Eagle Valley twins go 1-2 to lead Devils at home cross-country invitational
Dylan and Tyler Blair lead Eagle Valley in a tight team clash with region rival Summit
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
If you count the lead biker, the Blair family swept the podium at Saturday’s Eagle Valley Invitational.
“He was just trying to stay in front of them,” Eagle Valley head coach Melinda Brandt said of Steve Blair, who watched his twin sons go 1-2 at the Devils home cross-country meet.
Dylan Blair soloed the Siena Club golf course in 16 minutes, 0.1 seconds on a hot, sunny afternoon to take the title while his twin brother, Tyler (16:27.9), came in second.
“My mindset during the race was to go out fast, see who could come out with me and then just keep on going,” said Dylan Blair, who had a goal for the year to finish every race in under 16 minutes. Despite being just a tenth away from that individual target, he was thrilled about his squad’s performance.
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
“Big takeaway is that we ran great as a team,” the junior said after lowering Jay McDonald’s 2023 course record by 32.1 seconds. “Even though we didn’t get first, we still came out here and raced as hard as we could. So, really happy with how we all did.”
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Dylan Blair set the tone immediately, opening in a 4:56 first mile.
“At the start I was like, ‘Oh god,” said Tyler Blair, who couldn’t hitch a ride with his brother, but remained well ahead of the chase group of McDonald, Summit teammate Will Bentley and Basalt’s Towler Scott. As Dylan Blair extended his lead, he remained well aware of his main competition.
“I was looking back so much when Tyler was coming,” he said with a smile. “I was looking back on every corner to see where he was.”
After the dynamic Devil duo crossed the line, McDonald (16:50.86) sprinted in for third. Bentley (16:55.92) was right on his heels in fourth and Eagle Valley’s Jackson Filmore (17:20.07) finished fifth. Ultimately, the team score was decided by runners four and five. Summit’s Lukas Remeikis and Owen Fallon finished five seconds apart in seventh and eighth to secure the Tiger win as the Devils finished five points back.
“They really had that pack going,” Dylan Blair said of his regional rivals.
Nate Beuche (17:52.71) sprinted into the top 10 to lead Battle Mountain to a fourth-place team finish. Sawyer Willis (19:36.71), Knox Holton (19:44.8), Gabe Dozois (19:46.34) and Ethan Brown (20:07.8) rounded out the Huskies scoring.
“The guys are doing great,” said Battle Mountain coach Rob Parish. “They’re developing, they’re having fun.”
Eagle Valley won’t have to wait long to get another shot at Summit. Both teams will compete at the famously fast Liberty Bell Invitational in Littleton next Saturday.
“I think it’s going to be a really fun competition this season with them specifically,” Brandt said of Summit, which was without its top runner, Josh Shriver, on Saturday. “We’re really intermixed with them, so as both teams get stronger, the competition is going to be fierce. That league title is on the line 鈥� and our boys want it really bad.”
While the Devils are striving for a championship, a moment at the end of the meet exemplified what the sport is really about. Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain runners ventured out together onto the course to cheer the final two athletes 鈥� one Devil, one Husky 鈥� home.
“Just a great display of sportsmanship,” Brandt said. “What a fun way to see two rival schools come together.”
