One point of difference
With 200 meters to go, the biggest threat Sawyer Wilson faced was getting swallowed up in the crowd.
The girls individual race had none of the suspense of the boys race, at least not after the first mile or so.
A crowd of early contenders quickly broke up as Sawyer Wilson pushed to pace to a level that withered that field. Wilson was all by herself for the last two-thirds of the race as she ran to a winning time of 18:47.
It was almost half a minute later when Thompson Valley's Kenadi Krueger crossed in second, marking the second year in a row she has finished second at this race.
TCA got a nice scoring boost when Kennedy McDonald beat Norissa Valdez of Los Alamos to the finish line for third.
The Hilltoppers, however, were far from done. Lidia Appell and Sophie Chadwick took 6 and 7, catapulting Los Alamos into the scoring lead. TCA got back on track with Sophia Valentine taking 13th. The Titans nudged into the lead with Rebecca Thompson finishing in 18th.
Los Alamos, though, had the last word when Hannah Gartz took 21st and Emma Montoya 27th. That was precisely enough to beat the Titans by one point.
And, surprise, it was Albuquerque Academy in third. The New Mexico schools were playing for keeps today.
Durango (less Madeleine Burns) and Thompson Valley were both close on the heels of AA, but both behind. Tea Forrest and Willow Lott led the Demon charge in 8th and 9th, respectively.
Salida took sixth, but nearly 190 points in back of fifth. Each of the top 10 finishers came from one of the top five finishing teams.