LAKEWOOD — When it comes to girls distance running, Colorado is the queen of the country.
As evidence of the Centennial State’s standing in the sport, just look at the results from the 2023 Nike Cross Nationals last November, when four locals finished in the Top 10.
Niwot’s Addison Ritzenhein was first, Air Academy’s Bethany Michalak second, Liberty Common’s Isabel Allori fourth and Summit’s Ella Hagen tenth, while a trio of local squads topped the team standings in Niwot, Air Academy and Mountain Vista.
“It was like Colorado beating the whole country, basically,” Allori said with a laugh. “That was awesome. We dominated together and showcased the amazing distance talent this state has.”
Those four runners, who starred in the distance events this weekend at the CHSAA state track meet at Jeffco Stadium, are the latest names on a long list of nationally renowned runners from the Centennial State. Since 2014, Colorado’s produced elite talents such as Niwot’s Elise Cranny, Air Academy’s Katie Rainsberger, Grandview’s Bri Oakley, Cherry Creek’s Riley Stewart and Pomona’s Emma Stutzman, all of whom garnered national acclaim in high school.
Now, Liberty Common distance coach Rory Schulte argues the latest wave of talent is cementing the fact that “there’s no denying that Colorado’s produced the best girls distance runners, certainly on a per capita basis, over the last decade.”
“There’s been a culture shift,” Schulte said. “Obviously, Colorado is a great place to run and the elevation plays a role. But also, those days of Elise Cranny and Katie Rainsberger jump-started everything and people started seeing women’s distance running here could be taken to a new level. Girls have been attacking record marks, and beating them, after seeing what others have done.”
In addition to the showing at the latest Nike Cross Nationals, a barrage of other omens underscore Schulte’s proclamation.
Ritzenhein, a sophomore sensation who already has an NIL deal, is the latest pillar of a Niwot girls dynasty that won its eighth state title since 2013. The daughter of accomplished runners — her dad, Dathan, is a three-time Olympian and former American 5K record holder, while her mom, Kalin, is a two-time Foot Locker Nationals finalist — this year she became the third Gatorade National Cross Country Runner of the Year from Colorado, joining Rainsberger and Oakley.
The Niwot star repeated as the Class 4A 3200-meter champion on Thursday, and then beat Hagen and a host of other runners for the 1,600-meter crown on Saturday in a race that Hagen won in 2023. She’s already on pace to be a Colorado all-time great.
“I just want to keep progressing from where I am now,” Ritzenhein said. “Keep defending my state titles, maybe get another national title, get a lot of PRs, and most importantly just keep enjoying the sport.”
Allori, a Notre Dame commit, set the state record in the 3,200 meters this year at the Patriot League meet. Her time of 10 minutes, 4.16 seconds edged Stewart’s mark of 10:06.23. This weekend, the senior kept the momentum going after having to miss last year’s state track meet due to a foot injury. Allori swept 3A crowns in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter races, setting classification state meet records in each one along the way.
That performance was in addition to Allori coming in second place at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston in March, besting the third-place Ritzenhein by four seconds, and also winning the 3,200 at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in California in April. All this while dealing with a couple of minor injuries to her Achilles/calf and back that forced her to slow-play her training this season.
“This whole season has been a lot of different emotions — one day I might not be able to run, then two days later I’m breaking a state record,” Allori said. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs but I’ve been able to get in a rhythm over the past couple months when I’m competing, and I made the most of the opportunities as they came.”
Michalak (a senior who’s an N.C. State pledge) and Hagen (a junior who remains uncommitted, like Ritzenhein) are also standouts in a track season where a record 25 Colorado girls broke the 11-minute mark in the 3,200 meters heading into state. Last year, that number was 17, counting the state meet.
“This is definitely the fastest year ever (in Colorado girls distance running), probably across the board, but certainly in the girls two-mile,” Schulte said. “In 5A, you had to run 11 minutes flat or faster just to qualify for the state meet. It wasn’t that long ago when 11 flat would win the state meet. … For example in 2010, there were two girls (across all classifications) who were under 11 minutes.”
Michalak captured titles in the 5A 1,600 and 3,200 to get back atop the podium after winning the former race in 4A as a freshman. Hagen, who was battling illness this weekend, took third in the 3,200-meters and before finishing 17 seconds behind Ritzenhein in the 1,600 meters.
The four runners have grown close thanks to their experiences together at out-of-state meets. As Hagen explains, “the other three inspire me to be the best version of myself. They’re some of my closest friends and to compete with them makes me a better athlete.”
“When we go to these big out-of-state races, we work together while we’re in the race, we follow each other,” Allori added. “There is a competitive bond between us, because I think we all know how special it is to be part of an elite group that gets to run together on the biggest stages, even though we’re different classifications in Colorado.”
But what is behind the astounding times, and the continuous pipeline of amazing girls distance talent coming from Colorado? More than just the elevation and the legacy of past runners driving current ones, Hagen argues Colorado’s fickle weather is incubating gritty distance champions.
“Running here in Colorado, whether in cold conditions or in the middle of hot and dry summers, teaches you to be tough, to be strong,” Hagen said. “The conditions here aren’t always easy. You have to be strong in order to really compete in this state and be elite. Training in the hard conditions makes the racing a lot more fun, because when talented runners learn how to deal with those (adverse) conditions then get to compete in normal conditions, the times can be pretty amazing.”
