It took just over two miles for the boy's race to see some relief.
Sean Beasley and Dawit James made this a two-runner race early. And so it was the Jefferson Academy junior, and the Straburg freshman battling it out into the final mile.
In the end it was Beasley with the flex, running 16:51 for the title. The win marks Beasley's first victory ever on a high school cross country course.
James was 10-seconds back in 17:01.
The Strasburg freshman definitely turned some heads - including Beasley, who was impressed with the battle.
Cole Thomas nearly paced this one to perfection. The Lyons senior kicked hard over the final mile, nearly catching James, but he'd run out of real estate. He still was rewarded for his efforts with a third-place finish in 17:05.
Jefferson Academy put three inside the top-five with Aden Garza, and Rylan Mills, who ran 17:10, and 17:19.
With the team race leaning in their favor, they sealed the deal with Levi Hinson finishing 15th, and Caleb Delalio closing the door with a 53rd-place finish.
Jefferson Academy tallied 76-points to claim the team title. Peak to Peak took third with 117 points, while Lyons tallied 119 - and like the Heritage Christian girls, they'll only need four scorers at State, so their third-place finish here shows some great depth.