Year: 2019
Award: Cross Country, High School
Location/Affiliation: Basalt High School
- 3A Cross Country State Champion
- Set 3A State Meet Course Record
- Basalt’s First Cross Country State Champion
Perseverance, determination, confidence. Basalt High School cross country runner Sierra Bower brought all that and more into the 2019 season. The year before, the state meet hadn’t gone the way she’d planned. She finished out of the top 20, in 24th place, nearly two minutes off the winning pace.
To say Sierra came back the next season at a roaring pace would be a drastic understatement. Not only did she become the very first state cross country champ in Basalt High School history, she crossed the finish in 3A state course record time, besting the old mark by a blistering 20 seconds. Even more impressive, Sierra Bower ran the fastest time of any other girls cross country runner that day, regardless of classification.