Division 3:
Medaris Wins a Nail-biter, Frontier Academy Wins a Wide-open Team Race
When over 100 boys lept off the starting line, the individual race was already set. Mullen's Bryce Medaris and Frontier Academy's Levi Chambers already knew who each other were, and immediately engaged in a battle that would go into the final strides.
The duo separated themselves halfway through the race while a chase pack followed. Medaris gapped Chambers in the final mile, but Chambers wasn't done.
Heading into the final straight Medaris held a solid lead over Chambers, but Chambers came storming up the hill to the finish only to be held off by two seconds. Medaris held on for the win in 16:05 to Chamber's 16:07.
24 seconds behind them D'Evelyn's Lucas Jordan finished third in 16:31.
Inspired by Chambers' finish, Frontier Academy charged late to claim the team race with 83 points. Jaden Davis was only the other Frontier runner to finish in the top-10, finishing fifth, while David Garcia, Jayden Howell, and Keegan Wiles capped off the scoring, finishing 15th, 27th, and 34th.
Eagle Valley finished second with 107 points while Mullen finished third with 124 points.
Iken Runs Away, but Steamboat Steams to a Close Victory
Pre-race favorites were nowhere to be seen in the girls 3A race, well, except for Littleton's Addi Iken.
Iken paid little attention to her competition, telescoping away early. When she turned the final corner and strided over the bridge, the only question left was how fast she'd finish.
The Littleton senior was 33-seconds clear of Eagle Valley sophomore Joslin Blair when she crossed the line in 18:21. Blair finished second in 18:54 while Frontier Academy's Hannah Ellis just missed dipping under 19, crossing in 19:00.
The team race appeared all but locked up before the clock hit 19:30, as Steamboat poured three runners, Dasha Kuznetsova, Maggi Congdon, and Winter Boese, into the top 10. The trio finished seventh, ninth, and tenth, respectively.
The triple-threat was enough to overcome D'Evelyn, whose 1-2-3 were just one step, or one place, behind in each case, going 8-11-12.
Steamboat took the title with 60 points. Rounding out their scoring was Sadie Cotton and Isabelle Boniface, who finished 18th and 20th.
D'Evelyn manged a close second with 69 points, while Evergreen was a distant third with 105 points.