I've said it before, and I'll say it again: winning alone is not enough for Cole Sprout.
Despite temperatures rising into the mid-60s, and a beaming sun that left some painful rays on my face, Sprout did what he's done all throughout his high school career: run hard.
The Valor Christian senior took his victory lap around the course while his chasers clung to his coattails.
After cruising through the mile in a modest 4:56 with Connor Ohlson and Parker Wolfe, Sprout went to work on the backside of the course.
By the two-mile Sprout had opened up a six-second lead over Ohlson and Wolfe, while the Dakota Ridge senior was beginning to break the tether that attached him to the Cherry Creek junior.
Sprout continued to on the pace, as he wasn't just racing for win, he wanted to cap his final cross country in Colorado by breaking his own course record of 15:16.
And true to form, where Sprout does what he sets out do to, that's exactly what he did.
While the heat and pace began to take its toll in the final quarter-mile of the race, Sprout hung on to himself, and entered Penrose Stadium in first one last time, and in a new course record of 15:12.
With Sprout nabbing his third state cross country title, the only question remained was who would take the runner-up spot.
And that honor would go to Ohlson - the defending runner-up finisher from 2018. Ohlson took the runner-up spot in 15:24 for the second fastest time of the day, while Parker held off a late-charging Cole Nash to finish third, 11 seconds back in 15:35. Nash nearly timed his race to perfection, as he surged late and almost picked up the pieces of Sprout's hot pace. For his efforts he earned a fourth-place finish in 15:39, out-kicking Gus McIntyre in the final strides.
With the individual race in hand, the only remaining question was who would take the team title, Dakota Ridge, or Mountain Vista?
Early on it looked like Dakota Ridge would be defending their title, in a very similar fashion as last year - pumping three into the top-10.
Jacob White and Ben Morrin kicked in to finish sixth and seventh, giving the Boys From The Ridge three of the top-seven.
Mountain Vista's top-three came roaring in just outside the top-10, but Dakota Ridge's 1-2-3 punch was too much on this day.
Benjamin Piegat and Ethan Straub sealed the state title for Dakota Ridge, finishing 22nd and 43rd.
When the dust had settled, Dakota Ridge had successfully defended their state title in dominating fashion - they tallied 67 points, beating out Mountain Vista's 121. Rock Canyon took third with 160 points, while Heritage as fourth with 174, just three ahead of Fort Collins.