Niwot takes the 5A cross country title in Colorado Springs

Niwot finished with 60 points at the 2026 Class 5A boys state championship meet held Oct. 31 at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs. That total put them 83 points ahead of runner-up Arapahoe, which collected 143 points. No other team came close to that gap in the final standings.

The race began in the fall as high schools across the state competed for the top spot. Niwot built their lead through consistent individual finishes from their top five runners. Arapahoe stayed second throughout the scoring period, while Fort Collins, Heritage, and Mountain Vista finished third, fourth, and fifth respectively with 156, 157, and 158 points. The top ten teams all finished within 184 points of the leader.

Northfield's Abdinasir Hassan claimed the individual title with a time of 14 minutes, 56.5 seconds. He finished 14.9 seconds ahead of second-place runner Jude Ritzenhein from Niwot, who clocked 15:11.4. Will Johns of Fort Collins took third in 15:12.5. Sixteen runners from Aurora area schools finished in the top 152, with Regis Jesuit's Luis Duarte placing 32nd overall in 16:24.7. Cherokee Trail placed four runners in the top 150, including Jaxon Weber in 80th and Kenneth English in 84th.

The event concluded with the final scores locked in and the medal ceremonies completed at the venue. Niwot secured the state trophy, and Hassan received the individual award for his winning performance. The results were recorded by the meet officials and published in the official results sheet for the 2026 season.