Eva Klingbeil turned right into Penrose with no one in front of her.
It was an uncommon sight for the Niwot senior.
Not only was she leading the 4A state championships with just under 200 meters to go, she was winning her first cross country race, ever.
As odd as that already sounds, take into consideration that it's not the first time a Niwot runner has experienced such a feat as a state title being their first victory.
Three years ago the runner was Layla Roebke.
So here Klingbeil was.
Just over three miles into the 2021 state championships with nothing but dirt in front of her.
"I really wasn't expecting to win," Klingbeil admitted. "I went into the race wanting to get top-three, and wanting to put myself in a position where I had a shot at winning, but I never expected that it would actually happen."
A mile earlier Klingbeil was chasing Bethany Michalak alongside teammate Mia Prok.
After Michalak opened up a gap early, Klingbeil and Prok teamed up to try to wheel in the defending state champion. By two miles they had cut the deficit down to a few strides, taking this race into the final mile.
With a state title on the line any nothing holding her back, Klingbeil took off.
The Niwot senior stormed away to her first victory, and the 4A state cross country title, running 17:58.
Prok was the next runner inside Penrose, though she was being chased by Samantha Blair, who was kicking into the stadium one final time.
The Eagle Valley senior ate up ground and caught the Niwot sophomore at the line. Blair was the runner-up by four-tenths of a second, running 18:23.0 to Prok's 18:23.4. Ella Johnson was five-seconds behind them, finishing fourth in 18:27.
Niwot had three inside the top-five with Bella Nelson finishing fifth in 18:35.2, which was just ahead of Aspen Fulbright's 18:35.5.
Ella Hagen and Maggie McCleskey were the only other non-Niwot runners inside the top-10, finishing seventh and 10th.
Like the boys team race, spectators witnessed a little bit history...
Stella Vieth and Sarah Perkins finished eighth and ninth, giving Niwot five inside the top-10. Additionally, 800 state champ Madison Shults finished 11th.
Niwot showed why they're a US No. 1 - they recorded the lowest-winning team score, tallying a jaw-dropping 20 points. Battle Mountain took second with 138 points, while Durango was a close-third with 143.