"There wasn't really a plan..." Milaina Almonte admitted. "Just run fast."
Within the opening half-mile of the Warrior Lincoln Park Classic (SWL Championships), the girl's race had already been whittled down to three - Battle Mountain's Almonte and Lindsey Whitton, and Fruita Monument's Ella Unrein.
The trio would race as such for another two miles before Almonte and Whitton turned the race into a duo in the final half-mile.
Just run fast.
The Battle Mountain duo attacked the final half-mile of the race, separating themselves from Unrein. Onwards into the final red-lining of every race Almonte's admission of "just run fast" came to fruition - the Battle Mountain senior endured the hot pace to out-last the entire field.
Almonte picked up her first win on a cross country course in a Colorado personal best of 18:23.
Whitton was a close second in 18:30, giving Battle Mountain a 1-2 finish to mirror the boy's race.
Unrein finished third in 18:41, just ahead of North Fork's Jessica Black, who kicked late to finish fourth in 18:42.
While it looked like a team battle between Battle Mountain and Fruita Monument early on, Battle Mountain turned the tables pretty quickly...
Lindsey Kiehl, Presley Smith, and Kira Hower closed the door, finishing 8-9-10, to cap Battle Mountain's scoring at an impressive 30 points.
Fruita Monument took second with 56 points, while Steamboat Springs won the battle for third over Montrose with their sixth runner, as both squads tallied 91 points.
Almonte went on to finish ninth at the 2022 4A Colorado State Cross Country Championships several weeks after claiming the SWL title.
Watch the race play out above!