The Erie Tigers Cross Country team competed in the 2018 State Championships this past weekend on Saturday, October 27th, in Colorado Springs. They brought both full teams of varsity boys and girls to race against the top 20 4A teams in the state.

The Tigers ran 7 boys: Jamison Cartwright, Tim Fritsche, Alex Walker, Luke Fritsche, Adam Garcia, Jon Powell, and Cooper Hinman. The team’s top runner, Jamison Cartwright, finished 23rd out of 155 boys with a time of 16:53.8 in his final run.The boys as a team placed 12th in the state.

The Tigers also raced 7 girls: Emily Condon, Emma Osborn, Ashley Edwards, Emmalee Fischer, Audrey Joseph, Izzy Sease, and Ana Garcia. The team’s top runner, Emily Condon, finished 83rd out of 155 girls with a time of 21:17.4. The girls placed 18th in 4A.

The state championship was a great opportunity for the team to get to compete and bond with each other. Senior Cooper Hinman said that, “Overall, it was an awesome experience getting to hangout with the team and race some of the top runners in not only the state, but in the country as well.”

The Tigers had a great season finishing with team wins and runners placing within the top ten at several meets. They walked away from the season with both teams finishing in the top two of the Tri-Valley league. Boys placed first, and girls placed second. They then walked away from regionals with both teams finishing in the top three of our region. Boys placed second, just a lone one point away from first, and girls placed third.

One reason the Tigers had such a great season can be attributed to new coach Brandon Havard who stepped into old head coach Addie Bracy’s position after being the head track coach in the spring of 2018. Harvard took a different approach in coaching this year’s cross country team than the previous two years, but it pushed the team to work hard and reach their goals. Senior Hinman also said that “(Coach Havard) was different than his old coaches who (I) really liked, but he was a great addition to the team and helped them get where they needed to be.” The team also had the help of their new assistant coach, David Marino, who is new to Erie High School this year as a mental health counselor in addition to coaching. The help of these two coaches along with the team’s hard work this year allowed the team to push through to the state championship meet.