Division 1 Varsity Boys Race: Drew Johnson Sends a Message for Those Who Missed the First One
Picking up where he left off last week, Chatfield's Drew Johnson notched his second consecutive victory in as many weeks.
His head adorned in his traditional Maryland bandana, Johnson wasted no time, as is becoming his custom, and bolted to a quick and comfortable lead over the rest of the field. By the time he had traversed the initial 1200-meter rolling, grassy, section of the course, Johnson was pressing the pace and daring anyone to go with him. No one did. Thus the mile-long concrete loop around the lake, which is out of sight to the naked eye, became anticlimactic... at least as far as the individual race was concerned.
There was one question still to be answered, I suppose. That is, would the side cramps that have become problematic to Johnson late in races--including last week's Broomfield Invite where Johnson's large lead wilted to just five seconds at the finish--play a role today?
The answer was a definitive no, as he extended the 20-second gap he had accrued as he exited the lake loop just beyond two miles to a full 30 seconds at the end, stopping the clock in a solid time of 15:46.
Arvada West's Colin Berndt ran to a comfortable 2nd place finish in 16:15. Following Johnson across the line was Ralston Valley's Nick Nowlen who just nipped Johnson's teammate Cole Nash at the end. Both were granted the same time, 16:24. Cherry Creek's Jared Scott rounded out the top five in 16:26.
Heritage surprised more highly touted Arvada West for the team title, 96-127. The up-and-coming Eagles were led by Max Tenbraak in 9th place. Mountain Vista's "B" team managed an impressive 3rd place finish.