Before the race even started, the pre-race entry list had pre-state vibes.
Some of the best girls in the state were on the starting line at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational.
There was Pomona's Emma Stutzman. There was Cherry Creek's Addison Price. There was Araphoe's Emily Lamontagne, and Ava Mitchell.
It was a Who's who in the 5A girl's race minus a few big names.
With the girl's 5A state race up for grabs for the first time in four years, this race appeared to be the first Show Down between these four of its titans.
And with a mile to go, all four ladies were still in contention.
As the four ran off for their third loop, spectators hovered around the finish line, waiting for who'd emerge from the final mile victorious.
And it would be Stutzman, followed closely by Lamontagne.
Stutzman kicked hard and held off the Arapahoe senior, and that wasn't the only obstacle she had to overcome over the 3.1-mile course - she also went for a brief swim in the creek crossing early in the race.
Editor's Note: to clarify "swim in the creek": in reality it was a lot less joyful - Stutzman fell in the creek.
The swim was by no-means purposeful, despite sounding pleasant, given the searing 90-degree heat that made nearly every spectator - including the one writing this recap - sweat profusely as they moved around the course.
Despite the fall, the Pomona senior rallied back and ran stride-for-stride with Colorado's best.
The reward was an 17:57 season-opening victory.
Additionally, the time ranks her No. 4 on the All-Time List, and No. 4 in All-Classifications.
As impressive as Stutzman's performance was alone, this star-studded field only added to it - Lamontagne finished just four-seconds back in 18:01 for a runner-up finish. Price was a close third - once again - in 18:09, and Mitchell was fourth in 18:20.
The quartet made up for four of the top-nine performances ever in this meet.
Nevermind that 90-degree heat - they brought the heat to the course.
And they weren't alone - but we'll come back to that.
In the team race both Cherry Creek and Arapahoe were missing a few from their line-ups, though both squads put three inside the top-10. But it would be Cherry Creek taking the victory here with 46 points, while Arapahoe was a stride back with 68 points, and Fossil Ridge was third with 115.
And back to the topic about bringing heat to the course... (read the final line on this page)
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