Did Colorado just witness the best team in state history?
The numbers don't lie.
And the numbers say: Yes.
The Cheyenne Mountain boys team was the fastest in Colorado's history. And coming from a state that consistently produces stellar squads, that's saying a lot.
They capped their season as a clear US No. 2, behind perhaps the best cross country team in the US ever - Newbury Park.
In Colorado, the squad of Erik Le Roux, Kaden Levings, Knox Exton, Tyler Nord, Cedar Collins, Enzo Knapp, and Jack Warmack were dominating.
When these seven raced at full-strength, they were in their own race.
Cheyenne Mountain won the 4A state title with record-low of 26 points. They put three in the top-four, and all five scorers in the top-12. Add that they faced US No. 8 Niwot. While it wasn't a stroll in the park, Cheyenne Mountain made it look like one.
They had a team average of 15:47, and a 1-5 split of 42-seconds.
This is where the numbers game comes into play - last year's 4A state champion Niwot squad had a team average of 15:55. The 2018 Dakota Ridge squad that finished third at NXN averaged 16:15 at State in 2018, the 2019 Dakota Ridge squad that seventh at NXN in 2019 averaged 16:07 at State, and Mountain Vista's 2017 third-place NXN squad averaged 16:08 at State.
In the numbers, Cheyenne Mountain proved to be the fastest, and most dominating squad in Colorado history. Add that they clearly topped the Colorado State Meet PowerMerge.
They backed that up with another impressive performance at the 2021 Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships, where they faced US No. 1 Newbury Park, US No. 3 Jesuit, US No. 4 Union Catholic, and US No. 5 Grapevine.
So, the best teams in the country.
Cheyenne Mountain ran true to their rankings, finishing second.
And once again, we go to the numbers.
They put four under 15 minutes, and five under 15:13, with Exton, Levings, and Le Roux running under 14:42, and Nord being their fourth under 15 in 14:55. Their average was an impressive 14:49 - that's the fastest team average for a Colorado squad, ever. Add that their 1-5 split was just 35-seconds.
It truly was a historic season in Colorado...