Emma Stutzman's eyes turned into two big blue circular oceans when she saw the clock.
The Pomona senior had just kicked away from the most competitive field to date in the girl's Sweepstakes race at the Liberty Bell Invitational. While a win over such a loaded field was enough, the time was the icing on the cake.
16:44.0.
(And then she found the lens of my camera snapping every second of the moment.)
The time is the third-fastest ever run on the course, a Colorado No. 1, and - a US No. 1.
Yes - you read that last line correctly. Stutzman's 16:45 from Liberty Bell - run at 5,466-feet of elevation - is currently the fastest time run in the country.
Adding to the impressiveness of her performance, note Stutzman's progress on the Liberty Bell course over the years:
18:36 as a freshman. 17:37 as a sophomore. 17:24 as a junior. And - a 16:44 as a senior.
Oh yeah - and that's a straight-up 5k personal best for her. In other words - not just a Colorado PR, but a PR, PR. And - that's the second-fastest time run in Colorado ever behind Melody Fairchild's 16:36 from 1990, and Brie Oakley 16:44.
Editor's Note: Stutzman's time is actually tied for second.
She's in good company...
While this year's 5A state race looks to be up for grabs, Stutzman has clearly run herself onto the early list of favorites - she's now two-for-two against the best in the state.
And Stutzman wasn't the only one running a PR, or setting a school record - those were plentiful. Saturday morning's cooler weather was ideal for racing, and nearly everyone took advantage of it.
A staggering four girls broke 17 minutes on a course that had only seen it done three times before. If that already isn't making your jaw drop, add that the top-two times in the country - and four of the top-six - came from this meet.
Editor's Note: My apologies for the camera work - it turns out that it's quite difficult taking photos and filming at the same time.
Hot on Stutzman's heels was Ella Hagen. The Summit sophomore is clearly a front-runner for the 4A state title, as she was just a second back in 16:45. That's a massive PR for Hagen. I write "massive" as in over a minute PR for her.
If you missed the second line in the previous paragraph, I'll repeat it - Hagen is just a sophomore.
Onwards with all the fireworks...
Eight-seconds back was Cherry Creek's Addison Price, and Valor Christian's Brooke Wilson, who were clocked at 16:53.3, and 16.53.6.
The performance was Price's third-consecutive third-place finish.
Coming in just on the other side of 17-minutes was Fort Collins' Ella Johns, who had a big Colorado PR of her own, running 17:15.0, while the Arapahoe duo of Emily Lamontagne and Ava Mitchell came in a stride back in 17.15.4, and 17:18.
The team race came with some asterisks, since not every squad ran at full-strength.
Regardless, it was still a highly-competitive affair, and Cherry Creek came out on top.
The Bruins tallied 98 points for a dominating victory. Valor Christian was third with 147 points, while Arapahoe was fourth with 155 - just ahead of Mountain Vista's 160.
And the girl's race wasn't the only one full of fireworks lighting up the morning sky. Like the girl's race, the boy's race was the most competitive it's ever been.
This year's Liberty Bell was quality and quantity.
And Christian Groendyk came out on top.
RESULTS | VIDEOS | PHOTOS
Next Page: Christian Groendyk Makes A Statement...