Year: 2020
Award: Cross Country, High School
Location/Affiliation: Cherry Creek High School
- 2-time 5A Cross Country State Champion
- Nike Southwest Regional Champion
Riley Stewart is just a sophomore at Cherry Creek High School but she’s already a two-time 5A cross country state champion. In 2020, she not only repeated as state champ, but she led her Bruins to their first team title since 2006. She was named Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year by Gatorade.
Beyond Colorado, Riley set the pace regionally when she won the Nike Cross Country Nationals Southwest Regional Championships. This ranked her 31st in the entire country. Not bad for a tenth grader!
Riley was the power-force during the cross country season. She defended her individual title with a time of 17:33.8 and pulled her Creek team up to the top of the podium after finishing state runner-up two years in a row. The Bruins dominated the championship race, winning by 40 points.
As amazing as Riley Stewart when she’s out running, she’s also a champion away from her sport. Riley’s a perfect 4.0 student and volunteers for public park clean-up initiatives.