Mead High School hosted the largest cross country meet in Colorado this past weekend, with athletes from middle school through high school participating.  

Coach Parsons said, “It [was] huge. We [had] almost 1,400 [athletes] registered between middle and high school… We [had] 59 schools.” Coach Garcia and Coach Parsons plowed the course the runners would later run on, pouring hours and hours of work into this meet. With variations between the two mile middle school course and the 5k high school courses, these two coaches put a lot of effort into this meet. 

With excitement and expectations at an all time high, the stage was set for the Mavs’ cross country team. With the motto “hills make champions” from Coach Garcia running through their veins, the girls were ready to start at 8:30 a.m. Coach Parsons said, “On the girls side, we’re super strong …. They have a really really good pack.” Leaders Ava Mierau (‘26), Brynn McIntosh (‘26), Addie Caldwell (‘27), and Marni Martin (‘27) were expected to be the top five for Saturday’s meet. In cross country, your top five runners are your scoring runners, with lower scores being better, similar to scoring in golf. Most races run seven and score five for this format. 

Ready for domination, the girls lined up on the starting line, and Coach Parsons fired the gun. With the thunder of feet running across the grass and the ground shaking underneath the hundreds of girls running, the Mead Stampede lived up to its name. Right away, runners Mierau, McIntosh, and Martin shot to the front of the pack. Rounding the corner of the soccer field, they headed towards the daunting grass lot full of weeds and gravel. This seemingly normal field is where they would race for 17 excruciating minutes. 

Runner Mierau was the first for Mead to reach the home stretch, the track where Mead legends have trained. Mierau worked to lessen a gap between her and Sophia Halverson (’27) of Golden High School and created an exciting race for 2nd place. Both runners kicked to the line, making one of the most exciting moments of the day. With the crowd roaring her name, Mireau tried to overtake Halverson. However, she fell short of passing the athlete from Golden High School. Nonetheless, this was an impressive showing of Mierau’s speed, determination, and heart. Brynn McIntosh, Abby Moore (’24), Addie Caldwell, Marni Martin, and Isabelle Mierau (‘24) closed the door for Mead’s scoring shortly after. With a total of 97 points, the Mavs brought home a second place plaque, falling only behind Holy Family. 

At 9:10 a.m, the boys were lined up and ready to go. Coach Garcia said before the race,“We’re excited this week because our top runner [Ben Mayer (’24) is coming back]… Our other two, three, four runners Asher Parsons (‘27), Tobin Duetsch (‘26) and Braeden Corliss (‘24)… are [really] close together. They are the pack on the boys side, and we have one more freshman, Joshua Knight (‘27) [who rounds out our scoring].” Coach Parsons fired the gun again, signaling the start for the boys, who were eager to land a first place spot. 

With another thunderous start, worthy of being called a Stampede, the boys stormed across the field. Runners Mayer, Corliss, Duetsch, and Parsons jumped into the front of the pack. Despite an early fall on the hill, Parsons got up fast and moved back up through the pack. The first runner to finish for Mead was Mayer. In his first race back from his injury, said, “The last time I ran a race was probably four or five weeks ago, and it felt great [to run today]. I’ve had a lot of nerves to run, and it feels good to finally run fast. Hopefully, I can keep improving by the end of the season.”

Mayer finished 17th with a time of 16:42.6, only 40 seconds behind the first place finisher Austin Tice (‘24) of Estes Park High School. 

Duetsch would finish shortly after Mayer, followed by Parsons, Corliss, and Knight. The Mead boys would take home fourth in the Mead Stampede, finishing behind cross country giants such as Grandview, Severance, and Regis Jesuit High School. They also placed second in the 4A ranks, finishing behind Severance for runner up. 

The Mavericks cross country team showed off their Maverick pride at the Mead Stampede. Key performers such as Ava Mierau and Brynn McIntosh lead the girls to a second place plaque. On the boys side, Ben Mayer returned from an injury and dominated with the help of Tobin Duetsch and their other fellow scoring runners, taking home a 4th place plaque. 

All things considered, the Mavs are looking good as they head into regionals.