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For a few minutes no one knew who won the boys mile.
Matthew Edwards kicked furiously over the final 70 meters and caught Josh Shriver on the line.
Literally.
But there was no clear winner.
So the two hung around the finish and caught there breath while the timers went to work sorting out the hundredths-of-a-second it would take to declare a winner.
It was that close.
And when the verdict came in, it was three-hundredths-of-a-second.
Mark Roberts came over the intercom with the news.
"They don't actually know who won yet," he said. "So we're going to announce that now."
Edwards and Shriver were ushered over towards Roberts for a post-race interview, and for the result of the race they were still catching their breath from.
"Really tight finish," Roberts started. "In first place, in 4:30.08 was Matthew Edwards. Second place was Joshua Shiver in 4:30.11."
Photo by Tim McDonald
Edwards and Shiver shared exhausted smiles and shook hands in the kind of camaraderie that only athletes who have pushed each other to the limit know.
It's a mutual respect.
Edwards and Shriver lived up to the hype in the boys mile at the Air Force High School Indoor Open just outside Colorado Springs, Colo.
The race produced the two fastest times run in the Colorado this indoor season.
And not far behind them was Cheyenne Mountain sophomore Aiden Le Roux, who finished third in 4:32.77 for the No. 3 time in Colorado this season.
Meet records were falling with the snow Saturday. While the weather did tamper with pieces of the 2024 edition of the Air Force HS Indoor Open, those who could make the trip sure made the most of it...
While Edwards and Shriver took the boys mile to the line and had to wait it out to figure who actually won, Isabel Allori made no contest of the girls mile.
The Liberty Common senior torched the field from start to finish to run a new meet record of 4:57.69.
That's a state-leading mark by 22-seconds.
But let's break this down for a moment.
The Cadet Field House sits at 7,048-feet. The NCAA altitude conversion for the mile is just over 11-seconds.
That would convert Allori's 4:57 to a 4:46 - that would be put her performance within the top-two in the country this indoor season.
And to think - this was her first competition since finishing fourth at Nike Cross Nationals last December.
Sticking with the theme of coming out on fire.
Photo by Tim McDonald
Karamoko Sacko sliced a massive tenth-of-a-second off his 60H personal best to dominate the event.
The race might've only been 60-meters long, but Sacko won this won by nearly half-a-second. He blazed a state-leading, US No. 5 of 7.82.
Likewise, Gabriella Cunningham continued her stellar indoor campaign, as she ran away from the field to win the 60H in 8.56 - that was just under a half-a-second of a victory. Earlier she ran a Colorado PR of 8.49 - that's also a CO No. 1 - in the prelims.
Cunningham's day didn't end there, however.
She came back to down a stellar field in the 200, running a state-leading 24.82 - that's also an indoor PR for her in the event, and just off her 24.78 outdoor PR.
And then there was the pole vault...
Oh did this one live up to the hype.
Starting on the boy's side here, coming in from California was Khaliq Muhammad, and he cleared a US No. 10 of 16-4.75.
The girl's side of the competition saw a ton of fireworks, which included three US Top-10 performances, a meet record, and a US No. 1.
Leading the Coloradans was Kourtney Rathke, who was just a few inches off her season-best, clearing 13-5.5 for a runner-up finish - that's the eighth-consecutive time she's been over 13-feet this season.
But the day belonged to Jathiyah Muhammad.
Muhammad not only broke Rathke's 13-9.25 meet record, set just last year, Muhammed soared well over 14-feet...
First she cleared 14-4 for a nation-leading mark by two-inches.
Then she shot well beyond the moon.
The crowd roared to life as Muhammad cleared 14-7.25 for a US No. 1. Add that it's the fourth-highest clearance all-time.
Muhammad had competed just once this indoor season - a 13-0 clearance at the California Winter Championship Qualifier. During the 2023 outdoor season she cleared 14-feet five times, including a 14-3 PR.
But Saturday she clearly soared to new heights.
