Baca, TCA Girls Prevail: 3A State Recap


From the opening mile it was clear that someone from Basalt would win this race.

Basalt's Katelyn Maley set a hot early pace that only teammate and defending state champ Sierra Bower dared to cling on to. 

Maley, who finished 12th here a year ago would not be denied on this year. 


The Basalt sophomore capped her breakout season with a dominating victory. Maley ran away over the second mile and onwards to the state title, running 18:39 - a 34-second victory. 

Behind her a real race was brewing. 


The Classical Academy's Kennedy McDonald used the final mile to seal a runner-up finish. McDonald ran 19:13. 

A year ago she was seventh at State. 


Allison Beasley, who has become quite comfortable with kicking, did just that to seal a third-place finish in 19:20. Audrey Orstead was three seconds back in 19:23, which was one-second ahead of Bower, who ran 19:24.

While TCA entered state meet as heavy favorites, they were dealt a blow the night before when receiving the news that they'd be running without last year's runner-up Sawyer Wilson, would not be able to race due to a potential COVID-19 exposure. 

Without their No. 1 runner, TCA would have to dig into their depth. 

In honor of their teammate who raced with them all season long, the girls of TCA wrote "Sawyer" in black marker down their right legs. 

While Wilson wasn't able to race, TCA used the power of her absence to transcend the moment and defend their state title. 


Their depth proved key, as Cassidy McDonald and Sophia Valentine joined McDonald in the top-10, while Kyra Shaner and Alaina Bonacquista closed out their scoring, finishing 15th and 49th. 

Despite Wilson's absence, TCA tallied just 65 points for a dominating team victory.

A tight team race ensued between 2-5. Holy Family had a great team race of their own - they went on to finish second with 113, just ahead of Basalt's 121. Aspen was just two points back, with 123, while Faith Christian was fifth with 128.