Mountain Vista's Sarah O'Sullivan opened her season with a runaway win.
Mountain Vista lined up with an abbreviated squad, like last week, but that didn't change a Vista Nation runner in green leading the race.
Fortunately for most of the lead pack of the girl's race, they didn't have to worry about the boy's rolling them up.
From the opening mile it was clear how this race would unfold. A trio that included Cherry Creek's freshman standout Riley Stewart, Cherokee Trail's Caitlin McConnell, and Mountain Vista's Sarah O'Sullivan had already distanced themselves from the chase pack, which included Air Academy's Tatum Miller. O'Sullivan hovered behind Steward and McConnell, biding her time.
"I stuck with the lead pack until the halfway point," O'Sullivan explained. "Then I put in a little surge and just tried to hold that until the end."
O'Sullivan was running her first race of the 2018 season, though it didn't take her long to find her stride. The Mountain Vista junior used a hard surge through the second mile to distance herself from her chasers.
She opened up a gap that she would hold through the finish, crossing the line in 18:43.
"I was just running," O'Sullivan admitted.
Behind her a race to the finish was brewing. With a mile to go Stewart held a considerable lead over her chasers, but Miller used a furious kick to catch her at the line. Miller's 18:50 took Stewart by one-second, as she finished third in 18:51.
Tutum Miller kicks late to take the runner-up spot over Riley Stewart.
Like the boy's race, the girl's team competition saw most squads with abbreviated squads. Highlighting this trend was US No. 1 Mountain Vista, minus O'Sullivan, who mostly sat this one out.
The in the void of their dominating presence, Air Academy stepped up to take the title, led by Miller's gritty run. The 4A No. 2 squad took down 5A No. 3 Cherry Creek by 11 points - 52 to 63. Behind them 5A No. 2, Cherokee Trail, finished third with 93 points.