Written by Andrew Simmons for the winter 2022 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. Coach Andrew Simmons has followed the U.S. athletes who participated in the 2022 International U18 Mountain Running Cup this past June and catches up with them 6 months later.
The U.S. Under 18 Mountain Running Team arrived in Saluzzo, Italy for the 15th International U18 Mountain Running Cup organized by the World Mountain Running Association this past June for a once in a lifetime racing opportunity. Eight young American runners came ready to tackle a challenging 4.4km course with 155 meters of ascent and descent over a mix of cobblestones, steep climbs through narrow alleys, castle grounds in the foothills of the Piedmont Mountains. They went, they saw, they conquered the mountains in Italy. Here’s how they faired in cross country competitions closer to home this past Fall.
Alyssa Sauro (#3220)
Alyssa Sauro | Williamstown, WV (1st place in Italy)
Alyssa competed at the East Bay South Regional qualifying her for the Champ Sports (formerly Footlocker) Nationals in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. Here’s a recap of her season in her words: “Our high school team (Williamstown High School) won the Class A State Championship in West Virginia. I was the Class A State Champion. In our first race of the year, I ran a 16:52 5k. I did have an injury to my piriformis muscle that caused me to sit out of 6 weeks of competition. I was able to make it back just in time for the State Meet. Racing for Team USA gave me more confidence heading into the season. It was a great experience and made me appreciate running and the teammates around me.” Alyssa Raced the Champs Sports (Footlocker CC) regional race where she finished 10th and advanced to Footlocker Nationals where she finished 9th in 17:39.
Victoria Rodriguez (#532)
Victoria Rodriguez | Seven Valleys, PA (23rd place in Italy)
Victoria had a season of highlights including her first sub-18:00 5K at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, PA with a 17:59.10 to place 6th; winning the YAIAA League Championship as a Sophomore; and becoming a 2 x PIAA State Cross Country Championship Medalist with her 14th Place finish, improving from 22nd as a Freshman. Victoria did not have any injuries or setbacks this past Cross Country season that she had struggled with previously. She credits racing for Team USA drastically helping her overall shape and how she races and she thinks it made her have a really good mindset going into the season. She even mentioned her mountain training when she won Leagues.
Rosie Mucharsky-O’Boyle (#118)
Rosie Mucharsky-O’Boyle | Denver, CO (18th place in Italy)
Rosie had a season PR of 17:37.6, and won her Denver Public School League Meet for the second year in a row. She finished on the podium at the 5A regional meet for 3rd in Colorado 5A. Rosie shared that she struggled with an ongoing viral bug for ~6 weeks of the season that held her back from training at full capacity. Rosie credits a lot of her confidence and success this season with racing for Team USA in Italy. In her words: ”Racing for Team USA this summer gave me confidence and perspective; so when I line up for my cross country races I understand my personal strengths. Racing for Team USA made me more confident at the start line. One of my season highlights was seeing Team USA Teammates throughout the season – I got to see Porter, Milaina, and Benji race at the Colorado State meet.”
Milaina Almonte | Edwards, CO (20th place in Italy)
Milaina’s cross country season was her last as Battle Mountain Husky and she had many highlights. She won the Warrior Lincoln Park Classic in 18:23 and turned around 2 weeks later to finish second at the 4A Regional with a PR time of 18:04 which clearly built her confidence for the Colorado State Meet where she finished 9th in the state in 18:47. She joined Benji Anderson and Porter Middaugh at RunningLane National Championships on a wet and muddy day to finish in 19:05.
Porter Middaugh (#189)
Porter Middaugh | Avon, CO (4th place in Italy)
There were two things you’d catch Porter doing this season – standing on the podium and breaking 15:00 for 5K. Porter raced seven times this year and he finished under 15:00 twice, and finished on the podium in 5 of the 7 races. He had a phenomenal race at the Colorado State Cross Country Meet where he ran 15:31 to finish second with a dramatic kick to the finish with first and second separate by .3 second! Porter joined Benji, Milaina, and Garrett at the Garmin RunningLane National Championships where he ran 15:34.5 in the boys Gold Race for 20th.
Benjamin Anderson (#1189)
Benjamin Anderson | Highlands Ranch, CO (7th place in Italy)
According to Benji, “My cross country season when very well. I ran a season best of 15:00.3 at altitude and placed in the top 5 multiple times in the most competitive races in Colorado. I unfortunately got sick 2 weeks before the state meet and stayed sick for a total of 4.5 weeks. This really set my season back a ton and didn’t run good at all at my state meet. I came back a few weeks later to run in my NXR regional meet and placed 26th with 15:37 and helped my team place 4th. We are hoping for a NXN qualifier and that will be decided on Saturday November 26th. Racing for Team USA really helped me this year and have some a lot of confidence going into my cross country season.” Benji ran NXR Southwest in a time of 15:37.5 for 26th and cracked off one more 5K at Garmin RunningLane where he finished one second behind his Team USA teammate Porter Middaugh for 21st in 15:35
Garrett Stickley | Winchester, VA (37th place in Italy)
Garrett finished his season with a cross country 5K pr of 15:15. He was the region 4c champ and came in 8th at Virginia 4a states Garret shares how Italy impacted his cross country season in his words: “Running it Italy helped me during races with lots of hills. My season came full circle because I collapsed and went into the ambulance after the race in Italy, and the same thing happened at the end of states, instead it was worse because there was no ambulance to help me recover! Hopefully I’ve learned my lesson and don’t collapse at the end of any more races.” Garrett ran the Nike Southeast Regional finishing 13th, in 15:26.4 and ran 16:06 at Garmin Running Lane National Championships.
Learn more about these young mountain runners and their experience last Summer at the International U18 Mountain Running Cup in our race recap.
