Simon Kelati pumped his arms and lifted his knees. He eyed the open space in front him as his loose stride was powerful. Not having a back to stare at was comforting and frightening a the same time.
The surge had to be decisive, he knew this much.
Dylan Schubert in hot pursuit.
It was timely move for Kelati, as he only had another eight or so minutes to endure the burn in his chest, but Schubert was timing a move of his own.
It was a two-man race, as the rest of the field was a clear 200 meters behind.
With less than a mile to go Kelati held a 20 meter lead over Schubert. From the outsiders perspective it looked like the imaginary rubber-band holding them together was about to break, and Kelati would have the victory, but Schubert had other plans.
The Thompson Valley junior had waited, and waited, but now it was time to launch his counterattack. Heading into the final half mile Schubert made his move, leaving Kelati scrambling to respond. But Schubert's move was planned to perfection, and he would have his day.
He crossed in the second fastest time of the day in 16:01, just ahead of Kelati's 16:05.
Jamison Cartwright was the third runner to cross, finishing in 16:42, while Silver Creek's John Moroney finished fourth, just under 17 minutes in 16:57.
Moroney's finish led three more Silver Creek runners into the top 10, including freshman Hogan Boyle who finished sixth, and Henry Terhaar, who finished 10th.
The team title came down to one point - one point - with Silver Creek taking the narrow 70-71 victory over Erie. Thompson Valley was a clear third place finisher with 101 points, and the fourth and final spot once again came down to one point - one point. Fort Morgan inched out 150-151 ahead of Roosevelt for the final state berth.
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