There weren't many people who would've picked The Classical Academy to win the girl's 3A state title. Even their coach, Alan Versaw, appeared to be just as shocked as anyone else.
And to clarify, it wasn't anything against them, it was just that Peak to Peak was hands-down the most dominate squad in the state, until the morning of October 27.
Peak to Peak was not only the returning state champs, but they returned the top three girls from the 2017 state meet, which included defending state champ and owner of a 17:00 5k, Quinn McConnell.
But the Burgundy Girls had other plans.
When the dust settled it was TCA achieved the rare feat of having everyone run their best at state, as nearly everyone on their team either ran a personal best, or almost PRd.
The first hint of the upset was when Kaylee Thompson came storming into the Penrose Event Center clear of the field. While most were expecting Peak to Peak to go 1-2-3 like 2017, Thompson's 18:19 victory was already beaming as the upset of the race.
But that was just the tip of the iceberg, because her teammates wanted a little taste of their own.
With the crowd already on edge after witnessing a shocker in the individual race, the voltage only amplified, as was the announcer's excitement.
Excerpt from: 3A Girls: Thompson and TCA Flip The Script
"TCA's Katie Flaherty came sprinting in as the announcer echoed out "TCA's No. 2!" to the roar of the crowd. A year ago Flaherty finished 17th at State, now she was fifth in 19:02.
Then TCA freshman Kennedy McDonald signaled that an upset was truly underway. McDonald ran a massive 32-second PR to finish seventh in 19:10.
And then the announcer's echo "TCA's No. 3!"
Not. Done. Yet.
Rebecca Thompson upped the Biggest-PR ante a little more, chopping a whopping 36 seconds off her PR to finish ninth in 19:14 as TCA's fourth runner in the top 10.
"TCA's No. 4!"
Sarah Burroughs sealed the state title for the Burgundy Girls, finishing 16th in 19:55. With four in the top 10, TCA tallied a jaw-dropping 34 points to truly flip the script, and dominate the state on the day it mattered the most."
It wasn't just their victory, or the dominance of which they displayed at State, or the fact that they hadn't had a female state champion since 2009, or won a team title since 2012, or captured the individual title and the team title this year, and it wasn't just the upset meter that was bolting through its max, it was the collection of it all that elevated the girl's of The Classical Academy to the No. 8 Story of the Year.