Running with the most select crowd, but with no teammates in uniform supporting him on the Norris-Penrose Event Center course last Saturday, Bayfield senior Sloan Mazur worked his way forward through the Class 3A Boys' Cross-Country State Championships field.
With Arvada-based Faith Christian's John McDonough (18:34.2) and Antonio Blaine (18:35.4) just in front of him, Mazur out-stepped Greeley University senior Ryan Lang by three-tenths of a second at the finish line, finishing 117th out of 160 entrants in 18 minutes, 36.4 seconds.
Mazur's time was a personal record on that course, and he ran the five kilometers about 45 seconds faster than he did at the pre-state meet on Aug. 25, with a time of 19:22. State was the 30th race of Mazur's cross-country career, where he logged 93 miles of competitive running.
"I was very happpy with how the race went, and he ran as good as he could have," said Coach Josh Walton. "The key part is he improved from the beginning of the year."
Split times at state showed Mazur logging his first mile in 5:43-about 36 ticks behind the early top-ten pack including eventual winner Mason Norman, a sophomore at The Classical Academy in Colorado Springs.
One second behind eventual runner-up David Fine (junior, Elizabeth) and third-placer Blake Davis (senior, Lamar) at the one-mile mark, 5:07 to 5:06, Norman had pulled even by the two-mile checkpoint and then separated to register a final time of 15:56.7. Fine then followed in 16:02.1, and Davis in 16:17.5.
First-place against BHS and others at the Region I Championships the previous Friday in Delta, Gunnison junior Colton Stice ran alongside Norman for the first mile, but trailed him by about four seconds after the second and ultimately finished eighth in 16:31.1.
Led by junior Elijah De La Cerda (14th, 16:38.3), Alamosa turned in the Intermountain League's best group effort and took fourth place with 147 points-trailing only Lafayette Peak to Peak (146), Highlands Ranch SkyView Academy (118) and TCA (82) in meet-low scoring.
CLASS 3A BOYS' INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS (top 5 of 160 total): 1.Mason Norman, Colorado Springs The Classical Academy, 15:56.7; 2.David Fine, Elizabeth, 16:02.1; 3.Blake Davis, Lamar, 16:17.5; 4.Levi Chambers, Greeley Frontier Academy, 16:25.3; 5.Kyle McCabe, Broomfield Holy Family, 16:26.9.
CLASS 3A BOYS' TEAM STANDINGS (top 5 of 20 total): 1.Colorado Springs The Classical Academy 82, 2.Highlands Ranch SkyView Academy 118, 3.Lafayette Peak to Peak 146, 4.Alamosa 147, 5.Greeley Frontier Academy 160.
