Colorado's titans will toe the same line, at the same time this Saturday!
We've got some of the best individuals and teams in the country set to battle in the 4A Colorado State Cross Country Championships!
Oh yeah, we'll live streaming the finish line LIVE! Sign Up To WATCH
Let's get into it, here's the 4A state preview.
Individuals
Bethany Michalak will toe the line at Penrose as the favorite. Not only is she the defending state champion, but the Air Academy sophomore has put together a nearly flawless season.
Michalak ran 16:54 at Desert Twilight in September, and 17:00 at Liberty Bell a few weeks earlier. Recently she won the 4A Region 2 title in 17:33.
She's run under 18 minutes every time she's raced so far, and she's been undefeated in the state Colorado.
And like last year, this year looks to be a matchup between Michalak and Niwot's Mia Prok.
Michalak and Prok have raced against each other just once this season - at Desert Twilight, and Michalak took that one by 12 seconds - Prok ran 17:06 there. Prok has won her last two races, most recently the 4A Region 4 title in 17:29.
While Michalak and Prok appear to be in their own race, there's still the potential to see someone join the party.
Among the long list of who that could be is Samantha Blair. The Eagle Valley senior finished three-seconds behind Prok at Desert Twilight, running 17:09, showing that she can hang with a hot pace.
And then things open up quite a bit.
There's Ella Johnson, and Tristian Spence - both of who finished in front of Blair at last week's regional meet. And there's the Niwot duo of Eva Klingbeil and Madison Shults, who finished 2-3 at regionals.
Teams
Can anyone run with Niwot?
It's a question that has been asked before, but this year it seems like there's already a definitive answer.
The defending state champs and US No. 1 squad look stronger than ever with five under 17:43 and all seven under 18 minutes. They've been undefeated in Colorado when they've run their varsity.
Recently they swept the 4A Region 3 Championships. And when I write "swept," I mean they took the top-seven spots.
Perhaps the question really is: Who will take second?
Air Academy and Durango look like strong contenders.
Air Academy is coming off a dominating victory at the 4A Region 2 Championships, where they tallied 30 points.
Likewise, Durango put their top-seven inside the Top-11 at the 4A Region 5 Championships to tally an impressive 24 points.
These two squads have not raced each other this season. Based on season-bests, it looks so close in fact that it'll really go down to who shows up on Saturday, which launches off the starting line at 1:40 p.m.
Next Page: Boys State Preview