All the favorites were still in the mix through the first mile.
A pack of just over a dozen girls ran eight-wide through the opening mile in 5:51. All the favorites where there, anxiously sneaking glances left and right, checking to see who'd they have to battle in the final two miles. Among them was Niwot's Layla Roebke.
The Niwot senior made glances of her own, but not so much out anxiousness, but more out of curiosity. A year ago Roebke was 87th at State. The year before that? 119th. The year before that? 172nd. She had broken 20 minutes just once before the 2018 season, but this year she had risen through the ranks of Niwot's stellar squad, and now she found herself striding comfortably among the best in the state.
The 4A girl's race was perhaps the most-hyped race of the day, with nationally ranked Niwot, and Battle Mountain going head-to-head for the first time of the season, and a list of over half-a-dozen individuals with the potential to take the individual state crown.
Layla Roebke (center) and Taylor James (right) made it a 1-2 punch to give Niwot the state title.
The pack dwindled down slightly through the middle mile, but the favorites in the individual race, and the team race, were all still in place.
Roebke ran alongside teammate Taylor James, giving Niwot two within the top five, while Battle Mountain countered with Naomi Harding and Lizzy Harding, and Grace Johnson running just a few steps back in their shadows. Tiya Chamberlin, Kenadi Krueger, Joslin Blair, and Liberty Ricca were still in the mix heading into the final mile, which would prove to be decisive in the individual race, and team race.
As the course rolled on and into the third mile the hot early pace began to take its toll on the field. Soon the race transformed into another Niwot workout, or have the feel of it at least, as Roebke and James were separating from their chasers.
The Niwot duo went 1-2 a week before, with James taking the regional title just ahead of Roebke, but with each stride it looked like Roebke would have her day at State.
Roebke ran within the moment and soon found herself in unfamiliar territory - running without a shadow. The senior turned to take a few look back, wondering where her teammate was, and perhaps shocked that she was leading the state championships with nothing more than a quarter mile between her and a state title.
"I was looking for Taylor," Roebke admitted.
And Taylor was just a few seconds back, still in chase.
Roebke ran on, knowing that not only was an individual title on the line, but a team title as well, and that there was no better way to help your squad than with one point.
As the senior climbed the final hill and made her way into the Norris Penrose Center the crowd cheered the Colorado Springs native on. She maintained her hard pace all the way through the line, face blank as if not fully digesting what was happening.
Roebke crossed the finish line in 18:29 - a personal best - to capture the state title, and she wasn't alone. James was just six second back in 18:35, giving Niwot an impressive 1-2 finish in arguably the deepest field across all classifications.
Layla Roebke needed a few minutes to digest her state-winning performance.
What made Roebke's finish all the more impressive is that her lone win of the season came in the Sweepstakes B race at Liberty Bell, where she ran 18:32. That day she was nearly a minute behind Eagle Valley's Samantha Blair.
Niwot's 1-2 finish made it easy for the tally, but now the pens and pencils really got rolling.
Battle Mountain's Naomi Harding was the next across the line, finishing third in 18:41, matching Niwot's three points. Chamberlin capped her season, and her high school cross country career with a fourth-place finish in 18:48, saving her best for the state meet. Krueger kicked in for fifth, running 18:51, while Joslin Blair held on to finish sixth in 18:54. Ricca was just two seconds back in seventh, running 18:56, while Battle Mountain's Johnson finished eighth in 18:57, just ahead of Eagle Valley's Samantha Blair, and Avery Doan, who finished ninth and tenth.
When the dust had nearly settled, the team race looked awfully tight. Three schools had at least two runners in the top 10.
Niwot and Battle Mountain had two within the top 10, and Eagle Valley had three within the top 10.
It was clear: the team title would come down to what happened just outside the top 10...
Next Page: Niwot downs Battle Mountain...