Top Moments of the Meet (2)
DeLaCruz Secures First XC Victory, Palisade Earns
Team Title
Central's Karla DeLaCruz did not run cross country last year. Nor did she run the previous two years. As a senior, the 2016 season marks her rookie debut. DeLaCruz appears to be a quick study, though, swooping up her team's second individual title of the day.
The beginning of the race presented a sea of white jerseys as the Palisade girls established themselves as the team to beat. About a half mile into the race, Christina Chatfield and Alison Bollinger lead the Bulldog charge with DeLaCruz trailing just behind.
Shortly after the one-mile marker, the racers encounter a short, but very steep, uphill climb. After dropping back down to level, the path narrows and winds through brush at the outer confines of the park. Making a tactical move at the mile marker, DeLaCruz moved to the front and kept her lead to the finish.
Chatfield held off a late surge initiated by Central's Ivory Espinoza and Grand Junction's Makayla Moran. Bollinger and teammate Maya Hilty would claim the next two spots, thwarting a Central sweep of the team titles, 39 to 47.