Individuals
We've got a great individual race on tap...
Liberty Common's Isabel Allori and Basalt's Katelyn Maley haven't raced each other this season.
One (Allori) hasn't lost a race this season. The other (Maley) is the two-time defending state champion.
Both have broken 18 minutes this season.
Allori has won a staggering six consecutive races this fall, including a personal best of 17:20 at the Wyoming Cross Country Invitational.
Perhaps Allori's most telling victory is the St. Vrain Cross Country Invitational, where she beat 4A star Ella Hagen - this result will give us a little context as we compare the two...
A year ago Allori finished fifth at the 3A Colorado State Cross Country Championships, but she clearly made The Jump during the track season - she won the 1,600 and 3,200 state titles.
While Maley doesn't head to Colorado Springs with an unblemished record, she has raced up - against 4A/5A runners a bit more frequently this fall.
She's coming off a victory at the Colorado 3A Region 1 Cross Country, and she's run under 19 minutes every time she's toed the line.
One runner Allori and Maley both raced this season was Hagen - Maley finished second to Hagen at the Rifle XC Invitational.
After these two, the race really opens up.
Salida's Quinn Smith, and Stargate's Allison Pippert look to be the next likely to cross the finish line inside Penrose Stadium.
Both are coming off region victories. Pippert has six victories to her name this season, while Smith has three.
Teams
At the beginning of the season it looked like TCA's streak of four-consecutive state titles was in jeopardy. They dispelled that thought pretty quickly, as they reloaded.
But still - this team race looks insanely tight.
We'll start with TCA, since they're the four-time defending state champions...
They had two very impressive team wins at the Longs Peak Invitational, and the Running From The Past Classic.
At full-strength they are definitely in the mix. They're coming off a runner-up finish at the Colorado 3A Region 5 Cross Country - against Kent Denver.
It's of note, however, that their runner-up finish at Regionals came without their usual No. 1 runner Cassidy McDonald in the lineup.
And they'll need her Saturday - because Alamosa is as strong as they've ever been.
Alamosa is coming off a dominating Colorado 3A Region 2 Cross Country victory where they tallied 24 points. Add that they've won nearly every race when they've run at full-strength.
Could this be Alamosa's year?
Neither TCA or Alamosa have run on any insanely fast courses this year, though between the two, Alamosa has a faster 1-5 average, but not by much. Both squads have averaged just over a minute from their 1-5 runners throughout the season.
And if Regionals told us anything, it's that this team race is going to be soo close, that every runner will count.
Holy Family is on the cusp of an upset if all the pieces fall into place - like they did at the Colorado 3A Region 3 Cross Country, which they won with 29 points and with all five-scoring runners inside the top-nine.
Likewise, we have to take a look at the team that beat TCA at Regionals - Kent Denver.
Kent Denver is coming off a 35-38 victory over TCA at the Colorado 3A Region 5 Cross Country. What's additionally impressive is how they won - they literally went 1-2-3-5. They've got a solid top-four, though they'll need all five to do big things at State.
This one could go down to the single digits...
The girl's race is scheduled for 9 a.m.