That finish line tastes a lot better in victory when it's a long time coming.
And for Andre Stablein, it was a well-deserved win Saturday morning. The Front Range Christian senior has run between 16:35 and 16:52 all season, with three top-eight finishes. He finally captured a big win, as he ran away from a stellar field in the 2A/3A race.
The opening miles saw Stablein take the pacing duties while Peak to Peak's William Ledden and Eaton freshman Logan Gullett nipped at his heels.
While the trio shared the first half of the race, Stablein clearly had no intentions of sharing the second half. He surged hard through the middle mile to telescope away for a 16:39 victory.
Behind him the pack imploded, and once again, patience paid out big.
Hudson Majeski surged hard through the second half of the course was rewarded with a runner-up finish just under 17 minutes. Majeski ran 16:54, passing Ledden in the final mile. The Peak to Peak senior held on for a third place finish in 17:01.
The team race was tight, with the unique middle-ground scoring of four runners rather than three or five (2A scores three runners, while 3A scores five).
Liberty Common took the title with 52 points, just ahead of host-school Lyons, who finished second with 60. Colorado Academy took the third spot with 73 points.
Of additional note - Isaac Roberts finished 10th in the 4A/5A race in 16:33.
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