They were favored going in. But maybe not by the magnitude of their ultimate margin of victory.
The finally tally had Battle Mountain at 59 points. 1-7-11-16-24. That would just over a third of the total point accumulation of second-place Palmer Ridge.
At a state meet, with several bona fide solid teams in the field, that is simply a bruising margin of victory.
And, I'll go out on a limb and suggest not many folks saw Elizabeth Constien emerging as the day's fastest female over the course, regardless of classification. Constien's 18:03 over a course ideally suited for a Battle Mountain Husky stood six to seven seconds faster than the next best time on the day.
Isabella Prosceno isn't one to give up the fight and settle for second, but that is exactly the position that Constien's race put the Palmer Ridge freshman into.
Constien was on fire.
And some of the conflagration spread to her teammates as well.
At two miles, Battle Mountain had a team score of only 49 points, with three (Constien and the Sisters Harding--Naomi and Lizzy) in the top ten. The Huskies couldn't quite make that part of the show stick around to the finish, but they dominated the rest of the way just the same.
Four, including Alex Raichart, finished in the top 20, and all under 19:15.
Any teams who came with aspirations of keeping things close had those hopes crushed under the single most dominating team performance of the day. Battle Mountain is a team with very legitimate hopes to advance to Nike Cross Nationals. It's not a done deal yet, but the stage is set for a stirring run. At the very least, you can now make a case that they have drawn even with Broomfield.
Prosceno was not only the second-place individual. She was also the last one to let go of Constien. Prosceno was still with Constien at two miles, but the break came shortly thereafter. Addi Iken would finish third, while Paige Embaugh--Air Academy's bid for a fourth consecutive individual title--took fourth.
All four ran under 18:40. Another seven slipped under 19 minutes.