<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=11L8xU_0viBKPvA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=11L8xU_0viBKPvA00" width="1280" height="981" ><figcaption>Riverside Brookfield's Aiden O'Brien competes in the Riverside Brookfield Cross Country meet held Saturday Sept. 21, 2024. | Erica Benson</figcaption></figure>Riverside Brookfield High School seniors Brady Norman and Asa Kahle took their boys cross country training to a new heights this summer. They traveled to Boulder, Colorado, for the Tinman Elite team’s Hax Altitude Camp, July 7-11, to work with high-level professionals at an elevation of 5,430 feet.“I followed the Tinman team. I always wanted to do a camp in Boulder and I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to do this’ because it’s way more intimate than the Nike camps,” Norman said. “It’s only like 30 people with 11 professional athletes, so you’re getting plenty of one-on-one time. I was going on runs with Drew Hunter, Joey Berriatua and Sam Parsons. They all ran at the [Summer Olympics] trials so it was awesome.” On Saturday, Norman enjoyed his personal-best time at Indian Gardens in taking second at the 64th RBHS Invite, Saturday (15:41.6 for 3.0 miles), beaten only by Morton junior Alex Rodriguez (15:28.3).Kahle (7th, 16:26.3) and Nazareth junior Daniel Lewis of Brookfield (9th, 16:34.2) also was were top-10 medalists.“I know [Norman and Kahle] really enjoyed [Boulder]. They talked it up pretty big when they got back for summer camp with us,” RBHS coach Jack Brady said. “They’re real hard workers anyway. They just keep getting better.” RBHS sophomore Aiden O’Brien (11th, 16:38.1), seniors Diego Lopez-Molina (14th, 16:56.4) and Hayden Haas (30th, 18:04.6), juniors Quinn Hendricks (38th, 18:55.3) Emmitt Olson (40th, 19:00.6) and Clay Dosek (41st, 19:06.1) and senior Abe Ray (43rd, 19:10.1) were top-45 finishers.The Bulldogs (63 points) and Roadrunners (163) were third and sixth. Junior Tommy Bogdon, often the Bulldogs’ No. 3 finisher, was out of town.“[O’Brien] probably had the best race of everybody. He [achieved an all-time personal best] on that course, which actually takes some doing,” Brady said. Norman, Kahle and Lopez-Molina, who was battling illness last week, were part of last year’s lineup that finished 21st at the Class 3A state meet.Norman has overcome a joint injury in his back that hampered his summer training for about two weeks. In Boulder, another of his highlights was going 10 miles with Tinman’s Austin Miller on the famed Magnolia Road, which has an elevation gain between 1,480 and 1,700 feet.“I don’t think five days can help that much, but being at that altitude helps for sure,” Norman said. <h2>RBHS girls cross country</h2>RBHS junior Addie Vaia made her cross country debut at the 2023 RBHS Invite while splitting time playing sophomore girls volleyball. A more fit and experienced Vaia finished a team-best eighth Saturday (19:55.9 for 3.0 miles) for the fifth-place Bulldogs (126 points). Vaia was two places and 15 seconds better than 2023, which also earned a top-10 medal.“[This invite] was definitely a different feeling. I was more confident and have been properly training since last track season,” she said. “Last year I would only run on my own, daily, as training, so my body was not acclimated to running at a faster speed. Also I felt a lot of pressure being in the varsity race when the only other race I’ve run was the Riverside 4th of July 5k in 2023.” Senior Gianna Gelb (18th, 20:42.5), junior Valeria Martinez (23rd, 21:10.0), freshmen Elsie Clark (38th, 22:34.9), freshmen Anabel Olesiak (48th, 23:05.3) and Julia Daniels (49th, 23:05.5) and sophomore Elizabeth Moran (50th, 23:06.3) were top-50 finishers. The RBHS Invite was Vaia’s only 2023 regular-season meet. After sophomore volleyball ended, Vaia ran at regionals and sectionals.This season, she is running cross country full time, encouraged by her track debut last spring after playing softball as a freshman. “My ultimate goal is obviously state as a team and individually, and with the proper training I am getting and not splitting my time, I can see how far I can make it,” Vaia said. “And even this year with me devoting my time to only cross country, my volleyball coaches were super-supportive.” Nazareth (67) and Fenwick (74) took first and second. Fenwick sophomore Juliana Gamboa of Riverside was second (18:13.6). Nazareth freshman Kathleen Hardy (18:43.1) and sophomore Sophia Towne (20:03.8) were third and 10th. </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Rocky Mountain running high fuels Bulldogs’ Norman, Kahle

Riverside Brookfield High School seniors Brady Norman and Asa Kahle took their boys cross country training to a new heights this summer. They traveled to Boulder, Colorado, for the Tinman Elite team’s Hax Altitude Camp, July 7-11, to work with high-level professionals at an elevation of 5,430 feet. “I...