Instead of a mystery, when this year’s field of runners line up for Saturday’s Class 4A boys cross country state championship meet, there will be a number of familiar names in the field.

Two of those returnees are Glenwood Springs’ Marco Salmen and Chris Coddington, who are making their second state appearance in as many years at Kent Denver High School in the Cherry Hills Estates subdivision in southeastern Denver.

And when the gun sounds for the noon start, the two Demons are hoping that their knowledge of the course translates into top-10 finishes.

Salmen served notice that he’s ready to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish at state by posting a season-best 16 minute, 31.66 second run in last week’s Western Regional meet at Palisade’s Riverbend park. The mark was the third-fastest time of the boys’ meet.

Coddington clocked a 17:40.54 at regionals. The mark earned the Glenwood senior 10th place.

They will compete against four returning top-10 finishers from last year’s meet.

The group is led by last year’s state runner-up, Eduardo Pasco from Colorado Springs Harrison. The other top-10 returnees are Liberty’s Alex Clayton, Montrose’s Ben Tobler, who edged Salmen for second last week, and Cheyenne Mountain’s Steve Wills, who finished sixth in 2001.

Wills owns the season’s fastest time in the state in 4A at 15:42.70.

Additional runners favored to be among the leaders include Western Regional winner, Glen Randall of Palisade and Luke Crespin of Mullen.

A third-place team finish at Palisade, also puts Glenwood in the hunt for the state title.