Lyons continues to reign over 2A.
Four weeks in and now we're starting to see everyone's cards, mostly. This week didn't see many shakeups up top, but there was quite a bit of movement everywhere else. The favorites remained the favorites, but if there's anyone who threatened to flip the script, it's the Niwot girls...
5A
Mountain Vista proved their point at Liberty Bell. They're the No. 1 team in the state, and the country. There's no disputing that. They've got four sub-18 minute runners.
The top three teams in 5A saw no movement at all. Just as Mountain Vista proved they're No.1, Cherokee Trail was a clear No.2, and Cherry Creek was a clear No. 3. These three squads battled at Liberty Bell, and it went according to script.
The big shake up came out of Boulder, however, as Fairview jumped three spots to No.4, and Boulder jumped five spots to No. 5. Fairview finished sixth in the Sweepstakes Race at Liberty Bell, while Boulder finished third in a hotly contested battle at St. Vrain.
New to the rankings this week was Pine Creek and Heritage, who snuck in at the No. 9 and No. 10 spots.
4A
We caught a glimpse of Battle Mountain at St. Vrain, but it wasn't The Real Battle Mountain. It was a squad without either Harding sister, and even then, they finished second to Palmer Ridge. If anyone made some noise this weekend, it was Niwot.
Niwot is really making their case here. They finished third in the Sweepstakes Race at Liberty Bell behind the two best teams in 5A. While they remain No. 2 in the 4A polls, they inched up closer to that top-rank this week.
And then there's Palmer Ridge, who are making a comeback. Their victory at St. Vrain showed they've got the tools to win as a team.
Beyond the top three, there was minimal shuffling around in the rankings. New to the polls was Discovery Canyon, who come in at No. 9 this week.
3A
Peak to Peak has proven week in and week out that they're the queens of 3A. They went stride-for-stride with the big schools in the Sweepstakes Race at Liberty Bell, and came away with a fifth-place finish. They actually tied 5A No. 3 Cherry Creek through five runners, though lost the sixth-runner tie-breaker. Regardless, they can keep pace with nearly everyone in the state. And they remain unrivaled on top of 3A.
The Classical Academy remains No. 2, though they made gains in the polls after their win at Joe Vigil. They pumped their top five into the top 16, and all seven in the top 23, and downed 4A No. 6 Thompson Valley in the process.
There was a ton of movement through the middle of the rankings, as three previously unranked schools made massive leaps.
Pagosa Springs leapt into the No. 5 spot after their impressive third place finish at Joe Vigil. Moffat and SkyView also made the leap, landing No. 6 and No. 7 with their performances at Liberty Bell bringing them into the polls.
2A
For the fourth consecutive week Lyons remains the Lion of 2A. And perhaps for the second, or third consecutive week, I've used that line.
They're coming with near-unanimous No. 1 votes. They finished a close second to 3A's Faith Christian at St. Vrain this past week, and had their top three within the top 12.
Katie Fankhouser and Quin Gregg spoke with Jerry Howard prior to Wednesday's RE-1J meet. Hear what they had to say about their season so far: Fankhouser and Gregg Interview.
Behind them their was movement once again. Peyton has continued to make gains, coming in No. 2 this week. The finished third among the big schools at Elizabeth.
The story of 2A this week, however, is the rise of Buena Vista, and Platte Canyon. Both schools enter the rankings as previously unranked, but jumped to No. 3 and No. 4 following Liberty Bell.