Powered by Altitude, Anchored by Team: Steamboat Springs cross country team
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Our SSHS Cross Country team is looking forward to a fantastic season, featuring a mix of veteran athletes and newcomers. We are so privileged to have a group of coaches who share their expertise, energy, and life experiences with the young athletes. It is an honor and a privilege to coach alongside Kelly Boniface, Missy Amato, Alexandra Berto, and Glen Light. They represent decades of their own experiences as high school, collegiate, and professional competitors.聽 The coaches create a genuine atmosphere of gratitude and grit, with the heart and soul of each athlete as the center. They tailor training to help our young student-athletes balance academics, other life endeavors, and recovery.
Our team motto is 鈥淧owered by Altitude, Anchored by Team鈥�. This summer has certainly provided exceptional opportunities for our athletes to challenge themselves and each other in the beautiful mountains that surround Steamboat Springs. For the 5th year, our team hosted the Hahns Peak Vertical Race. An 8-mile trail race that takes racers to the top of Hahns Peak at 10,839 feet. Many of our athletes, coaches, and alums take on the challenge each summer. It is an epic race and an opportunity to do something challenging, carrying that perspective of endurance into our high school season.
We also have the unique opportunity each summer to participate in the Elevate Mountain Running Camp. For many of our Steamboat athletes, they take part in this premier high school mountain running camp (right in our back yard of North Routt) and share the week with athletes and teams from around the U.S.A. Our athletes run some big mountain miles and learn from professional coaches on topics such as sports nutrition, breath and posture, mental toughness, racing strategies, overcoming obstacles, balance, and recovery. It was another 鈥渨ow鈥� experience this past July, which we also hope to carry into our high school season.
We have an action-packed competition schedule in 2025 and one that promises to stretch our limits. We kicked off the season on August 30th at a challenging mountain course in Minturn, featuring over 20 competitive teams. The season then sped up quickly with a large invitational at Eagle Valley, where we will return in late October for our Regional Championships. On September 13th, we competed at the Liberty Bell Invitational. This fast-paced and competitive race brings together over 100 teams from around Colorado and the surrounding states.
After the big push of the first month, we will stay close to home to enjoy some destination runs in the surrounding mountains. In October, we will fire up the legs and lungs again by competing at the Copper Stinger, which is touted as the 鈥渉ighest and toughest grass course鈥� with 22% vertical climbs. Then we will race fast and flat at the Mountain States Challenge in Grand Junction. And finally, we will host a home meet at the Yampa Valley Golf Course on October 17th, before turning our attention to the Regional Championships.
Although our team thrives in the midst of competition, we pledge always to remember the 鈥渕ost important stuff鈥�. In each season, and certainly in this one, our team鈥檚 mission is that 鈥渨e will focus on what matters most, with grit, gratitude, and resilience. We will be leaders who chase excellence and championships in a way that is not measured by physical outcome, but rather by helping each other do things they never thought possible.鈥�
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