A Short-Handed Battle Mountain Is Still a Dangerous Battle Mountain
Anyone hoping for a race-day reprieve when they saw Lizzy Harding, Elizabeth Constien, and a couple more of the Husky notables doing a workout on the course before the race was in for a bitter surprise.
In case you didn't know, the Battle Mountain girls go strong more than seven deep. They have the magic of a great team where lots and lots of people want to be part of the party and are willing to pay the price to be there.
So, as much as Steamboat Springs and TCA came to put up a fight, the numbers were tilted in Battle Mountain's favor. Naomi Harding, Alex Raichart, and Brogan Murray each lodged top-ten finishes. Gabby Trueblood and Bella Rubis tied the bow on what the others had begun. It was over quickly.
At least the team battle was.
The individual battle was quite the different story.
A large lead pack over the first mile dwindled to four over the second mile. Those with staying power turned out to be two Huskies and two Sailors: Harding, Raichart, Winter Boese, and Maggi Congdon. Through the second mile and a fair bit into the third, the foursome had things going their way. But, it was a collective "their way," one in which nobody could successfully make a break from the pack.
Meanwhile, TCA's Kaylee Thompson was on a personal mission to close the gap and turn the foursome into a fivesome. With about two-thirds of a mile to go, she successfully made that happen.
And so that battle went, hammer and tongs, the rest of the way to the finish line. Surge was met with counter-surge. Every answer was met with a new question. Frustration was evident on the faces of at least of couple of the contenders--winning wasn't supposed to be this difficult.
It quite literally came down to 100 meters to go and five very viable contenders. At 50 meters to go, it was down to three--Congdon, Boese, and Thompson. At that point, Congdon's wheels were fastest, and the Steamboat sophomore took the win, with Thompson and Boese, in that order, nipping at her heels.
You can go to a lot of cross country races and never see a finish nearly as adrenaline-laden as that one.
One who would have figured pre-race as a contender was Eagle Valley's own Joslin Blair. While Blair would eventually finish sixth, it appeared that she purposely held back in the early going and was buried deep in the pack. Blair's last mile, though, was a flurry of closing gaps and making passes.