Cherry Creek’s Riley Stewart: Two days, three races, three 5A titles and one more to go – The Denver Post
LAKEWOOD — Cherry Creek distance runner Riley Stewart woke up Friday morning with more nerves than usual.
Even after winning her first track and field state championship the day before, she couldn’t help but flash back to two years ago when she placed third in the 3,200-meter race. She was a freshman at the time who also played soccer but felt she needed to boost her track and field training to reach her full potential.
After joining up with a new coach, switching up her workouts, and focusing solely on track during the pandemic, this week’s state meet was Stewart’s time to show out.
Her hard work paid off as the Bruins junior won three Class 5A titles in two days at Jeffco Stadium.
“Getting to have cross (country) was nice, but getting back out on the track in front of fans, it’s a completely different atmosphere,” Stewart said. “Everyone’s here supporting us and it’s such a good weekend to be running.”
The two-time Gatorade Colorado girls cross country runner of the year gave fans a show Friday, winning the 3,200- and 800-meter runs in a matter of hours. On Thursday Stewart and the 4×800 relay team of Kinsey Christianson, Addison Price and Shelby Balding secured the 5A title in 9:05.73, four seconds faster than Valor Christian.
She said she didn’t have as much recovery time as she wanted between the relay and Friday’s 8:20 a.m. start time for the 3200.
No matter, Stewart led the race wire-to-wire. A small kick in the last 200 meters separated her from the pack, solidifying her 5A title at 10:31.45. Emma Stutzman of Pomona finished second at 10:39.18, while Taylor Whitfield of Valor Christian was third in 10:47.19.
“This (3200) race ended up being a little faster than I wanted it to be, but I’m just going to recover, try my best in the other events and push hard because it’s a different atmosphere here,” Stewart said afterward. “The adrenaline rush from the crowd is pretty great.”
Stewart went back home between races to rest before returning to the track to run the 800.
“The nerves were gone from this morning because I got them out and away with,” she added. “I was just coming in here running this for fun.”
For an event she ran “for fun,” it turned out pretty well for Stewart.
She now turns her focus to her strongest event, the 1600 on Saturday. A state record holder with a time of 4:44.13, Stewart looks to go 4-for-4 in state titles this weekend.
“It’s the greatest feeling to have three state titles in just two days, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
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