Top Moments of the Meet (2)
At the conclusion of the high school girls race was a college women's race. Therefore by the time the boys high school event rolled around the crispness had subsided and the grass had dried out.
This race held national significance as well, given that nationally ranked Mountain Vista and Palmer Ridge squared off in Wash Park. It must be noted, though, that Vista was without the services of three of their normal varsity seven.
A much tighter and larger pack stuck together for a more significant amount of time than in the girls race. Led by pre-race favorite Kyle Moran and top contenders Cam Dimas and Parker Mackay, the early pace was not stunted by wet grass. Creek's Moran and Mountain Vista's Mackay strode side-by-side, as the taller Fort Collins runner Dimas sat comfortably behind. Trailing a few seconds off was a slew of runners including Carter Dillon of Mountain Vista, Jeremy Meadows and Andrew Lester from Palmer Ridge, and Yonatan Kefle from nearby Denver South. Lurking not too far in the distance was Arapahoe's pair of James Logan and Kyle Kennedy.
Moran surged into the lead late in the second mile effectively shaking off Mackay, but not the lanky Dimas. Still Moran managed a small margin over Dimas entering the third mile. Once Dimas decided to pounce, aided by the positive encouragement of coach Chris Suppes, it didn't take long for him to eat into Moran's lead with his long stride, overtaking him with about 600 meters remaining. Dimas opened about a ten second lead, but Moran cut four seconds from that with a strong finish. Final result, Dimas 16:20 - Moran 16:26.
James Logan had a blazing final stretch to take 3rd in 16:29. Mackay and Dillon secured the next two spots, and then Meadows and Lester the two after that. Kefle showed well on his "home course" for 8th followed by Kennedy in 9th. Palmer Ridge's third runner Ryan Matson finished 10th, while teammates Andrew Rudnicki and Kieran Nay sealed the deal for the Bears with their top-15 finishes. After the scores were tallied and posted, the results showed Palmer Ridge 50 - 68 over Mountain Vista. Even though the Golden Eagles were shorthanded, nothing should be taken away from Palmer Ridge. As the adage goes, "You race who's on the starting line on that day." Palmer Ridge earned the victory on this day.
Fort Collins seems to be approaching their early season form as they took third. Cherry Creek and Arapahoe notched 4th and 5th.