Jackson Shorten waited.
The Mountain View senior hovered within the tight pack consisting of Longmont's Connor McCormick, Andreas O'Malley, and Dominic Warner, and Erie's Evan Kraus halfway through Colorado 4A Region 4 Championships.
In this star-studded field, not only would strategy come into play, but so would conservation - next week's Big Dance in Colorado Springs weighed heavy on his mind, and Shorten didn't want to waste any more effort than he needed to.
So he waited.
And he waited.
And then with just one mile of real estate beneath his feet to finish, he dropped the hammer.
The Mountain View senior stormed off and away to the 4A Region 4 title, running 15:41 - a 19-second victory.
Then the Longmont trio of McCormick, O'Malley, and Warner kicked in 2-3-4, running 16:02, 16:07, and 16:15. Mead's Nolan Hoffman kicked late to finish fifth in 16:28, which was just ahed of Kraus, who finished sixth in 16:31.
Mead put three in the Top-10 to claim the team title with 48 points. Longmont took second with 72, Erie was third with third with 83, while Thompson Valley took the fourth and final state-qualifying spot with 113 points.
RESULTS | PHOTOS
Next Page: Mountain View's Brooklyn Ewert runs away with the girls title