Niwot freshman Mia Prok ran away from a stellar field to claim the Battle Mountain Husky Invitational.
Mia Prok pumped her arms, propelling herself up the hill just seven minutes into the Battle Mountain Husky Invitational. She bound off her toes and raged fearlessly through the enduring second the mile, setting a scorching pace that shed her of all of her chasers.
And there many.
There was the 2019 State runner-up and top-returner, Samantha Blair - who just ran 17:20 two weeks ago. There was Elliot Pribramsky, who finished ninth at State last year. There was Niwot teammate and member of the third-best squad from Team Nationals last year, Lucca Fulkerson, who owns a 17:40 PR - and teammate Eva Klingbeil. There was Aidyn Woodall, who finished 12th at state last year.
You get the idea.
For Prok, it didn't seem to matter that behind her was perhaps the deepest field of any race in the state so far this season, because she ran on with all of her thoughts on front of her.
Up and away she went over the hill without a shadow, without anyone eyeing her back. Seven minutes into the race and she was already gone.
Several seconds later Blair pumped hard up the hill, chasing what she couldn't see, but knowing Prok was somewhere around the corner, or the next.
It was a deficit that would not be made up. Not on this day.
Because up ahead Prok kept the pedal to the floor, and ran away with a decisive victory on a challenging course (just over 8,000 feet of elevation) that had only seen one sub-20 clocking - until this day.
She crossed the finish line in 19:15.
The Niwot freshman not only torched the competition, but she torched the previous meet record of 19:58, held by Sarah O'Sullivan.
The performance sets the stage for a battle of epic proportions next month. It'll be one freshman sensation against another at the 4A State Championships.
Prok and Air Academy freshman Bethany Michalak will toe the line, together.
The next four years of friendly battles will be exciting...
But before we go to far ahead in the future, let's go back to Saturday's Battle Mountain Husky Invitational, because there's plenty to be excited about for right now.
Behind Prok's meet record, Blair dipped under the mark too - running 19:39. The Eagle Valley junior's performance was the only other sub-20 run on this grueling cross country course.
Pribramsky nearly achieved the feat - the Battle Mountain senior finished third in 20:06.
Niwot's Fulkerson was the fourth to cross the finish line, running 20:24, while her teammate Klingbeil was the fifth overall, and third for the team, running 20:48.
Woodall was the only other runner to crack 21, finishing sixth in 20:55.
The defending 4A state champs capped their scoring early, putting their entire top five into the top 10. Niwot tallied 28 points to claim the team title. Battle Mountain was second with 48, while Faith Christian was third with 97 - just ahead of Douglas County's 99.
RESULTS | PHOTOS
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