Emmah Johannes set the early pace in the girls race and helped push Smoky Hill to twin regional titles. Photo by Bill Mills.
Class 5A's Region 1 Cross Country competition was hosted by Thornton High School at Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center on Thursday. The venue provides a variety of terrain with wide open vistas of the Rockies and the Front Range. The looping course--utilizing grass, sidewalk, and crusher fine path--is quite spectator-friendly. With a decent pair of binoculars one can view virtually the whole race while moving nary an inch. At least as long as no taller person comes and stands in front of you.
Though this Region may have fewer top-tier teams than in the past, it did feature one of the more intriguing individual match-ups of any regional. Two of the top runners in 5A, Joshua Joseph of host Thornton and Blake Yount of Smoky Hill, kicked things off in the boys varsity race by going immediately to the front. The pair ran side-by-side for m...