Class 4A: Falcon's Rickman finishes 2nd after rival pulls ahead early

Wes Rickman said he plans to do better next year. But there isn’t much room for improvement for the Falcon junior, who finished second at the Class 4A state cross country meet Saturday at the Vineyards Golf Course and El Pomar Youth Complex.

Sierra junior Samantha Thompson took fifth in the girls race with a time of 19 minutes, 39.99 seconds, improving one spot over last year despite battling a right quadriceps injury.

“It started bothering me at the second-mile mark,” Thompson said.

Rickman finished 39.5 seconds behind D’Evelyn senior Kevin Williams but was pleased with his place.

Rickman and Williams are rivals and friends. They’ll race in Wisconsin in a month, hoping to qualify for a national cross country meet.

“Kevin went out hard, and he was real relaxed,” Rickman said. “I tried to stay with him, but he pulled away.”

Williams (15:43.09) set a blistering pace. Rickman (16:23.36) was well ahead of Denver North junior Joseph Manilafasha (16:40.5).

“He’s a kid you love to coach,” Falcon coach Cameron Magnall said. “You tell him what to do and he does even more. All things point to him winning next year.”

Liberty senior Tim Hamilton was ninth (16:55.0), leading the Lancers (111) to second behind team champion Battle Mountain (55). Junior Neil Bishop (17:14.56) was 16th for Liberty, and senior Chris Claflin (17:23.61) was 25th.

“Our top three ran really well,” Liberty coach Gary Weston said. “We were probably fourth or fifth at the halfway point, but the kids just hammered the second half of the course.”

Falcon junior Kevin Johnson rallied to finish 11th (17:03.6). Woodland Park senior Chris Blackburn (17:04.8) was 12th, while sophomore teammate Shawn Dubbs (17:09.6) was 14th as the Panthers took seventh place. Cheyenne Mountain junior Lance Knight (17:17.3) was 21st and Widefield senior Thomas Powers (17:22.9) was 24th.

Cheyenne Mountain girls were sixth (198), far behind winner Greeley West (86). Senior Joy O’Hare (20:20.99) was 17th for the Indians, while sophomore Emily Duncan (20:22.39) was 20th. Woodland Park senior Jamie Welch (20:25.14) was 22nd, and Liberty senior Kaylen Slack (20:29.89) was 27th to lead the Lancers to 11th place.