It didn't matter that snow lined the insides of the track, because Ben Kirk was on fire.
The Denver East senior barely made the final of the 100, but barely was more than enough of a chance - he won the state title in 10.94. David Maldonado was second in 11.00.
Several hours later Kirk proved that his 100 state title was no fluke - he won the 200 in a PR of 21.43. Peyton Sommers was second in 21.66.
In the 400 the two best quarter-milers in the state went head-to-head, and it was definitely a show worth watching.
Castle View's Ace Malone and Highlands Ranch's Luke Dry cracked 48-seconds once again, and once again, it was Malone with the Ace, running 47.18 to Dry's 47.53.
Heading into State it didn't appear that there was one dominate distance runner in 5A.
Drew Costelow changed that.
The Valor Christian junior swept the distance events, winning the 800 in 1:52.11 over Camden "The Mullet" Law, who ran 1:52.25. Bear Creek's Jacob Culig took third in 1:53.27 - he set the hot early pace.
A day later Costelow used that patented kick to win the 1,600 in 4:13.09. Dalton Kaines took second in 4:15.42, which was just ahead of Tyler Downs' 4:15.60.
Costelow and Dane Eike kicked right on time in the 3,200. Mountain Vista's Jayden Nats took much of the early pacing duties, though Costelow and Eike attacked with just under three laps to go. The Valor junior and sophomore telescoped away for a 1-2 finish, with Costelow running 9:19 to Eike's 9:20. Nats fought all the way through the final lap and finished third in 9:22.
On the topic of sweeps: Carsen Bruns.
The Rampart senior won a tight 110H over Cherry Creek's PJ Robinson, running 14.31 to Robinson's 14.39. Several hours later he torched a 37.62 to win the 300H. Grandview's Malique Singleton was second in 38.47.
Meanwhile, Grandview dominated the 4x100, and the 4x200. The won the 4x100 state title with a 41.37 clocking, and the 4x200 with a 1:26.75.
Cherokee Trail took the 4x400 to the line, running 3:17.49. Cherry Creek was a close runner-up in 3:18.51.
In the 4x800 Cherokee Trail got the jump on everyone. They took an early lead and never looked back. Mountain Vista nearly made a race of it heading into the final leg, but the deficit was to much to overcome. Cherokee Trail took the state title in 7:52, which was just ahead of Mountain Vista's 7:54. Rocky Mountain was third just under eight-minutes in 7:57.
Meanwhile Dontay Johnson nearly surpassed his personal best to win the long jump in 22-10.5. Brandon Hills and Nate Gaye were a close second and third, with Hills landing at 22-06.75, which was just ahead of Gaye's 22-6.
In the triple jump Rhys Travis defended his state title, leaping to a 44-8.5 state title. David Wardlaw was a close runner-up with a 44-5.5 leap.
The pole vault saw two clear 15-0 feet, led by Legend's Jackson Wray, who won the state title with a 15-6 clearance. Grandview's Mateo Munoz added a few inches to his PR, clearing 15-3 to finish second.
Meanwhile the high jump saw the rare occasion of a freshmen winning a state title, as Fruita Monument's Daniel Thomason cleared 6-5 for a massive PR. Fort Collins sophomore Joe Cottingham also cleared 6-5, meaning that we've got a few exciting years ahead of us in the event.
In the discus Kevin Bruxvoort came to Jeffco as the favorite, and made sure to keep it that way. The Rocky Mountain senior tossed just shy of his PR, winning the event with a 169-0. Rangeview's Austin Appiah took second with a toss of 160-06.
The shot put went down to the inches, as Taylor Nichols claimed the event with a 51-7.75 toss.Grandview's Moosah Alsaffar was a close second with a toss of 51-4.75.
In the overall team race pre-meet favorites Grandview proved that they deserved the tag, as they won the team title with 96 points. Cherokee Trail took second with 69 points, while Valor Christian was third with 62.