Emily Sloan had been eying Carly Lester's 41.18 state 300 Hurdle record for nearly three years.
After going 41.23 as a sophomore, then 41.83 on an abbreviated season as a junior, she was destined to rewrite the record books before heading off to Oregon for college.
But until the 2018 Colorado State Track and Field Championships, her chase was rankled in a series of near-misses.
She nearly had it at State in 2017 before tumbling over the final hurdle when she let her eyes gaze to the scoreboard to read the clock.
Sloan nearly tasted the sweetness of the record at Liberty Bell last spring, where she ran a 41.33 in the prelims, then 41.73 a few hours later in the finals.
To consistently be just fractions of a second off your goal can be daunting to most, but Sloan clearly had an understanding of the phrase "every inch counts."
After chasing the record for the better part of her high school career, it seemed only fitting that she'd claim the record in the final weeks of her senior year.
Sloan eyed the clock as she crossed the line at Liberty Bell last spring.
The two close misses at Liberty Bell were but a prelude, however, as she stormed passed the state record at the Continental League Championships just two weeks later. She shattered the previous record, running 40.77.
All said and done, right?
Not quite.
One week later in two separate preliminary heats across two separate classifications at the Colorado State Championships proved to be the final line in this story.
If chasing a record for nearly three years wasn't a challenge enough, now Sloan had one more hurdle to overcome: Competition.
Excerpt from A Second Glance At Those 300H Records:
Let's take a moment, inhale, and look back at the all-all assault on the 300 hurdle record at the state meet...
At the start of morning on May 18, Emily Sloan's 40.77 state record wasn't even a week old yet. It was still fresh on the minds of everyone who had been following her quest to rewrite the record books with her name. But then the 300H preliminary heats were run, and Valor Christian's Anna Hall just up and decided to blitz the field, and the clock, running a massive personal best.
Hall soared over the hurdles in such speed that heads turned, knowing she was absolutely hauling. But how fast? When the scoreboard read 40.76, nearly everyone, including me, was left scratching their head, asking if that just happened.
Yeah. It did.
In the preliminary heats of the 4A competition, Hall chopped off over a full second from her PR. She had dipped under 42 seconds only once before, but also had two 42-second (almost flat) marks to her name. Long story short, she went from 41.80 to 40.76 for a new Colorado record. Additionally, it was the No. 2 time in the country.
Story over. Book closed. Hall is in the record books, right?
Emily Sloan was up in the 5A heats three, or four minutes later...
Sloan, who had endured nearly three years of chasing the record got to break it the week before the state meet of her senior year, only to watch it fall to a friendly competitor. Still, it's a sweet story.
But for the Rock Canyon senior in her final state competition, running a state record right before state then passing it along one week later was just not the story she wanted written.
So, she stormed out of the blocks and took quick, business-like strides - that said it all. Anyone watching had to know she was running to take her record back.
A slight stutter-step nearly threw her record-attempt off track, but she was able to power through the line and wait for those magic numerals to turn in her favor.
40.60.
That. Just. Happened.
Two girls ran sub 41 seconds in the span of minutes of each other on the same day at the same venue. To fully understand how rare this is, let's take a look at the All-Time List for the event...
Over the past 18 years 15 girls have gone under 43 seconds, five have gone under 42 seconds, and just two under 41 seconds. Those two being Sloan and Hall, of course. The duo have nearly a half second ahead on Lester's record, and lightyears beyond everyone else on the list.
Currently, Sloan is No. 2 nationally, and Hall is No. 3. Or let me reword this: Colorado had two of the top-three 300 hurdlers in the country.
There is no other event where Colorado stacks up this well."
Sloan's long-enduring chase to put her name in the record books wasn't the only a piece of this story. Taking the record after a three-year chase the week before State her senior year, then watching a friendly competitor reset the record in a preliminary heat at State, then stepping on the track and reclaiming it once more - finally, is what makes this story so good, and it's how Sloan hurdled her way to the No. 5 spot in the Top Stories of the Year.
More on Emily Sloan:
Behind The Curtains Of Emily Sloan's Redemption Tour
Workout Wednesday: Emily Sloan And FK Elite
Sloan Shines Early At New Balance Nationals Outdoor
A Second Glance At Those 300H Records
