Pomona sweeps!
It's not all that easy to explain Pomona's presence at this meet until you remember that Jack Swartz cut his coaching teeth just over the Wet Mountains from Pueblo at Custer County High School. And, Custer County is as regular at this meet as they come.
With Alamosa opting for a Thursday meet in Colorado Springs and The Classical Academy resting their regulars today, there was no obvious candidate to fill the void of team champion. Pomona was all too happy to step into the role.
Slowly at first, then unmistakably, the Panthers scratched and clawed their way to the top. And it began, as it were, at the top.
In the early going of the race, Florence junior Kylie Simshauser moved out like she owned the course. And, for a couple of miles, she did own the course.
But, biding her time behind Simshauser was Pomona freshman Emma Stutzman. Simshauser was about the meet Stutzman, but the meeting wouldn't last long. Once she made her move, Stutzman was gone in a hurry and the individual title was hers to savor. Her 19:16 gave her 15 seconds of clearance on the field.
Simshauser would hold on to second, followed by Vanguard's Madi Moen in third.
Behind the leaders, however, Pomona was playing a spirited game of follow the leader. Moving up nicely as the race took the ditch bank trail back to the start/finish area, Halle Schmitz would finish in sixth, Hailey Antill in ninth, Ashley Basset in 25th, and Sophie Collister in 31st.
If you're wondering, it's been a while since Pomona took a girls meet title. Unless they sneaked one in in a small meet somewhere recently, you'd be hard-pressed to find the person who remembers the last time they pulled it off.
So, some history was made today. And Jack Swartz was smiling.
Next: A rotation of leaders