Colorado’s Cross Country starts their season off strong at the Wyoming Invitational
The nationally ranked University of Colorado Cross Country team had its opening meet of the season on Friday, competing in the Wyoming Invitational.
The No. 6-ranked men’s team finished third overall, and sophomore Ella Hagen led the No.18-ranked women’s squad with a second-place individual performance.
The Buffaloes opened up their season on a tough path around a rolling hills golf course located at 6,100 feet above sea level. This elevation significantly affects how runners pace a 5k race, as the air becomes thinner and the runners’ oxygen intake decreases.
Although Buffaloes’ runners train in Boulder at 5,430 feet, the abrupt adjustment they made in Cheyenne, Wyoming complements how head coach Sean Carlson has been running the program since 2024 and the atmosphere his program brings to every race.
Men’s results:
Ty Cirino (5th - 15:33.15)
Grady Jenkins (12th - 15:51.60)
Carter Prater (18th - 16:11.74)
Will Ihmels (22nd - 16:32.46)
Women's results:
Ella Hagen (2nd - 17:57.64)
Riley Burkey (27th - 19:56.29)
Polina Krupsky (36th - 21:09.38)
The stand-out second-place performance from Hagen, a sophomore studying Cellular Biology, has quickly become a key piece in this Colorado squad. Last year at the same meet, she won the race in her collegiate debut.
Hagen has one of the most impressive high school cross-country careers with two state championships and three national qualifiers under her belt.
Cross country has its next race on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the John McNicholas Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana.
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