Named All-San Juan Basin League for his final placing among circuit rivals at the 2A-Region IV Championships Oct. 22, Eppie Quintana did so with a fuel-burning finishing kick that did justice to the Confluence Park course’s “Delta Speedway” nickname.
“I saw him at about (mile) 2½, and he was nice and relaxed,” said Ignacio Cross-Country head coach Daniel Holley. “I just said, ‘Man, you’ve worked way too hard to get 11th place; see if you can pick up top 10!’ And he put on a heck of a fight that last quarter mile – got in a sprint with the 11th-place guy and got it done!”
“Man, that was a blast!” Quintana said, of his finish with Dylan Caldwell, a senior at Grand Junction-based Caprock Academy. “That kid passed me on the back half –maybe a lap to go on a track, distance-wise – and kind of sprints out. I was like, ‘Oh great, he went a little early!’ But I was right on his rear end … late, and I came around that (last) corner, just dropped it into gear and blew his doors off! I just heard him (sighs) like, ‘Man, you got me.’ That was a good feeling.”
“And afterward … I was really excited to hear my name even called.”
Called not just as a top 10 placer, but as a qualifier for the 2021 CHSAA state championships in Colorado Springs.
“It feels great,” said Quintana, who clocked 18 minutes, 13 seconds, and finished 3 seconds ahead of Caldwell. “I was hoping I could make it last year, and I just didn’t prepare enough – the coaches put me through what I had to, and I just wasn’t able to show out. Luckily, this year I was able to do the plan set for me.”
Crested Butte senior Connor Williams won the race in a sizzling 16:30, with Ouray sophomore Vincent Schierenberg second in 16:55 and Mancos senior Edgar Hernandez third in 17:07 – the Trojan and the Bluejay received All-SJBL salutes – and Quintana admitted he’d harbored thoughts early on of matching such pace.
“I ended up running a crazy-fast first mile, which I wasn’t supposed to do,” he said with a laugh. “But that’s where 10th place was, and I wasn’t moving. If the pack moved, I moved – that’s just how I took the race, how I went at it.”
“Got off to a hot start; he ran through the first mile in about five minutes, 42 seconds,” Holley said, “and then was able to kind of drop back and hold through mile two. Settled right in; he told me he knew exactly where he was at the whole race.”
“Thankfully coach Holley and coach Alizabeth (Williams) have really been showing me how to run a race the right way, with like certain goals behind mile one, mile two, and mile three … then just open it up, empty your tank,” said Quintana. “That’s what I did at regionals, and I’m hoping I can do it for state.”
Quintana will be the sole representative for either 2A Ignacio or 3A Bayfield to run at the Norris-Penrose Event Center course in Saturday’s final, Quintana and the rest of the Class 2A Boys field will hear the starter’s gun at 9:40 a.m. And having already tested his mettle on the route earlier this season at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede, Quintana has high hopes for himself with conditions in the Springs expected to be favorable.
“Those hills are going to be fun,” he said through a grin. “But me and Holley set up a plan, and it sounds like I’m going to try to stay up front, run my race. We trained Monday on how to keep a 43-second 200 (meter) pace, so I kind of know how to run at the pace I need to be at. Hopefully I can hold that pace through the little batch of hills on the front side, then once I get through that it’s all pretty much downhill until that last, like, little stretch.”
“His family travels well,” noted Holley, “so I expect there to be Bobcat spirit roaming around Norris-Penrose Event Center on Saturday!”
BOBCAT BOYS TOP 10 IN DELTA: Quintana’s 10-place run and personal best time – at Region IV paced IHS’ boys to a ninth-place score of 150 points. Sophomore Phillip Quintana placed 25th in 19:06, while junior Dylan McCaw took 52nd in 21:19, sophomore Corey Gomez 71st in 22:48 and sophomore Camron Cooper 76th in 23:24.
All efforts were reported to be personal bests.
Ouray won the team title with a 44-point low, with Crested Butte (68), Rangely (78) and Mancos (88) following. Trailing the ’Cats in the standings were Carbondale-based Colorado Rocky Mountain School (155) and Parachute Grand Valley (226).
Running one of the finest races of her career, senior Avaleena Nanaeto clocked a season-best 22 minutes, 47 seconds in Confluence Park, but ultimately was unable to earn a fourth trip to state despite placing an Ignacio-leading 21st overall in the Region IV girls race.
“We had a conversation before the race about just going out there and giving it her all if it’s her last race,” Holley said. “Came up short, but not by much.”
“To qualify for state three out of four times in high school is almost unheard of,” he continued, “and who knows, with less … injury, I’ll say, around her I think she would have had a chance to go – as part of a team – one last time. I wish I could give her the best sendoff possible.”
All told, the Lady ’Cats totaled 124 points – four more than SJBLers Dolores and 11 more than Telluride – and earned seventh place. Soroco (54) took the title back to Oak Creek, with Mancos (64), Caprock (65) and CRMS (73) in close pursuit.
IHS sophomore Lauren deKay placed 27th and posted a personal best 23:19. Sophomore Moriah Ashley took 36th in a personal best 23:48, and senior Alannah Gomez placed 40th in a season-best 23:50.
“She’s had a season with some injury setbacks and things,” Holley said, “so for her to post a season-best … in the 23s – in her last race – you really can’t ask for more.”
