Leaving the pursuit in her wake, TCA senior Shelby Stableford ran to a winning time of 18:26. Photo by Paul Jaeger.
There was one tighly-contested team contest at Fountain Creek Regional Park on Friday, and then the floodgates opened.
The afternoon began with the 2A Region 2 boys. Vanguard, Fountain Valley, Peyton, and Rocky Ford each came with solid teams and high hopes of making it through to state. They didn't count on first place being settled by a tie-breaker or on four points separating the next three teams.
Vanguard squeaked out the regional title on the strength of a fourth from Joe Donelson and a sixth from Forrest Garrison. But it was a long time before the outcome looked anything like certain. Rocky Ford's hand looked strong with a 4-9-10, but being down one man to an FFA conference may have done in the Meloneers title hopes. At the tie-breaker, Vanguard took the regional title with a 22-26 advantage over Rocky Ford.
Peyton freshman Jake Erickso...