Addy Ritzenhein cruised over orange and yellow leaves.

Autumn had clearly arrived as the Niwot senior motored onwards a half mile into the Granite Peaks Championships, and she was already alone.

“Shot out of a cannon…”

Ritzenhein pumped her arms and lifted her knees in a stride that oozed efficiency. She took light steps and inched away from the entire field just minutes into the race.

“I’m defying gravity…”

Watching her effortlessly telescope away at such a hot clip, I couldn’t help but think of the catchy melody of Andrew McMahon’s poppy 2017 hit “Shot out of a cannon.”

“We could fall or we could fly, or we could borrow winds of tighter standing…”

Ritzenhein moved over the course as if defying the slowing effects of gravity; indeed, she was flying.

The Niwot senior lit the course on fire to McMahon’s rhythmic beats and burned down the previous record, clocking 17 minutes, 5 seconds, for a 51-second victory. The performance also took over 40-seconds off the previous course record.

“With this being my second race this season I really wanted to practice getting out hard (to prepare) for the races later in the season,” Ritzenhein shared. “I was like I might as well go for it from the start, there’s nothing to lose.”

The win marked her second consecutive victory this season, following up her title defense of the Desert Twilight Invitational two weeks ago.

The Niwot senior is currently ranked No. 2 in the country, and is eyeing to reclaim the Nike Cross National title in Portland, Ore. In December.

“As of right now I’m very, very excited where I’m at,” she shared. “I can see a bright future in the post-season. I definitely have some skills and fitness to build, but I’m very happy with where I’m at.”

And where she’s at is just three weeks into a new training block, meaning she’s in the very early stages of her build up for the season ahead.

A subtle reminder (and to switch songs): Ritzenhein just demolished the course record like Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball, and nearly cracked 17 minutes on a course that has only seen a handful of girls break 18.

While Ritzenhhein was off soloing a victory, Anna Prok was soloing a runner-up finish, giving Niwot 1-2 punch by finishing second in 17:56.

Broomfield freshman Savannah Fernandez held her own, finishing third in 18:04, while Fairview’s Martina Riley was fourth in 18:12.

In the team competition, Niwot put all five scoring runners in the top-11, despite not running Scarlett Parks, who’s been a consistent No. 3 for them.

Niwot tallied 27 points to claim the team title by over 30 points. Fairview took second with 60, while Broomfield took third with 111.

With 600 meters to go in the boys race Hunter Robbie led Niwot teammate Rocco Culpepper by a stride.

The scene looked familiar — Culpepper quietly hunting in the shadows, preparing to unleash his signature kick that’s proven to be lethal nearly every time.

Nearly.

I write “nearly” because on this day, it wasn’t.

The following minute did play out as anticipated, with Culpepper pushing the figurative Booster button on his belt, quickly shifting gears and slingshotting to the lead.

But what happened in the final second of the final minute was not exactly anticipated.

And that’s Robbie The Hunter taking the stinger out of Culpepper’s kick, flicking it to the side, and racing true to his nickname.

Robbie kicked down Culpepper in the final stride to take the victory, clocking 15:02.66 to Culpepper’s 15:02.76.

Quinn Sullivan made it a Niwot 1-2-3, clocking 15:11 to finish third, while Erie’s Reid O’Brien denied the Cougars a perfect 15 points by finishing fourth in 15:12.83, which was just ahead of Niwot’s Ryder Keeton, who was fifth in 15:12.87.

No one really needed to tally up the points to decipher who won the team race, as Niwot freshman Jude Ritzenhein stopped their tally as the fifth runner by finishing seventh in 15:13.

Niwot put seven inside the top-11, and tallied 18 points for a dominating team victory. Erie took second with O’Brien and Brett Michalski crashing the Cougar party inside the top-six, tallying 62 points, while Fairview finished third with 111.

Of additional note on Niwot’s domination and depth is the fact that their 1-5 split was just 11 seconds — that’s why they’re the No. 1 ranked team in the country in the latest Dyestat rankings.

(Bobby Reyes)

Run Around The State

Warrior Lincoln Park Classic: Summit’s Jay McDonald torched a nation-leading, course record of 14:18 to win this one, though it comes with a bit of an asterisk — it’s been confirmed on several Strava accounts that the course was not a full 3.1-miles, but closer to 3 miles. Regardless, that’s a great run for McDonald. Dylan Blair took second in 14:28, which was just ahead of Noah Thompson’s 14:32.

Cheyenne Mountain’s Raegan McRae won the girls race in 16:52, and was joined under 17 by Kayla Brocker, who ran 16:59. Coal Ridge’s Effie Fletcher took third in 17:03.

Northern Conference/Longs Peak Championships: Thompson Valley’s Trent Gabrielson took a tight win over Fort Collins’ Cadel Ruthven, clocking 15:28 to Ruthven’s 15:29.

Fossil Ridge’s Avery Britigam took the girls race, clocking 18:05. Fort Collins’ Delany Johns was a close runner-up in 18:11.

Centennial League Championships: Cherry Creek’s Emily Cohen took the victory, clocking 17:57. Cherokee Trail’s Maddy Lange was second in 18:05, just ahead of Arapahoe’s Maeve Vancik, who finished third in 18:06.

Cherry Creek’s Nicholas Roseman took the title, running 16:07. Cherokee Trail’s Dylan Smith was second in 16:14.

CSML South League: Coronado boys with the perfect 15 points, led by Oliver Horton’s 16:33. Coronado’s 1-5 split was an insane 1-second, as they put all five scoring runners between 16:33 and 16:34.

Patriot League Championships: Eaton’s Delany Reuter picked up another dominating victory, clocking 17:10.

Rocky Mountain League Championships: Riverdale Ridge’s Payton Meineke ran away with the girls race, clocking 17:30 — a minute-and-a-half victory.

The Boulder boys swept the top-five top tally a perfect 15 points, led by Lucas Wik’s 16:01. Boulder’s 1-5 split was 16-seconds.

Tri Peaks/Black Forrest Championships: Alamosa’s Ethan Merrick took the title, running 15:40. Lamar’s Joel Davis was second in 15:52.

Air Academy Kadet Invitational: Air Academy’s Chamorra Cooper and Jordan Banta went 1-2, with Cooper taking the win in 18:02, and Banta finished in the runner-up spot in 18:11.

Air Academy’s Carson Smith made it a Kadet sweep of the individual races, claiming the boys race in 15:32.