Centaurus came away with the upset 31-28 victory over Niwot to claim the Region title.
From the start the scene was somewhat familiar.
It was Niwot's Cruz Culpepper and Ares Reading far and away, off to run their own race with each other. It felt inevitable that the duo would run away with three points between the two of them. But what was going on behind them is where the race for Region 3, and potentially the state, was happening.
A pack of five in royal blue singlets and bright red shorts hovered. While Niwot had a clear 1-2, and potentially a 3 with Benjamin Bi, Centaurus was cruising around the course with the next five spots, making for easily the tightest pack in the field.
It was clear this would be a team battle that would down to single digits.
The No. 1 team in the state, Niwot, was battling the No. 5 team in the state, Centaurus, though with regionals, and State now on the line, it was clear the rankings were out the window.
On the insanely spectator-friendly course in Lyons, coaches and fans sprinted from one spot to the next to capture this epic battle between two schools separated by 11 miles. Pens and pencils where out, scribbling on wrinkled paper, tallying points as the race unfolded. All the while race-director Mark Roberts was hosting a NCAA Championship-caliber meet with in-race team scoring over the intercom.
Culpepper and Reading were running according to script, easily running away with three points. Culpepper nabbed his fourth win of the season with a 15:56 victory, while Reading took third runner-up finish in 16:16 in the 95-runner field.
The fastest duo in the country made no contest of the competition.
And then the pens and pencils came back out...
Cooper Brown was the first in the blue and red to cross, finishing third in 16:42, followed by Torey Puckett's 16:50. Niwot's Bi found himself in the middle of a blue ocean, finishing fifth in 16:52, right in front of the Centaurus trio of Henry Bowman, Kyle Piper, and James Overberg
Pens out... Pencils out...
The scribbling and addition quickly ensued, and within minutes it was clear: Centaurus had the upset, claiming a narrow 31-28 victory over the No. 1 squad in the state, the week before State, setting the stage for an epic battle in Colorado Springs.
The tally was very, very, close... Centaurus went 3+4+6+7+8 (16+17), while Niwot went 1+2+5+10+13 (14+15). It was nearly runner for runner, which is something we'll likely see in one week...
Speaking of next week...
Behind these two titans of 4A, another battle was underway - the battle for the next two spots and a ticket to the Big Dance next week.
It was Standley Lake and Northfield who lived to battle another day, next Saturday, that is. Standley Lake tallied 109 points to finish third, while Northfield edged out George Washington by a mere three points, 145-148 to nab the fourth and final spot.
While the team race was tight on the boy's side of the competition, the Niwot girls ran away with the win, literally.
Next Page: James leads Niwot to a dominating team victory...