Greeley West and Castle View departed 4A and left gaping holes in the roster of top boys' teams in the classification. The departure of Chris Ganem also took away the top name on the list of returning individuals.

But, last we checked, they're still going to contest a 4A boys state championship this year, so what's to look for among the schools and individuals who are running 4A this fall?

Individually, only three of the top ten finishers from last year's state meet should be back. Those three would be Mike Cernoia (Pueblo West), Chris Zirkle (Moffat County), and David Shearon (Battle Mountain). Of those, Cernoia had the best track season in the spring and has to be considered the initial favorite to bring home top honors late in October.

But early August isn't late October. Zirkle had a somewhat disappointing track season running for Hayden High School and will need to get back on course to be a contender in 4A boys cross country. Shearon validated his cross country season on the track, but never quite reached the highest levels of the classification in track and field.

Look for people like Brandon Lange, Ed Cleary, Mitch Kasyon, and Spencer Wenck to challenge for the top tier of 4A in cross country. A few more potential contenders lurk a little further in the background, but will need to make bigger jumps to join the lead pack than these four.

The team race tilts toward Cheyenne Mountain at this point. The Indians were solidly in second last fall, behind only Greeley West. And Cheyenne Mountain returns four of five scoring runners from the state meet. That has a way of making them look like prohibitive favorites. The dominance of their 4x800 team in track suggests there weren't many chinks in the armor uncovered during track season. So, it's Cheyenne Mountain wearing the targets on their backs this fall.

Hoping to get within range to take a shot at those targets are Thompson Valley, Pueblo West, Niwot, D'Evelyn, Moffat County, and Evergreen.

View full article: http://co.milesplit.us/articles/48379