The following article was written by Kenny Wilcox and features details on the upcoming National High School Trail Championships and Beas Knees Citizens’ Race to be held in Salida, Colorado on Saturday, July 27. As event director Wilcox says, “More fireworks, please.”
The eighth running of the National High School Trail Championships (NHSTC) and Beas Knees Citizens’ Race looks primed to build upon its deep trail running history. Since its inception, many young trail athletes have etched their names in NHSTC lore as they have shown their mettle on the challenging and undulating course around and behind Salida’s iconic “S” Mountain.
The number of athletes who have raced at the NHSTC and then have gone on to represent Team USA at the U18 International Mountain Running Cup (including at this year’s event in Spain), grows with each passing year.
Join the fun in Salida
Want to go head-to-head against some of the very best high school trail runners the United States has to offer? This is your golden opportunity as there’s no qualifying race to enter for the NHSTC. Just load up your parents’ minivan with your teammates and point that engineering marvel towards Salida, Colorado. We even have a camping option so you can do this on the cheap! It’s time to make some memories!!
The Beas Knees Citizens’ Race will check all the boxes for anyone not in high school. The Beas consistently provides an experience that will satisfy any of your desires. If you want competition, we’ve got that for you. If you want to enjoy a morning out in the fresh mountain air before the high schoolers heat up the trail, we can take care of that too. No matter your motivation, your registration will help support the Brett Beasley Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship that honors someone who is very near and dear to our community.
The month of July began with fireworks as our country celebrated our independence, now, it looks like the month will wrap up with a grand finale of sorts as the NHSTC and Beas Knees takes center stage. Let’s take a closer look at some of the early potential headlines.
High School boys’ championship
Will Benjamin Anderson return and successfully defend his title in the Boys’ Championship? He ran to a commanding victory in ’23, but he also came up just a single second shy of Sullivan Middaugh’s course record from 2020. Defending a title always comes with challenge, but perhaps the extra motivation of taking down Middaugh’s record would provide the necessary focus for Anderson to reign supreme yet again. Should Anderson toe the line, its likely he would have some company, at least for a while. From the information I have, all four boys from the most recent Team USA U18 team will be in attendance and there are several other entries that indicate the boys’ race will be full of intrigue.
The NHSTC has yet to see an individual champion come from outside of Colorado. At the moment, Judah Daffron, 4A state cross country champion of Taos, New Mexico, figures to be in the best position to make a run at being the first to break the mold.
Eagle Valley ran to a convincing team title a year ago and there’s very little reason to think they won’t do it again. Twin brothers Blair (Dylan and Tyler) just helped power Team USA to the U18 International Mount Running Cup title in Spain last month and they have the critical team support around them to keep their run at the top going. As history would suggest, however, last year’s titles never guarantee victory in the present.
High School girls’ championship
Ella Hagen and Keeghan Edwards gapped an impressive field a year ago. Edwards, the NHSTC champion from 2022, pushed Hagen to a new record of 36:31 on the 5.4-mile course. That’s how it often seems to go – rarely are high level records set alone – more likely in the presence of speedy, fellow competitors.
Emily Beers, fourth last summer, will look to climb up a rung or two or three higher. Beers, a major player in the Air Academy’s title at Nike Cross Nationals last fall seems to get stronger the longer a race goes and the NHSTC seem like an ideal place for her to shine.
Tight team races have been the norm at the NHSTC, but Northfield made sure to keep Lewis Palmer and Central Grand Junction at arm’s length during the seventh running of the championships. Northfield has the potential to bring back all of their scorers, which could mean that for them to be dethroned, another team will have to find a way to solve the Nighthawk puzzle.
Beas Knees Citizens’ Race
This race has it all. You’re likely to see a five-year-old or an 85-year-old giving it their very best and reminding all of us of why we got into running in the first place. It’s quite likely you’ll be sharing the trail with a future or past NHSTC champ. Speaking of which, our current start list shows a few former champs.
Taryn Brown (formerly Ceglowski) was the inaugural NHSTC girls’ champ back in 2017. Since then, Taryn completed a successful career at University of Sioux Falls and University of Mary. After graduation, Taryn tied the knot and recently became a mom for the first time. We are thrilled to have Taryn joining us!
The first athlete to win the boys’ NHSTC race not named James Gregory was Tyman Smart. Smart brought home Central Grand Junction’s first individual championship at the NHSTC in ’19 and has been recently running for Adams State. Could Smart or someone else take down the longest standing record of the event? Taylor Stack’s 32:11 has stood since 2019.
New this year
An exciting development for 2024 is unfolding. This year will mark the first-ever team competition in the citizens’ race! Similar to the NHSTC, teams can be up to five people in size and the first three will be counted towards scoring. For the Beas Knees, we will field team divisions for female, male and coed. The coed team will need to include mixed gender in the scoring. Reportedly, 7000 Feet Running Company of Salida is claiming they will take on all-comers from any town big or small!
We invite you to join us in the heart of 14er country. Whether you are vying for a national title, love free swag, wanting to prove to your son or daughter that you’ve still “got it” or are here for the Beasley family, we encourage you to take to the trails with us on Saturday, July 27. Register here.
