By the Thinnest of Margins

Danielle Medearis leads a parade of finishers to start the scoring for eventual state champion Holy Family. Photo by Alan Versaw.

The 3A girls individual race effectively ended when Eva-Lou Edwards broke free from Tabor Scholl's pursuit on the ascent of Little Willis. On a full season of training, and without injury, for both parties, this could probably have been a race full of drama all the way to the final turn into the stadium. It was, however, something of a mismatch this year. Edwards was as on top of her race Saturday as she has been all season.

What the individual race lacked in drama, however, was more than made up for in the team race. 

Going in, everyone knew it was a wide-open affair. Salida, Holy Family, Estes Park, Colorado Academy, Kent Denver, and perhaps one or two more had the look of serious title contenders. And the course had the look of one that would demand the utmost of any team that expected to have the remotest chance of winning.

Owing to the course configuration, precious few in the crowd massed alongside the trail before the incoming creek crossing had any sort of clue how the team scoring was shaping up after the mile--and it was a muddled mess at one mile.

You could see the hard-core cross country types mentally clicking off singlets as they passed, or pushing virtual buttons on iPad screens as the runners turned off the main trail on the approach to the second creek crossing and the final push into the stadium.

Kelsi Lasota was the first runner from an acknowledged contending team to pass through the masses. A little gap, and Sammy Little. Then Molly Morrison. Then Jess Masinter. Advantage Colorado Academy?

Well, not really, Colorado Academy figured to have two in the top ten. For the Mustangs, the key would lie in where their 3 and 4 came in. But, there were no more Mustang singlets in sight. 

A few more went by, mostly from schools that didn't figure to be part of the team title chase. Then Kent Denver's Caroline Kawula. Then Holy Family's Danielle Medearis. 

In short, the early returns showed "advantage nobody." The order of the early finishers did no more to clear the muddle of the which team would win than the entire season of invitationals had done. It was still anybody's race.

The first glimmer of hope for someone seizing an advantage came when Frontier Academy crossed Makayla Santos and Taylor Bancroft in short order. The Wolverines were easily the first team to cross three runners. The FA faithful held their breath, waiting for their fourth singlet to emerge from the bridges section of the course.

The wait was agonizing for those who had dared to elevate their hopes. Nervous habits were suddenly in vogue, all around.

While Frontier Academy waited, Holy Family's Katie Chavez and Olivia Bartoletti went by, joining Danielle Medearis and Lindsey Chavez at the finish. 

Finally, Frontier's Alexa Rose crossed. And it was impossible to tell which team had the advantage. Even if you could have counted that many places--and even with the assistance of an app--there were runners from incomplete places and the shuffling of places over the final 200 meters to take into account. What was clear was that it was close. What wasn't clear was who held the advantage.

Results tabulation added to the agony of the waiting. Two teams, and a host of supporters for both schools, held their breath and waited. And waited. Supporters from other schools waited with fainter hopes.

When results went up, it was exactly as the scatter of finishers on the course suggested it would be. Holy Family's Tigers claimed a first-ever state cross country title by a single point over Frontier Academy, 84 - 85. Holy Family celebrated their win with the kind of ecstasy known only to those intimately aware of how narrow their escape was.

And you just know that each of the Frontier Academy runners have replayed the race in their heads a thousand times over, searching for the moment where they could have jumped that one extra place to reverse the final outcome (FA would have won a tie breaker between the two schools). 

Such are the ways of the emotions associated with high school sports. And, with both teams returning all but one runner each, this one just might reprise itself next year.

If there is a reprise, however, look for Salida and Colorado Academy to have something more to say next year. Both the Spartans and the Mustangs were close this year. And both teams return the full complement of scoring runners next year. And, so, we could have another full-blown muddle of top teams again next year in 3A.

As a footnote to the Holy Family title celebration, the Tigers became the second 3A girls team to win a state title without an individual medalist. And, that aspect of the outcome is just a tiny bit surprising. At various points in the season, each of Danielle Medearis, Katie Chavez, and Lindsey Chavez had races suggestive of their potential to finish in the top ten at state. Yet, none of them enjoyed that kind of race at state.

If you're looking for the difference maker, that distinction may belong to the Tigers' #4, freshman Olivia Bartoletti. Bartoletti's emergence as a rock-solid #4 came just in time to turn the tide in favor of the Tigers.

3A Girls State Highlights Video