Sydney Swanker kicked hard to dip under 18 for the first time.
The clock ticked on.
17:55...17:56...17:57...
Sydney Swanker pumped her arms and lifted her knees. Her soft blue eyes gave no hints of inner turmoil, as her face was nearly expressionless. She kept her poker-face on through the final strides.
She clearly had more fuel in the tank, because she was kicking like she was in a race a third of the distance.
While the Broomfield junior was sprinting clear of the field in the final 100 meters, she had quite a few more challengers just 200 meters earlier.
Like the boy's race, the girl's race came down to four battling it out over the thick green grass, though this time there was a clear winner who entered the final straightaway, and it was Swanker.
"I've been thinking about this all week," she explained.
Swanker not only captured the win, but she dipped under the 18 for the first time, running 17:57. The time was the lone mark under 18 on this day, and it was a 19 second PR.
"It's been my goal to break 18 this season," Swanker shared. "I knew I could do it here, I just had to put my mind to it."
Baylie Koonce led the early stages of the race.
Patience prevailed
Ponderosa's Baylie Koonce entered the meet with a solid 19:13 5k PR. Additionally, she's got a 5:38 1,600 and 12:21 3,200 to her name.
But when the gun shot off, she wasn't running according to her past - she was clearly striding towards her future. The junior pounced early and set a hot pace that no one jumped on.
Koonce cruised through the mile without a challenger in sight, though while she ran freely up front, a pack of some of Colorado's best had assembled in chase.
Lanie Szuch and Kiran Green began to surge through the second mile, and behind them a pack that filled through the top 10 began to pick up the pace. Among them was Swanker, and Tiya Chamberlin, who hovered near the back, un-rushed.
Koonce continued on at her pace, challenging her competitors to give chase, and they did.
Chamberlin surged hard after the halfway point and was running off Koonce's shoulder heading into the final mile. Likewise, Szuch and Swanker hovering just a few strides back.
It appeared inevitable now that Koonce would get caught, but what as unclear heading into the final half mile was who would prevail.
Chamberlin pumped hard up front while her gentle curls bounced with each stride. Szuch and Swanker stalked, and Koonce, unwilling to let such a great race go to waste, remarkably battled on.
With 400 of real estate between them and the finish, Swanker finally pounced. And when she did, it was game over. The Broomfield junior was in a race of her own, unrivaled by anyone. She cruised through the. line in 17:57, just ahead of Szuch, who kicked in for second at 18:05, just ahead of Koonce, who held on for third in 18:06. Behind them Chamberlin cruised in for fourth in. 18:12.
A Monarch Sweep
The girl's team race looked eerily similar to the boy's - with Monarch and Los Alamos going 1-2, only this one wasn't nearly as close.
Led by Anna Wexler's ninth place finish, Monarch put all five in the top 20, tallying 74 points. Behind them Los Alamos took the runner-up spot in 109, while Boulder was third in 139.