We're back!

It's that time of the year. 

That time where every week will see a few hundred bodies storm an open field, chasing a bike, but racing a clock - and each other. 

The 2021 Colorado cross country season has arrived, even if track just ended eight weeks ago. 

It was a short summer...

So, the first week of the season was a bit a mixed bag - some teams came out swinging, others watched from the sidelines, waiting until later to spike up. 

Either way, the first week of the season saw some pretty revealing performances - it's clear who put in some work this summer.

Here are the highlights of the highlights... 

Let's get started at the Windsor Wizards Invitational, because some of the fastest times out of the weekend came from this meet. 

The meet was 3-miles - not a 5k - though even with the .1 off the top, it still looked fast. 

Erie's Evan Kraus opened his season with a 15:19 victory, which won the race by nearly half-a-minute. And put 2A on alert - Lyons transfer Tyler Ball came out swinging in his Colorado debut. The junior finished second here in 15:46, which was just ahead of Caden Schweer's 15:51. 

On the girl's side of the competition Elena Torres dominated the competition. The Loveland sophomore won the race in 18:12. Cadence Lapp also dipped under 19 minutes, running 18:54. 

Logan Gullett ran the fastest 5k of the weekend at the RCS Cougar Invitational. The Eaton junior nearly claimed the first sub-16 of the season, running 16:01. Of additional note, that's a big personal best for Gullett, and 57-seconds faster than last year's performance. (Somebody put in some serious work this summer...)

On the topic of the fastest 5k of the weekend...

Maelynn Higgins took the girl's honors, running 18:20 at the Broomfield Battle. And like Gullett, the time was a massive PR - her previous best was 19:01. Mia Mraz was a close second here, running 18:29 (also a PR, and the second-fastest time among all-classifications.) 

Keeping with the theme of people running fast, Ella Johnson, and Jadyn Heil cracked 19 across the state at the Central Warrior Invitational. Johnson took the W in 18:37, while Heil was a clear runner-up in 18:59.

In Fort Collins Tatum Berg and Ella Johns battled over every step of the Rocky Mountain Lobo Invitational. Berg - a Fossil Ridge freshman - prevailed in the final meters, running 19:14 for the win. Johns was just four-seconds back in 19:18. 

At the Carbon Valley Two Mile Isabel Allori was the highlight. The Liberty Common sophomore opened her season with a 11:54 2-mile victory, which is just 18-seconds shy of her track PR for the distance.  

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