The 2A/3A girls got their racing done first. They probably didn't regret it. It was at least a good five degrees of Fahrenheit warmer, with no apparent breeze, when the boys stepped to the line an hour later.
Although it was run as only one race, 2A/3A Girls race (as well as the 2A/3A boys--next page) was contested as two races in one--a 2A race where only three runners were scored, and a 3A race where five runners were scored.
That made it difficult for even the most advanced spectators to sort out exactly what was happening on the course.
Faith Christian, however, did all they could to take the suspense out of things--at least as far as the 3A girls were concerned.
If anybody was surprised to see FCA's Shannon King in second, that would only be because some folks would have picked her for first.
But, Lilly Lavier wasn't having any of that today. By the midway point, the only question remaining about Lavier's finish was how much gap she could put on second. As it turned out, she was good for about 45 seconds of gap.
That is a massive lead. And 19:14 is a great time to open the season with.
Following shortly after King in second was another FCA Eagle. This time, it was Audrey Orstead. If you paid attention during track season, it's likely you saw this one coming. Orstead had a very solid spring and evidently paid some dues over the summer to solidify her gains.
Orstead beat University's Kylie Kravig to the line for third.
But FCA still wasn't done. Katherine Heekin took the next spot at #5 (still no 2A runners in sight), and the rout was on. Maddie Eggers and Anna MacPhee ensured FCA had a very finite cap on their team score.
When the dust had settled, FCA had 34 points to 75 for second-place Alamosa. Pencil in FCA as a 3A girls team of concern this fall. Though FCA is legitimately a team of concern, we should also note that a few of the teams running today were competing short-handed. It would definitely be a bit early to dismiss the prospects of those teams.
With all the 3A excitement going on up front, it was easy to miss the movement of the red Buena Vista singlets not far behind. Whatever slipped past the general population, however, was not lost on BV coach Julia Fuller. The ecstasy on Fuller's face wasn't hard to detect midway through the race.
The trio of Mallory Salazar, Molly McMurry, and Alexis Santopietro went 3-4-5 in the 2A girls race. Whether it's a good idea to score 2A with only three runners is a debate for a different day, but BV was completely in control with the scoring method of the day.
BV's 12 points was less than half of the total of 25 posted by second-place Rye.
For the Thunderbolts, there was a measure of consolation in the fact that Audrey Maroney took the individual title in 21:35. That was a comfortable 16 seconds ahead of Kate Griffin of the Colorado Springs School at 21:51.
RESULTS | PHOTOS | RACE VIDEOS
Next Page: University pounds 3A boys field