with her love of hills. Where hills can prove tricky or detestable to other runners, Edwards uses the hills on certain courses to build distance between herself and the competition. And Saturday’s course should be hilly enough to be the type Edwards may enjoy.
“She runs great at any course, but she really runs well on courses that have hills, just because she can just attack the hill, and she leaves the opposition in the dust basically because they can’t handle the hills,” Walton said. “She attacks the hills just like a flat surface.”
Edwards, who set the season low in all of Class 3A in the 5-kilometer race at regionals, will join Lexa Fleming, Bridget Goddard, Aubree Lorenzen, Danielle Miller, Cameron Spencer and Maggie Zink this weekend after Bayfield finished third as a team to qualify for state.
On the boys side, Gabbard and Webb will be joined by Justis Herrera, Alex Knight, Joe Sandrey, Caleb Sapa and Alex Svanes after they, too, finished third at regionals.
Gabbard and Webb led the way last weekend in Delta, finishing first and second, respectively, to help lift the Wolverines to state. Walton said having the duo around has been helpful because they help push each other on top of his typical coaching.
“It’s nice to have two athletes like that because I can push them so much, but having that teammate that also pushes you adds just another aspect to them getting better,” Walton said.
It helps that Gabbard and Webb are frequent training partners and close friends off the course, which should help them on course not only at state but also next year when both will be seniors.
“They train together; they’re always running together in practice,” Walton said. “They’re pretty much for the most part step for step in a majority of practices.”
The Class 3A boys race will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the girls to follow at noon.
rowens@durangoherald.com
