The season of distance running has reached an end, and the cross country members can finally take a breather. Especially freshman standout Logan Gullet (23), who came in 11th in a field 156 of Colorado’s best.  After placing sixth as a team at regionals on October 17, Eaton Cross Country sent two runners to Colorado Springs to race against some of the most talented distance runners in Colorado. 

Gullet (23) and Evan Gesick (21) went face to face against 156 boys on Saturday, October 19. Gullet placing 11th with a time of 17:13 and Gesick placing 48th with a time of 18:06.

The runners who placed in the top fifteen at regionals had the opportunity to compete at state, and after Gullet placed fourth and Gesick placed ninth, another week of practice and preparation came their way.

Although the pair, and other committed teammates, readied themselves a week in advance during practice, nothing in the town of Eaton could prepare them for what they faced at state. 

Cross country coach, Jaryn Guerra said, “There was a lot of uphills and that made the course really difficult especially because around here, everything’s flat. That was definitely the biggest struggle but they overcame it by taking advantage of the flat parts of the course and really surged through them so that when they got to the hills they didn’t lose the distance that they gained.” 

    Gullet also saw the challenges of the hills and understood how difficult they would be to overcome. 

“In the middle of the race there was this big hill and I got passed by a lot of different people. I just had to tell myself to keep going and then I passed a lot of them towards the end,”  he said.

Having the pair of boys compete at state was a great accomplishment for the team. The ending of the season was a good omen for the future of cross country at Eaton. 

Guerra said, “After state, I really think we can build some momentum. The boys know the course now, they know what it feels like. I’m very confident that they’ll make it back and hopefully we take more people with them. My goal is to be able to make it to state as a team rather than as individuals.”

Gesick shares the same optimistic views for the future of the team. “State didn’t go as well as planned, I had one of my worst races, but it was still a fun experience and I look forward to setting new personal records and running with new people,” he said.

The future is bright for the two runners and for the team as a whole. The hills they overcame at state gets them so much closer to reaching Colorado Springs as a team in the years to come.