The Liberty Bell Invitational cross country meet is usually an event full of personal records, fantastic performances and, every now and then, a tremendous upset.

And for Wheat Ridge senior Dart Schwaderer, Friday was no exception.

Schwaderer kicked down defending Class 5A state champion Evan Appel of Dakota Ridge in the final half-mile of the race to set a Division 2 meet record and personal-best time in covering the 3.1-mile course in 15 minutes, 14.5 seconds.

The event at Heritage High School hosted 86 schools, which were broken into four divisions. Regis Jesuit's Bobby Nicolls and Fort Collins' Miranda Benzel won Division 1; Schwaderer and Dakota Ridge's Natosha Rogers won Division 2.

In Division 3, Denver North's Joseph Manilafasha and Sand Creek's Jen Bremser were victorious, and Buena Vista's Joseph DeMoor and Middle Park's Samantha Berggren set Division 4 records in their respective races.

"I was completely surprised," Schwaderer said of his victory against Appel. "I've been just dreaming of even running with the guy since my freshman year, because he has always been an amazing runner. And I've always had a terrible race at Liberty Bell, and this year I thought I would come out and change it. I just believed in myself."

Appel, who was sick last week, took the early lead and said he was surprised when Schwaderer passed him in the final stage of the race.

"I heard footsteps coming up behind me and I felt like someone had jumped in the race halfway through," said Appel, who finished second, in 15:19.8. "There was not much I could do to stop him. The velocity that he passed me with was pretty incredible."

Nicolls, who figures to be Appel's top competition in 5A, won his race in 15:06.4, holding off out-of-town runner Gareth Gilna of Los Alamos (N.M.), who finished 2 seconds behind.

"There were a couple of us running together, and I made my move on some of those little hills that were on the course," Nicolls said. "I think I kind of surprised some guys, and I didn't really have a problem getting away."

But it was Manilafasha who had the fastest time of the day, as the 2006 Class 4A champion become only the third runner to ever eclipse the 15- minute mark on the course, running 14:56.3, winning the Division 3 race by nearly 40 seconds.

"I just went out hard to see if anyone was going to try to come with me and I didn't get anybody, so I just kept going," he said.

Benzel recorded the fastest girls time of the event, winning Division 1 in 17:41.3. She said she was happy to win the race but was disappointed she didn't get to face Dakota Ridge's Rogers, who won in Division 2.

"I've come in second to Natosha the last two weeks and I was kind of bummed she wasn't in our race (Friday)," said Benzel, who finished second in Fort Collins two weeks ago and at Cherry Creek last week. "I just kind of turned it on at the 2-mile mark and I was by myself for the last mile. I just went for it, and there was no looking back."

Even without Benzel, Rogers had her hands full with Highlands Ranch sophomore Eleanor Fulton, beating Fulton by only 0.6 seconds to win in 17:50.4.

"We were neck and neck pretty much the entire way, and I was just able to get my kick up the hill," Rogers said. "It was tough, but I had enough at the end to barely pull it through."

And in Division 3, Sand Creek's Bremser tried not to think about her grandfather having heart surgery and focused on her race. She fought off Moffat County's Alicia Nelson to complete the course in 18:20.8.

"I told him I would win it for him, so I'm glad I was able to get my mind refocused and do that (Friday)," she said.

LIBERTY BELL INVITATIONAL

At Heritage High School

Division 1

Boys

Team scores: Albuquerque 72, Los Alamos, N.M., 114, Regis 169, Fairview 190, Fort Collins 205, Palmer 217, Cherry Creek 222, Boulder 224, Chaparral 242, St. Michaels, N.M., 276, Cheyenne Mountain 309, Rock Springs, Wyo., 330, Rocky Mountain 336, Arapahoe 339, Eaglecrest 349, Smoky Hill 371, Overland 392, Cheyenne Central, Wyo., 408, Douglas County 432, Grandview 555, Ponderosa 570.

Individuals: 1. Bobby Nicolls, Regis, 15:06.4. 2. Gareth Gilna, Los Alamos, 15:08.6. 3. Walter Schafer, Cherry Creek, 15:20.7. 4. Danny Nicolls, Regis, 15:25.2. 5. Kyle Pittman, Los Alamos, 15:28.9. 6. Roblet Muhudin, Overland, 15:40.3. 7. Pat Zacharias, Albuquerque, 15:48.1. 8. Clif Campbell, Fort Collins, 15:51.9. 9. Ryan Clark, Albuquerque, 15:52.0. 10. Matt Caldwell, Smoky Hill, 15:52.4.

Girls

Team scores: Fort Collins 38, Cherry Creek 162, Boulder 183, Cheyenne Mountain 208, Los Alamos, N.M., 210, Arapahoe 217, Albuquerque 219, Cheyenne Central, Wyo., 243, Rocky Mountain 246, Smoky Hill 272, Grandview 280, Regis 298, Fairview 315, Chaparral 339, Douglas County 371, St. Michaels, N.M., 380, Ponderosa 476, Rock Springs, Wyo., 500, Eaglecrest 541, Overland 681.

Individuals: 1. Miranda Benzel, Fort Collins, 17:41.3. 2. Clara Milne, Albuquerque, 17:57.6. 3. Kate Norskog, St. Michaels, 18:08.7. 4. Kelsey Lakowske, Boulder, 18:09.2. 5. Rachel Viger, Fort Collins, 18:24.1. 6. Clare Gallagher, Cherry Creek, 18:26.7. 7. Julia Foster, Albuquerque, 18:30.1. 8. Tati Ogan, Fort Collins, 18:32.9. 9. Kirsten Follett, Fort Collins, 18:35.1. 10. Samantha Lewis, Boulder, 18:37.2.

* More results, page 11.

Staff writer Scott Stocker contributed to this report.

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