Brynn Siles has improved by two minutes over Colorado courses

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Last year when Brynn Siles registered for NXR Southwest, meet officials put her into the open large school race instead of the championship field.

The freshman from Legacy CO wasn't exactly happy about that. 

She won the open race in 18 minutes, 22 seconds, a time that would have placed her in the top 20 had she been allowed to compete in the championship.

"I wished I was in that race," Siles said. "Being in the (championship) race it might have pulled me (to go faster)."

But maybe being placed in the non-championship race has spurred her to go faster ever since.

Siles, a sophomore, is running two minutes faster per meet than she ran last season. The CHSAA Class 5A seventh-place finisher has taken a significant step forward to become a state title contender and a someone to keep an eye on nationally as well.

After moving from soccer to running in the summer before her freshman year at Legacy, Siles' natural talent for running has been in full bloom.

A year ago, Siles opened her high school career by taking seventh at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede, running 20:37. This year she opened the season by winning there in 18:21.9.

A year ago, Siles went to the Centaurus Invitational and placed 13th in 19:39. This year she won it in 17:55. 

A year ago, Siles placed 21st at the Liberty Bell Invitational, one of the biggest meets in Colorado, running 19:27. This year she won it in 17:29, with an 18-second margin of victory.

And a year ago, Siles was fifth at the Arvada West Invitational in 20:01. This year she won there by 48 seconds, in 18:09. 

How has she done it?

"No doubt, part of it is she is just talented," Legacy coach DJ Hummel said. "She does work harder than everyone else, every day. She's highly focused on cross country, and improving."

Siles has a small frame and can climb hills without much strain. She prefers cross country to track, where her spring best in the 3,200 meters was 11:13.48.

"It just kind of seems very sudden to me," Siles said of her improvement. "One thing, is my easy pace, I've been making it a little faster. I feel like that's helped me."

She also had an inkling that she was making progress over the summer. She entered a small road race, the All-Out Dog Days 5K in Westminster. Siles ran 17:50 and won the women's competition by almost two minutes. Only two men in the race beat her.

That result offered some encouragement as she worked throughout the summer to prepare for cross country season. 

"Seeing what I can do and winning motivates me," said Siles, who has two brothers on the Legacy boys team.

"My worst fear is that I'm going to go out too fast and someone is going to catch me. So that motivates me, too."

Siles isn't ready to compare herself to recent Colorado standouts like Elise Cranny, Katie Rainsberger, Lauren Gregory and Brie Oakley. But she is aware of them and their accomplishments.

"Right now, I wouldn't try to beat any of their records," Siles said. "They are big role models because of how great they were able to become, and I'd like to be able to do that."

One thing that does seem certain: Siles will no longer be relegated to a 'B' race by meet officials. 

"We knew last year she was special," Hummel said. "I couldn't have predicted for her to come back this strong, though. At the level she finished last season, there wasn't a lot of room for improvement ... and she went ahead and improved a ton."

Siles won her fifth consecutive cross country meet last weekend, going 17:53 to win the Legacy Lightning Invitational by 83 seconds. 

"She's found a passion for running and wants to be the best at it," Hummel said. "She's very intelligent. She has bought in (to the process). Her drive and desire to do well is unmatched."