Judgment Day is coming at last for Class D.

This year a storied group of seniors are getting set to begin their last campaign together in D, one that started back in 2010 as 7th graders in a States race that saw one of them win the title and four others in their class finish among the top 14 at Pawling. In the last five States D meets they have piled up a total of three individual titles and 20 Top 10 finishes (plus 2 more from a long retired ex-member of the group), and they have been the driving force on the last five Class D team champion winners. They captured the top 6 spots in last year's States D. After some years when there have been no seniors among the top 10-15 returning Class D runners, this year they comprise 8 of the top 9 returners (Greenwich freshman Annabel Gregg snuck in among the elders in the 7th spot).

So to Sage Hurta, Ashleigh Crawford, Tori Spezio, Hope Pietrocarlo, Margaret Champagne, Kaycie Saucier, Ellen Jaworski, and Kirsten Ratliff from this year's top returners and a larger group of senior veterans that include Hannah Seiders, Leah Livernois, Christina Platt, Hannah Jungck, Brittany Higgs, Morgan Munger, and all the rest -- this year's for you. And know that there will never be another class with such a wide breadth of spectacular achievements in Class D. Just not happening ever again.

Last year it was Hamilton's Sage Hurta who made history by winning her second States title four years after taking her first one, another record feat likely never to be repeated. Hurta won her first crown by 15 seconds on a hard-packed course at Pawling, and she doubled the margin last year to win by an incredible 30 seconds in a mud rat's delight at Canton. In 2010 it was Maple Grove's Pietrocarlo teaming with fellow 7th grader Megan Marsh (now a swimmer) and a stray senior (Caroline Benson) to push her team to the States title, and last year from the Class of 2016 it was Crawford and Jaworski leading Tully to its 2nd straight championship. This year the preseason favorite for the title is a Greenwich team led by senior Tori Spezio, who was the runner-up in the D race as a freshman in 2012.

The battle this year between a Greenwich team returning to Class D after a one-year stint in Class C and the twice reigning champs Tully should be spectacular. But two other senior-led teams also will be looking to give some feedback on who should be the 2015 Class D champs, as Margaret Champagne's Seton Catholic-Plattsburgh group and Kaycie Saucier's Norwood-Norfolk team have deep enough squads to fight for the title. Maple Grove has also been rebuilding and has an outside shot in Pietrocarlo's final year as they try to win their 4th title in 6 years.

Despite the big group of senior talent ready to battle for the Class D individual title, it would raise a lot of eyebrows to tout the chances of anyone but Sage Hurta after her dominating win last year. The top five finishers behind Hurta last year are back however, including Tully's Ashleigh Crawford, Seton Catholic's Margaret Champagne, Norwood-Norfolk's Kaycie Saucier, Maple Grove's Hope Pietrocarlo, and Tully's Ellen Jaworski. Greenwich's Tori Spezio and Annabel Gregg are also in the hunt after running in Class C last year.

2015 will be a year of the wonderful kind of senior moments from a group that has already been judged the greatest long before Judgment Day rolls around again on November 14. Take the time to enjoy the remaining days we have to watch them dazzle us on the trails.

The top 5 finishers from last year's States Class D race cross the bridge at Cnton. All were juniors and included from left to right: Seton Catholic's Margaret Champagne, Norwood-Norfolk's Kaycie Saucier, Hamilton's Sage Hurta, Tully's Ashleigh Crawford, and Maple Grove's Hope Pietrocarlo.