Having weathered the heat and the resistance, Yonatan Kefle hits the finish.
Kefle a Late-Race Spoiler while Castle View Makes it a Sweep
When the gun shot to start the boy's race, 128 runners sprinted into the open green field with various ambitions.
The quick start set the tone early--this race would be the survival-of-the-fittest.
Within half a mile the lead pack had already dwindled down to eight, and that was just the beginning.
Castle View packed three runners in the top-10 early, stating their intentions.
The suicidal pace had a long list of casualties, though biding his time was Jefferson Academy senior Ryan Lehmuth. "We opened really fast," Lehmuth admitted. "I tried to sit back while the pace was fast, and ride off the energy of the leaders."
Lehmuth let the Castle View duo of Aidan Scott and Jared Wright set the pace while he waited for the second mile to do his damage. Lehmuth made a decisive move in the middle mile to create a gap between himself and his challengers.
"I came through the two-mile around 10:30, which was a little quick," Lehmuth said. "But then the heat really got to me."
While the heat jumped on Lehmuth's back, Denver South's Yonatan Kefle came storming back the final mile of the race. After battling illness earlier in the week, Kefle sat way back and set the pace for his teammates before sprinting off in the final mile.
While the field was dropping like flies from the heat, Kefle sprinted to a late victory, overtaking Lehmuth in the final mile to run away for a 23-second win. Kefle crossed the finish line line in 16:29. Lehmuth finished in 16:52 while Sky View Academy's Ryan Butler sprinted in to finish third in 17:12.
The team race came down to Castle View and Denver South, with Castle View taking the title.
The Sabercats tallied 44 points, packing all five runners before Denver South's third runner. Castle View's Scott and Wright led the charge, finishing fourth and fifth, while William Merrick, Connor Baty, and Keeton Lentz capped the scoring by finishing 10th, 12th, and 13th.
Denver South took second with 57 points, while SkyView Academy finished a distant third with 94 points.