Varsity Boys Race
Chatfield's Drew Johnson set up shop at the front right from the gun. He would build an estimated 15-20 second lead midway through the race before suffering from side cramps late in the race that nearly cost him his first-ever victory.
With the pain from the side stitch evident on his face as he approached the finish, and his once large lead whittled down to a mere few seconds, Johnson gathered himself and sprinted home strongly to widen the gap to five seconds, 16:24 - 16:29.
A surprise 2nd place was claimed by teammate Cole Nash. Just a second in arrears was Boulder's Caleb Hardy. A few seconds behind Hardy was another Boulder runner, Orion Pipersky.
Dakota Ridge, one of the top 5A teams, rested their troops. Broomfield, under strict instruction from Greg Weich, focused on team tactics - hence Michael Mooney's 14th place finish (coming from way back in the final mile). The Eagles did enjoy a nice 5th place by Joseph Carwin, however.
Thus the team title came down to those age-old rivals, Boulder and Fairview, once again. The Panthers flipped the script from the girls race this time, taking it 37-66 over the Knights. Small school Faith Christian celebrated a fine 3rd place showing against the bigger schools, while being led by Campbell McDonough in 6th.