With a lap to go it looked like it was anyone's race.
With three, almost four runners sharing the same second, that was the case with the girl's mile at the Let's Get REAL Invitational last month.
But as the saying goes: appearances are deceiving.
Taylor Whitfield led a pack that included eighth-grader Reese Tucker, and Valor Christian teammate Brooke Wilson at the bell.
Tucker endured most of the early pacing duties, but with echo of the bell ringing out the race shifted.
Around the top of the track, and with just less than 200 meters of beige track beneath them, Whitfield held a lead of a stride, maybe less.
But that's as close as it would be in that final lap.
The Valor Christian junior turned on the boosters and telescoped away with a dominating 5:17 victory - pumping three seconds into her lead in the final lap.
Tucker held on to finish second in 5:20, which was just ahead of Wilson's 5:21.