COLORADO SPRINGS – Stargate School’s Allison Pippert had lots of reasons to smile after the class 3A state cross country meet at Penrose Equestrian Events Center.

For one, she placed third in a time of 18:16.8.

“I loved the weather,” she said. “I feel like I run best when it is cold outside. I also wanted to focus on running controlled the first mile and pushing myself the second mile where there is a large hill.”

She finished second at state last year (18:47.6) on the same course as this year’s meet.

“And I also went down to do a long run on the course earlier in the season, so I felt like I knew the course well,” she said. “I had a good idea in my head of how I wanted to run the tangents, which parts I wanted to push myself on and which parts would be more challenging to stay focused.”

Even with some familiarity, her strategy this year was different.

“I have to focus more on staying controlled to avoid going out too fast,” she said. “It also pushes me more to have people near me, which I enjoy.

“I really like the course,” Pippert continued. “It is certainly challenging, with quite a few hills, but I feel like that makes it a good cross country race. Also, finishing into the stadium is exciting when everyone is cheering.”

Her next stop is the Nike Cross Country regional meet in Arizona.

“A lot of my teammates came down to support me and our other runner at state (Nick Hofer, who finished 63^rd in a time of 18:01.9) this weekend, which I definitely appreciated,” she said. “It is always nice to have people cheering for you.”