Mountain Vista made no contest of the girl's race.
The Big Show
Jenna Fitzsimmons long ponytail swayed left and ran while her long arms powered up the hill. With that trademark face of pain and grit painted across her face, she was relentless as she neared the finish. Despite a comfortable gap, the Mountain Vista junior was unwilling to let the pace lag, even just before the line.
Behind her the best in the state were in hot pursuit, and among them a sea of green.
Fitzsimmons took her first big victory of the 2018, running a staggering 17:29 to lead US No. 1 Mountain Vista to a dominating team victory as well.
As impressive as her victory was, so was the individual race right on her heels. Eagle Valley freshman Samantha Blair turned heads as she not only went stride-for-stride with the best in Colorado, she actually attempted to beat them.
Blair led early on, and was only caught in the final mile. She went on to finish second in 17:36. Her efforts, however, didn't go unnoticed. Blair is the younger sister of former school record holder Joslin Blair. Eagle Valley won't have to change much, because a Blair still holds the school record, but now it's Samantha rewriting her sister's record. Adding to the feat is that Samantha ran a PR of 1:23. To rewrite that, that's one-minute, and 23-seconds.
Oh, how many angles can we write this story?
We'll be coming back to that one...
And not to be overlooked, Cherokee Trail freshman Cameron McConnell PRd for the fourth consecutive time - this time by 1:16. She skipped 18 minutes entirely, going from 19:00 to 17:44 to finish fourth at Liberty Bell.
Another angle: Two Freshmen finish in the top-four at Liberty Bell...
Then there's the team competition, or perhaps the lack of one. Mountain Vista made no contest, winning the meet with an eye-opening 34 points. They pumped five in to the top 15, and their top four broke 18 minutes. If you want to know what the best in the country looks like, look at the Mountain Vista girl's squad.
Behind them 5A No. 2 Cherokee Trail held off 4A No. 2 Niwot 93 to 112.
Next Page: Allred runs a JV record, and the fastest time of the day...