Hammer and Tongs
Kennedy McDonald, McKenna Knez, and Ashlynn Squires were jostling for about tenth place midway through the race.
It was difficult to say who was the hammer and who was the tongs. What wasn't difficult to observe, however, was that Maggi Congdon and Kaylee Thompson waged a spectacular battle to the finish, spanning at least the last couple hundred meters.
There were more surges that you'd find in a great day at the beach. And every surge was met with a counter-surge.
Officially, there was a tenth of a second between Congdon's eventual first and Thompson's eventual second. Meet director Melinda Brandt, though, likely had it a bit more accurate when she reported to the crowd gathered at awards that the actual time gap between the two was 0.07 seconds.
It's rare to see a finish stay this tight this long. You were in for a treat if you were at the right place at the right time.
And it was almost exactly like last year, except that two girls from Battle Mountain and Congdon's teammate Winter Boese weren't involved in this year's finish fray as well. Congdon and Thompson went 1-2 last year as well, but both were pushed by the girls from Battle Mountain until the last few meters. This time, it was a long way back to the next finisher. And, if you're combing for detail, this year's finish was slightly closer than last year's and about 30 seconds faster than last year's.
The point TCA lost in the battle for first place, however, made precious little difference in the final tally.
Thompson's sister Becca crossed for the Titans in 7th, followed by freshman Kennedy McDonald in 8th. Sophia Valentine and Sarah Burroughs closed out the scoring in 12th and 14th, respectively.
By that time, only Steamboat and Fruita Monument had as many as two across, and their reinforcements weren't following close on their teammates' heels.
TCA's final tally of 43 was just shy of 60 points ahead of Fruita-Monument.