Kaylee Thompson found the performance breakthrough that had been eluding her all season with an 18:27.
Owing to peculiarities of the schedule for both teams, Kaylee Thompson of The Classical Academy and Rachel Ingram of Colorado Springs Christian hadn't faced each other this season. That adds a little anxiety to the pre-race routine and early stages of the race for both.
Florence's Kylie Simshauser helped settle some nerves by shooting out to a strong early pace and the lead. Thompson and Katie Flaherty of TCA nipped at Simshauser's heels, while Ingram cautiously positioned herself a bit further back.
By the time the race took it's first big turn back to the west, it was clear none but these four would be in contention for the lead.
By the time Ingram and Thompson crossed through the mile at about 5:50 the pair had established a large gap on Flaherty in third and an even larger gap on Simshauser in fourth. The race for the title was down to two.
As the course wound through the trees behind the start line, Thompson began to force the pace and moved a few steps ahead of Ingram.
Thompson kept hammering. She ran like the gingerbread man (for those whose childhoods span far enough back to have recollection of that story). There was no taunting glances back over the shoulder, but her stride did embody a hint of "Catch me, catch me, if you can!"
By the time the finish line caught her and slowed her down, she had covered 5000 meters in 18:27. It's been since 2009 that Kaitlin Hanenburg ran a faster time out of this region.
Ingram would finish in second, 31 seconds back. Flaherty would take third in 19:30. Simshauser barely kept fourth at 19:41. Pursuing Simshauser to the finish line was TCA freshman Kennedy McDonald.
It took until place ten for TCA to complete their scoring. Becca Thompson and Sarah Burroughs made certain there were no delays with that.
The much more competitive race turned out to be for second, third, and fourth. As it turned out, only four points would eventually separate Salida (90), Colorado Springs Christian (92), and Alamosa (94). The shocker there, of course, was Colorado Springs Christian. The Lions put together a team of largely freshmen the likes of which nobody around the state recalls seeing this fall.
Ingram graduates, but keep a mental sticky note on names like Elle Stevens, Isabel Case, and Meagan Brones. Before long, they may be changing your idea of what a Lion hunt is.
Both CSCS and Alamosa did a better job of placing runners high in the order than Salida, but Salida fought their way into second on depth. At the #5 scoring position, Salida added 25 points to 34 for CSCS and 30 for Alamosa. That was enough to push the Spartans ahead of both. Kudos to Claire Shepherd on that one!