Girls 5A Region 1: Arvada West Dominates while Carrasco Blitzes the Field
The starter's white flag sat motionless on the windless day. When the gun fired, the pack charged the open field with a clean slate of ambitions and hope.
Leading them was Thornton's Stephanie Carrasco, who wasted no time stating her intentions. The senior gained on the field every step and never looked back.
Carrasco cruised by the first mile near 5:30 without a challenger in sight.
Trailing nearly 50 meters behind her, Arvada West's Claire Pauley and Katie Doucette ran in tandem, beginning the start of a stretched out field that was already running off a hot pace.
Carrasco only extended her lead as the race wore on. When she entered the final straight with the mountains looming behind her, she was nearly 40 seconds clear of the field for an easy victory.
"It wasn't as easy at it looked," Carrasco mused, unaware of how large her margin of victory was. "I knew I had to close hard because I thought someone was closing on me."
Carrasco finished in a personal record of 17:58, which would be the fastest time of the day. The finish was her third win of the season, and her seventh finish in the top 3. With regionals behind her now, she's got her sights set on a big finish at state, where she hopes to give Legacy's Brynn Siles a run for the title.
Next across the line were Arvada West's Pauley and Doucette, who finished in 18:38, and 18:55, respectively. The finish proved to be vital in the team race, as Arvada West's 1-2 punch couldn't be matched.
The Wildcats pumped their top four runners into the top nine, and their top five in the top 26. Rounding out their scoring were Civianna Gallegos, Amber Valdez, and Sadie Haymond, who finished seventh, eighth, and 26th.
Also booking a trip to state among the teams were Denver East, who finished with 87 points, Arapahoe, who finished with 93, and Dakota Ridge, who finished with 102.
Broken hearts of this race went to 16th-place Hannah Nelson, and fifth-place Chatfield. Nelson finished six seconds out of a qualifier, while Chatfield finished 30 points back.