Mountain Vista’s Ben Adams nearly makes Liberty Bell cross country history

Ben Adams pumped his arms and lifted his knees.

He could see the finish line in sight — and the clock, as it ticked onwards from 14:26…14:27…14:28…

The Mountain Vista junior emptied all that was left in his tank in the final uphill to the finish, and lifted his right arm and pointed a No. 1 towards the sky as he crossed the line.

Adams clocked 14 minutes, 32 seconds.

History was nearly made Saturday morning at the Liberty Bell Invitational.

Nearly.

Adams torched the field to clock the second-fastest time ever run on the course, only two seconds behind Parker Wolfe’s 14:30 from 2021.

As history would play out, Wolfe went on to win an NCAA title in the 5,000, finish third at the 2024 US Olympic Trials, and recently sign a professional contract with Nike.

In other words, Adams’ performance is in really, really good company.

Add that he is only a junior and will return next year, which begs the question: Will Wolfe’s Colorado soil record of 14:30 survive another year?

The win marked Adam’s third consecutive victory of his season, adding to his undefeated streak.

“This was the first big target of the season,” he shared in an interview with RunnerSpace. “I wanted to come out here and prove my fitness. I was super happy with my ability to pull away in that second mile, and with the time that I ran.”

The Mountain Vista junior led perhaps the deepest field in Liberty Bell history, as eight cracked the coveted 15-minute marker, and personal bests were plentiful.

Coming in second was Summit’s Jay McDonald, who ran a blistering personal best of 14:39 to become the fourth-fastest ever on the course. And like Adams, McDonald is just a junior. Hot on his heels was Fort Collins senior Cadel Ruthven, who finished third in 14:41, which was just ahead of Eagle Valley’s Dylan Blair, who finished fourth in 14:43.

In the team competition Boulder continued to show that they are a squad to be reckoned with. They tallied 97 points to take the team title over Summit, who finished second with 149. Mountain Vista was third with 160.

A week ago I wrote about remembering the name “Emry Schwalm” — and once again, she’s proved to be the real deal.

Schwalm not only ran fast, but also beat a stellar field — again.

Eaton’s Delaney Reuter set a blistering pace early and owned a considerable lead heading into the final mile, but Schwalm timed her kick to perfection.

The Heritage senior would not be denied on her home course.

Schwalm kicked down Reuter and leaned in the final meters to take her third consecutive victory, clocking 16:43.20 to Reuter’s 16:43.40.

“If you ever question leaning in a cross country race, just do it,” Schwalm said of the tight finish in an interview with RunnerSpace.

Those are the top-two times run in Colorado this season, and per the usual, Liberty Bell played host to the fastest performances to date.

Four dipped under 17 minutes, including third-place finisher Mountain Vista’s Claire Guiberson, who ran 16:48, and Cherokee Trail freshman Madison Lang, who ran 16:58.

For the first time in Heritage history, the home-team swept the individual title and the team title, tallying 95 points.

“We all thought it (about winning as a team),” Schwalm admitted in an interview with RunnerSpace. “We all thought it’d be super cool. But the only person who believed in us was our coach.”

Mountain Vista was second with 134, which was just ahead of ThunderRidge’s 142.

Highlights from other races at Liberty Bell:

Division 1: Alamosa’s Ethan Merrick won the boys race in 15:32, while Ponderosa’s Zoey Foco won the girls in 18:27.

Division 2: Mead’s Josh Knight won the boys race in 15:33, while Mountain View’s Madeline Clark won the girls in 18:35.

Division 3: Englewood’s Silas Strawbridge won the boys race in 15:54, while Wray’s Addison Jones won the girls in 18:50.

Sweepstakes JV: Northfield’s Abdinasir Hassan won this race in 15:30.

Run Around The State

Roosevelt Roughrider Invitational: The Roosevelt duo of Elizabeth Roberts and Sydney Ludington went 1-2, running 19:24 and 19:25. Likewise, Frontier Academy’s Mathew Hayden and Camden Sutton went 1-2 on the boys side, running 16:32 and 16:36.

Coal Ridge Invitational: Palisade’s Hyrum DeFord won in 16:14, which was just ahead of Soroco’s Nick Clark, who finished in 16:19.

Demon Invitational: Golden sophomore Jackson Ferguson won this one going away, clocking 15:43. Golden’s Dylan Shaklee and Elsa Veesely went 1-2 on the girls side, clocking 18:50 and 18:58.