Zane Bergen ran into Penrose alone.
There was no one in front of him, besides him, or behind him.
Well, there were runners behind him. About 156 to be exact. But no one was near him.
It was the only way the Niwot senior would've preferred it.
Bergen took crisp, business-like strides while the crowd roared to life. There would be no crazy, close-finish like last year. No trip to the dirt. No waiting for an official results.
This year, Bergen won the 4A Colorado State Championship state title out-right.
And this year, he had the titans of Colorado's cross country scene to battle with for it.
With a mile to go Bergen was flanked by the Cheyenne Mountain duo of Erik Le Roux and Kaden Levings, and Mountain View's Jackson Shorten.
The intensity was soaring to full-blast with each stride, as not only was there an individual title on the line, but a team title as well. And this team race played host to two of the top-three squads in the country - US No. 2 Cheyenne Mountain, and US No. 3 Niwot.
Bergen was determined to help his team as much as possible - by scoring one point, so the Niwot senior dropped the hammer in the final mile.
Bergen stormed into Penrose without a shadow, and this time he got he got to taste the sweetness of crossing the finish line first - he claimed the 4A state title in a 4A meet record of 15:17.
And then all eyes went towards the team race, which Cheyenne Mountain took care of early. Spectators didn't really have to count high, because the US No. 2 squad raced on to perfection on this day.
Le Roux, Levings and Knox Exton finished 2-3-4, running 15:31, 15:34, and 15:40.
Mountain View's Jackson Shorten, Durango's Land Lambert, and Battle Mountain's Sullivan Middaugh were the only runners inside the top-10 not from Cheyenne Mountain, or Niwot.
Tyler Nord gave Cheyenne Mountain four inside the top-seven, and they closed the door on everyone a few places later with Cedar Collins finishing 12th.
Cheyenne Mountain recorded the lowest team-score in 4A history, tallying an impressive 26 points. Additionally, they had five in front of everyone's three, and seven in front of everyone's four.
Niwot was a solid runner-up, tallying 63 points, while Battle Mountain was third with 136.
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