The Cherry Creek sophomore left no questions on the table as to whether or not she had state title ambitions. She was out quick from the gun, leaving a pack of chasers who could only stare at the back of her vibrant blue singlet.
Stewart scorched the opening mile in 5:39, while Cameron McConnell separated herself from the pack to track her region rival from four-seconds back.
But there would be no catching Stewart on this day, there would be only chasing.
Stewart's lead grew to 11-seconds through two miles, as the sophomore was storming off and away to her first individual state title.
She entered Penrose Stadium with a 12-second gap, and cruised down the final straightaway to the 5A state title, running 18:12.
Behind her, McConnell clung to that gap, which kept her just out of reach of the freshmen duo of Brooke Wilson and Emma Stutzman. McConnell took the runner-up spot in 18:24, which was six seconds ahead of Valor's Wison, who finished third in 18:30, and Pomona's Stutzman, who finished fourth in 18:33, while Valor's Taylor Whitfield capped off the top-five, finishing in 18:37.
In the numbers:
The top two were sophomores, while six of the top-10 were freshmen. Whitfield was the lone junior and the only senior in the top-10 was Ralston Valley's Elizabeth Schweiker.
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