Battle Mountain runner clocks No. 1 prep time in the nation last week

Those wondering how Battle Mountain’s Porter Middaugh could possibly produce an encore to last fall got a simple answer on Thursday: by running faster.

The Husky harrier — who ran a jaw-dropping 14:56 for 5K as a junior en route to a second-place finish at the 2022 state meet (and also broke 9-minutes in the 3200-meters in the spring) — posted the second-fastest prep time ever run on Colorado soil and the No. 1 time in the nation for 2023 at the Lincoln Park Warrior Classic in Grand Junction. Middaugh covered the flat and fast course in 14 minutes, 38.7 seconds.

“It was crazy,” head coach Rob Parish said. “I won’t say it was unbelievable — we’ve seen these guys do some pretty amazing stuff. When you just see that number, it’s pretty spectacular, but when you’ve been able to see what they’ve done in the long runs and workouts for years, you see the work that’s put into it.”

---

---

The Colorado record of 14:30 was set in 2020 by eventual Gatorade national cross-country runner of the year, Parker Wolfe, now a multi-time NCAA DI All-American at the University of North Carolina. Parish said Middaugh and his teammate Will Brunner — both of whom ran 14:56 at this meet a year ago — were discussing targeting the state record before the race.

“I knew that soil record was (14):38ish, and obviously the PR from last year was 14:56,” Middaugh told Milesplit’s Bobby Reyes regarding his goal coming into the meet. “So, trying to shoot somewhere between that; kind of have a ‘reach goal’ and something to fall back on.”

---

---

Middaugh normally bides his time within a lead group before tearing away for victory in the final one-fourth of races, but on Thursday, he ran with a calculated mission.

“He went for it from the very beginning,” Parish said of his pupil’s awareness and adherence to the required splits. Middaugh and Brunner came through 1600 meters at 4:40, with Eagle Valley sophomore Dylan Blair just two seconds back.

“He loves the competition and pushing himself to the max,” Devils head coach Melinda Brandt said of Blair. “He pressed in hard over the next two miles, averaging 5:10 (for) each and then finished the race with some major gusto.”

Middaugh maintained 4:40-pace the rest of the way, with Brunner fading the third mile but holding on for second place in 14:57.6. Four days after competing at the Nike XC Town Twilight, Blair went from being the No. 3 runner on his team and the No. 2 in his own family to the No. 1 spot in program history, placing third overall in a 15:10.6. A red and black wave crashed in right behind him, too. Cooper Filmore ratcheted things up after a 4:57 opening mile to finish fourth in 15:13.2. His teammate, Tyler Blair (15:13.3), made a valiant effort to reel him in on the homestretch, but wound up fifth.

“We had a strong feeling that the school record of 15:19 was going down on Thursday, but it could have been any of the three of those boys,” Brandt said, referencing current Boise State runner Jake Drever’s mark, set at the Lincoln Park venue a year ago.

“Competition breeds excellence and they continue to make each other better.” 

Armando Fuentes (15:48.1) became the fourth Devil to dip under 16 this year, placing 11th as Eagle Valley just missed taking down perennial power Niwot for the team title. The No. 1 ranked Cougars scored 43 points, just three ahead of the Devils. Battle Mountain (83) finished third in the 13-team field.

“When you have four guys on your team going under 16 minutes for a 5k in one day, it may seem like an everyday feat. That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Brandt stated. “These guys are putting in the miles but more importantly the desire and grit to make that happen.”

The Warrior Classic has traditionally been a convenient late-season barometer and confidence booster for both squads.

“It works out great timing-wise,” Parish said. “It’s at the end of the season, so they’re fit, plus it doesn’t really interfere with championship season. So, it’s a time to hammer.”

“We kind of played it super conservative this season, only raced a couple times. Kind of chose this course — flat, little bit lower elevation — to kind of target and work our training around this race for sure,” Middaugh added.

Middaugh’s time has since been supplanted by Ventura (California) runner Anthony Fast Horse, who clocked a 14:32.5 at the AISICS Clovis XC Invitational on Saturday, but it was the first time a Husky runner has ever been ranked No. 1 nationally. Parish said Middaugh’s performance garnered an increased interest from college coaches over the weekend.

---

Join the 17,000 readers who get the news from us daily.

Sign up for daily or weekly newsletters at VailDaily.com/newsletter

---

“He PR’d by 18 seconds, but it’s not any old 18 seconds,” the veteran coach explained. “He has a lot more options now if he wants them.”

Though somewhat lost in the record-setting fanfare of the boys race, Lindsey Whitton churned out what Parish said was perhaps the senior’s most impressive performance in placing third in the girls varsity event. Whitton climbed from eighth place early to break up the scoring five of Niwot — the No. 1-ranked team in the country according to RunnerSpace.com’s DyeStat XC rankings — and finish in a career-best 18:15.2.

“She’s just such a gamer,” said Parish, who was impressed by the senior’s aggressive but “mature race plan.”

“The moment is not lost on her. She ran great.”

Niwot’s Sarah Perkins (17:35.7) and her teammate Mia Prok (17:50.5) went 1-2 as the Cougars tallied just 18 points. The Huskies (86) took second, beating Colorado 4A No. 3-ranked Durango (97) in the process.

“The girls look like they’re rounding into form,” Parish continued.

“We kind of had all the bad luck in a five, six-week stint, but now everybody is back for the most part and they’re motivated and really ripping.”

Ellie Shroll (19:18.9) snuck in the top 20 to lead the Devils, who placed eighth in the 13-team field. Ginger Reilly broke the 20-minute barrier for the first time in her career in placing 27th. Both athletes registered negative splits in the final mile.

“The girls are looking to continue to improve their times as they head into the regional race,” Brandt said.

Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain return to Lincoln Park on Oct. 19 for the 4A Region 1 championship. The Devils are the boys favorite and Summit is the top-ranked girls squad. The Tigers, however, will have to overcome a bit of history if they want to stand atop the podium. The Battle Mountain girls have won 12 straight region titles.

“Now with this emergence of Addie (Bueche) coming back and Ruthie (Demino) is running so well and Kira (Hower) had her best race of the season — (Lindsey) Whitton ran well and hopefully Presley (Smith) will get healthy,” Parish said.

“It is in the realm of the possibility to keep the streak going.”