Individuals
Like the girl's individual race, the boys race looks like it has a favoriteS, but with a lean.
And Christian Groendyk's got that lean.
The Fort Collins senior is riding a streak of five consecutive victories, including big wins at Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational, where he ran a state-leading 14:48, and the Desert Twilight XC Festival.
Both of those victories came in tight races that came down to the wire, meaning he's battle-tested.
Groendyk's long list of beaten foes includes Cherokee Trail's Hunter Strand, who finished two-seconds back in 14:50 at Liberty Bell, Valor's Dane Eike, Erie's Evan Kraus, and Mountain Vista's Benjamin Anderson - all who he beat at Liberty Bell.
And all who are likely to be in the running for the 5A state title.
But what's a bit ironic here is that this race looks eerily similar to the one on the previous page...
The one runner who Groendyk hasn't raced this season is Mountain Vista's Tyler Downs, who did not race at Liberty Bell.
Downs has won every 5k he's raced this season, including Saturday's 5A Region 2 Championships.
And if the boy's race wasn't already convoluted enough, add the Chaparral duo of Brennan Draper, and the defending state champion Tanner Brown.
Draper is coming in hot off his 5A Region 1 victory, where he ran 15:53 - that's his second victory of his season. Meanwhile Brown was second at regionals in 15:58, and hasn't won a race this season.
But -
A year ago Brown flew well under the radar throughout the season. He picked up two wins - Dave Sanders, 5A Region 5 title. He toed the line at the State Championships with a 15:53 season best - from his region victory. As history knows now, he went on to kick to the 5A state title.
So -
Brown, while beaten by every name in this preview, cannot be overlooked.
Teams
Unlike the individual race, where we sort of have an idea of what we'll likely see, the team race appears entirely up for grabs.
Prior to the region championships this race looked like it was a three-way between Valor Christian, Cherokee Trail, and Mountain Vista.
After the region championships, enter: Rock Canyon.
Valor's bright spot this season came with their tight victory over Cherokee Trail at Desert Twilight. They've got the fastest 1-2-3 punch of any squad, which could bode well in a big race where they're three are adding single-digits to their overall team tally. The question to be answered is how they fare this Saturday - they were beaten at regionals by Rock Canyon, though it's of additional note that Valor's usual No. 5 was not in the race.
Cherokee Trail has been consistent all season. They won Liberty Bell (over Valor), and more recently won the 5A Region 1 with five in the top-15, and six in the top-16 - that's big. That last part there. The depth of having a sixth runner potentially mix with your four or five can be a game changer in a tight team race.
Meanwhile Mountain Vista has quietly been dominant in Colorado all season. They've run a varying roster, making them harder to read. The defending state champs head to Colorado Springs without such an intense bullseye on their back, but you can't count them out - you never can. It's Vista Nation. Even when running partial squads, they've claimed dominating team titles. They're coming off a victory at the Colorado 5A Region 2 Cross Country, where they raced without their No. 2, Anderson.
And then there's Rock Canyon. They've been on the outside-looking-in at the top-three ranked squads all season, but regionals changed that. They upset the Colorado Coaches Poll No. 1 Valor, tallying 41 points to Valor's 46. Rock Canyon hasn't run on any fast courses this fall - but hey, the state meet course isn't fast anyway.
Who takes the boy's team title? We'll know Saturday...
The boy's race is scheduled for 9:40 a.m.