Top Moments of the Meet (1)
Up first was Division I Boys. It was quite windy and warm (88 degrees) as the starter's pistol fired. Thus the racers seemed content to pack up in an effort to draft off one another.
Kyle Moran, Cherry Creek's pre-meet favorite, immediately went to the front of the pack. Towed along were another 10-12 runners, mostly consisting of young men from Rock Canyon, Arapahoe, Arvada West, and the aforementioned Cherry Creek, with a few singletons sprinkled in. Given the similarity of uniforms possessed by Rock Canyon and Arapahoe, if not viewed with a discerning eye it could have appeared that either school had a good 8-10 competitors in the lead pack.
With the aid of binoculars one could see that this pack remained 8 strong circumventing the concrete lake loop and approaching the 2 mile mark. At precisely that moment, as the harriers were exiting the lake loop and ascending a steep but fairly short rise, Moran threw in a distinct surge. The sharpness and suddenness of his move effectively ripped apart the large lead pack and pared it down to just two; himself and Chris Theodore of Rock Canyon.
Theodore tracked Moran as they rolled through the upper grass section less than a mile from the finish. The Rock Canyon senior floated easily by Moran descending the final downhill with a little less than a half mile remaining. Theodore sprinted swiftly to a surprise victory in 16:22. Moran appeared a little fazed as he struggled across second in 16:35. Possibly it was effects of the adverse racing conditions, or maybe he was a little stunned by Theodore's freshness at the end.
Theodore led Rock Canyon to a narrow victory over Cherry Creek, 48-52. Arapahoe finished third, led by James Logan who was also third individually. Arvada West, with their one-two punch of Sevcik and Berndt took fourth. While Mountain Vista, a likely compilation of junior varsity runners, was fifth.