A year ago Henry Murphy and Fairview were denied the 5A Region 3 title.
But not this time.
The individual race reflected the team race, as it went down to the final mile to decide who'd emerge on top. And it was oh, so close...
Through the opening mile Murphy ran alongside Lukas Haug and Ryan Montera, while James Thomas tracked this trio nearly 30 meters back.
The chess match had begun - early.
Through the middle mile the trio prodded at each other, testing the waters to see who had the gears to shift and run off and away.
As they neared the final mile Murphy smelled blood in the water and pounced.
Montera had begun to fade while a late-charging Thomas appeared to be timing this one just right - the only question that remained was that if he'd run out of real estate.
But this was familiar territory for Murphy.
Just as he did at the LHS Sweetheart race several weeks ago, the Fairview senior torched the final mile to capture his first Region championship.
Murphy crossed the finish line in 15:41.
Haug battled hard over the final 1,000 meters, and he held on for a runner-up finish in 15:53.
Thomas came storming into the final straight just seconds behind Haug, but his scorching final mile appeared to have set his legs on fire.
As the Broomfield senior leaned into his stride just meters from the finish line his legs gave out underneath him, and he went crashing to the grass. He quickly pulled himself back up to his feet, and began to move forward once more, but he staggered left, then right, and into the plastic lining that lead towards the finish.
But - echoing Stuzman's relentless effort in the girl's race - Thomas willed himself onwards, despite struggling to remain upwards. He inched his way towards the finish, crashing at the line once more in third place in 16:06 - just ahead of Montera's 16:10.
Thomas' heroics would be celebrated later, when the team results were announced, and it was revealed that Broomfield shocked the region with a state-qualifying performance.
On that note - we wish James a speedy recovery.
With the individual race decided, the team race was up for grabs.
Fairview looked to be an early leader with Eric Sankey racing in as the first second-runner. Sankey finished sixth.
Broomfield and Ralston Valley also put two runners in the top-9, taking this team race into the 3-5 runners.
The race once again leaned back in favor of Fairview as Christian Castellino cracked the top-10 to be the No. 1 third-runner, but Ralston Valley and Broomfield responded.
The three squads remained tight through their fifth runner, but when the final tally was made Fairview emerged the victors with 58 points.
And as mentioned several lines back up, Broomfield nearly stole the show, as they took second with 69 points - just one point ahead of Ralston Valley's 70.
Boulder finished fourth with 84 points.