Boys Cross Country Wins the 2023 Nike Portland Invite!

Boys Cross Country gets 1st place at the Nike Portland Invite!

The Valor Cross Country teams traveled to Portland, Oregon over the weekend to take on a strong contingent of Oregon, Washington, and California teams. After a Friday of travel, a tour of the Nike headquarters campus, and an easy run in the Pacific Northwest rain; the Eagles settled down in their Portland Air BnB's to prepare for Saturday morning races. 

The Eagles did not disappoint as the Valor Boys ran to a championship win over several nationally ranked teams. The boys triumphed over nationally ranked Franklin (OR) by 42 points, led by Dane Eike's 3rd place finish. The boys saw Kaeden Dendorfer (18th), Judah Crooks (21st), Cory Gilbert (43rd), and Porter Warren (45th) round out the top 5 Valor scorers followed by Griffin Mazeski and Isaac Yang. In an early open varsity race, Eagle runner Henry Johnston ran to a strong 8th place to set the tone for a strong Colorado showing. 

In the sophomore race, Carson Williams ran a personal best and finished 11th place, followed by Cooper Abry, and Cameron Williamson who ran a lifetime best 5k.  The Valor freshman boys traveling this weekend were, Landon Stephens and Ayden Waziri; Stephens and Waziri both both ran lifetime bests in 18:54 and 19:29, respectively.