By Ricky Quintana

Highlands Ranch, CO - Entering Colorado’s 5A State Cross Country Championships on November 1, Ben Adams was coming off a bothersome tight hamstring injury that “got in his head a little bit” during the race. It didn’t help that the pace he was expecting was slower than he thought and he found himself in the lead through two miles.

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Akey

“It was a bit hard, more mentally than physically. Then Hunter (Robbie) had that crazy move that I didn’t respond to right away and he got away, which wasn’t great,” said Adams

That gap grew and as they entered the final 800 meters, Robbie’s gap seemed tenable. That’s when Adams saw an opening.

“He had a little trip and then he slowed down a lot on that last hill.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Roy Wakimura

Adams powered up the final steep hill and sprinted away into the stadium to win 15:03.3 to 15:06.4 for his first high school state cross country championship.

“I don’t know what it is with those hills. Ever since my freshman year, I’ve been able to catch people on those hills. They don’t seem to do too much to me. I plan for them ahead of time, so once I get to them, they’re not that bad.”

The final race tactics didn’t go as expected, but he said “It all worked out.” The season had come to the end that he planned for.

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Akey

For Adams, his trek to become one of the best high school distance runners of all time began in earnest his freshman year, though running has been something he dabbled in during middle school with some success. Primarily a baseball player his seventh and eighth-grade years, he ran but didn’t care for running as much as his beloved sport of baseball. As he ran more, he got better and before entering high school, he made a decision to focus on running, but not entirely for the reason you would think.

“I didn’t know anyone on the high school baseball team and I had been running with the middle and high schoolers for a couple of years, so I knew the whole team and the coaches. It was just a better culture to be around in general. I thought it was probably easier to make the varsity and be good at running than baseball.”

In his freshman year, his talent was evident. He finished 16th at the 5A state cross country championships and then went on to finish 93rd (15:55.13) at NXR SW. He was the third fastest freshman behind Quinn Sullivan (62nd, 15:42.68) and Jay McDonald (77th, 15:47.81). At the state track and field championships in the spring, he finished fourth in the 1,600m (4:15.46) and sixth in the 3,200m (9:17.84), ranking him eighth fastest freshman miler and 11th fastest freshman two miler in the country that season.

His sophomore cross country season ended well with his teammate, Benji Anderson and Adams finishing 1-2 at the 5A state championships. After the season, longtime Mountain Vista cross country coach Jonathan Dalby stepped down and was replaced by Coach Ethan Rouse and Josh Brandt. That type of change may have had drastic consequences, but the transition was seamless as Adams recalls.

“It was a pretty smooth transition because both were assistants under Dalby and Coach Rouse ran for Dalby when he was in high school. We didn't change anything. The training is the same and it’s been really nice. They definitely cared a lot and brought some energy to the team as a whole.”

Adams responded well to the coaching transition, but what really made him take off to a different level of performance was his and Anderson’s performance at last year’s NXR Southwest. Anderson finished eighth and Adams 13th on “an off day” for both. It was then that they decided to go to work. The two pushed each other in winter workouts with their target race being Arcadia Invitational.

Arcadia offered a level of competition and depth Adams and Anderson had never faced before. Adams “barely made it” into the fastest heat and the altitude he trained at didn’t allow him to run the pace he would need to run at sea level. That didn't deter him and he learned to adjust.

“The pace I train at altitude is definitely not as fast as sea level. I’m not going to try and hit 4:30 in any workout, but I think as long as I get close to that in practice and have the feeling of going really hard even if it’s not the same pace, that’s more important.”

The pace at Arcadia wasn't as fast from the gun as Adams expected. The pace dawdled, and he found himself near the front. He then closed in 58.52 seconds for the final 400 meters [third fastest of the entire field] to finish in 8:46.55 (8:49.6c) just behind Anderson who finished in 8:46.15. The time was the third fastest sophomore two-mile of all time behind Lex Young’s 8:46.77 and Cole Sprout’s 8:49.46.

“We went out in about 4:30 and coming down from sea level for a track race for the first time, it felt like we were jogging. I didn’t realize how far up I was until 200 meters to go. I had a really good last lap and passed a group of people and was all by myself. Rounding the curve and going into the final 100 meters, I counted seven people ahead of me. Before that, I never thought I’d be able to do that. I was definitely in shock after the race.”

The performance was a boost to his confidence, training and attitude.

“I thought I could be really good and do these fast workouts and run with the best people.”

After the race, he stayed in the LA area and took in a Dodgers game. When he returned home, he turned his attention to his high school state track meet to garner as many points for his team. He won the 3,200m (9:07.93) and finished 2nd in the 1,600m (4:10.94) and the 4 x 800 meter relay, splitting a 1:54.0 on the opening leg. His team finished third with 60 points behind Cherokee Trail’s 72.5 and Eaglecrest's 65 points. The emphasis on scoring points had an impact on his times and he turned to the postseason with the goal of running faster.

HOKA Festival of Miles was the first race on the docket. Running in the second fastest heat, he again showed his turn of speed over the final 400 meters (58.58) to win the Spewak Training Elite Mile in 4:02.56, the second fastest sophomore mile in high school history behind Rheinhardt Harrison’s 4:01.34. Though the time was better than his previous best by eight seconds, he still harbors some criticism about his race tactics.

“It kind of hurt me not having experience running the mile at sea level. That was my first one. I’m not really complaining about a 4:02, but I could have been more aggressive at the start instead of closing hard [2:02.55/2:00.01].”

Three days later he was in Seattle for the Brooks PR Invitational two-mile. He didn’t sleep much between the two races and there were a “ton of flights.” The 90-degree heat didn’t help either. The race “didn’t turn out too well” for him and Anderson. He finished sixth, negative splitting a 8:58.59 performance. Anderson was seventh in 9:03.30. Overall, “The season turned out as well as it could have.”

Entering the NXR Southwest this upcoming weekend, Adams’ season has been tailored to putting himself in the best position, fitness-wise and mentally, to compete with the very deep and competitive field. His cross country schedule focused on Liberty Bell in September, which he won in 14:32, just two seconds off Parker Wolfe’s record and the aforementioned state meet. His performances were where he wanted them to be.

His training has been different this year in the sense that Benji Anderson is now a freshman at Notre Dame and he is no longer there to push him. He’s had to run workouts ahead of his teammates, but the easy days and long runs, he’s able to run with them so “it hasn’t been too bad.”

The late-season hamstring injury kept him from running 5k workouts for a few weeks before the state meet, but he’s been able to get back to work in recent weeks, getting in those workouts he’ll need to be competitive.

The NXR SW course is fast, and he knows he’ll have to improve his focus to be in the hunt for a qualifying spot. Last year, he had a slippage in concentration that cost him. That's something he doesn’t want to happen again.

“Toka Sticks [the NXR SW course] is basically a track race. There are a couple of irrigation canals and the grass is a little different, but it’s super fast. Last year, I remember a specific moment right after the mile when a couple of people went ahead and I thought I didn’t have to go with them and in ten seconds, that group grew to ten. They gapped me and I gave up when I couldn’t catch them.

I definitely need to work on sticking with it in those middle miles. The 15:03 on the state course would have destroyed the competition any other year except this one. Aiden Le Roux ran 15:01 at state last year and finished ninth at NXN. At state last year, he took the race out really hard and we didn’t this year. I think it shows me that I am definitely in a good spot for NXR and I can really run fast there. I just have to get sharpened up and get some more good workouts in and get ready to just stick with the pace.”