Many sports take on an extra special feel under the lights, but one sport that rarely provides prime-time exposure for its athletes is cross country. Over the weekend, however, Archbishop Curley got a taste of night racing in the Rocky Mountains, as they competed in the Silver Moon Relays, hosted by Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Co.
The Friars traveled west and were hosted by Stan Lambros, a 1983 graduate of Curley who played soccer and ran indoor track for the Friars. On the indoor circuit Lambros ran relays and performed in the high jump, where he shares the school record with Curley’s legendary track and cross country coach Gene Hoffman.
Hoffman’s harriers began their first race of 2010 at an altitude of 7,200 feet with a start time of 10:00 p.m. Mountain time (Midnight Eastern). Curley palce seventh out of 23 schools in the varsity race and the JV placed 19th.
“Cheyenne Mountain won by a big margin in every race. They are best team I’ve seen in a very long time,” said Hoffman. “I was pleased with our results, although we can always do better.”
Curley’s relay time was 44:33, as Jon Cook led the way with a time of 8:47. Dave Ozarowski finished in 8:35, followed by Alex Waldt (8:50), Jeremy Skarda (9:04) and Frank Sanchez (9:16).
During the trip the team also took some time to visit the sites. The Friars toured the US Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls and the US Olympics Center in Breckinridge.
The Cheyene Mountain squad also proved to be excellent hosts. The shared their training table with Curley and took the team on mountain training runs where the ascended to altitudes of 14,000 feet.
