“Believe.”

Emily Cohen’s left wrist was marked with the Ted Lasso reference as a reminder of what to do while out on the track.

And it would come to pay off.

The Cherry Creek junior’s motto would be a theme of sorts on the second day of the 2025 Colorado state track and field championships, but we’ll come back to her performance to keep this recap chronological.

Starting the day was the boy’s Class 5A 3,200 final, which featured The Bens — the Mountain Vista duo of Benji Anderson and Ben Adams, and Heritage’s Ben Wolff.

Anderson and Adams set an honest pace that saw them cruise through the opening mile in 4 minutes, 38 seconds.

The Mountain Vista duo kept the pace hovering around 70-seconds per lap, which shed most of the field, leaving the two to battle for the state title over the final lap.

At the bell it was the sophomore — Adams — attacking the race, while his senior teammate gave chase.

“I kept thinking Benji was going to come up on me,” Adams admitted. “I was just giving it everything I had that last lap.”

It was a final lap that resembled plenty of workouts for Adams and Anderson, and this time it was Adams who held off Anderson over the final strides to capture his first state title, clocking 9:07.93 to Anderson’s 9:08.60.

“Really, it didn’t matter who won,” Adams said. “To get first and second and get 18 points for the team. We could be close to winning it this year — that’s really the whole goal.”

Note: Heading into the final day of competition, Mountain Vista currently leads with 37-points. Eaglecrest is a close second with 31.

Wolff took third, six seconds back in 9:14.

Back to Cohen and that girl’s 5A 3,200, which came down to a fiery kick as well.

At the bell four were still in contention — Cherry Creek’s Cohen, Fossil Ridge’s Tatum Berg, Mountain Vista’s Keeghan Edwards, and Heritage’s Emry Schwalm.

Cohen was the first to attack, though Berg was able to latch on to her blazing kick.

The two entered the final straight nearly side-by-side, though Cohen was relentless. The Cherry Creek junior finally made the jump from being In The Race, to Winning it.

Cohen took the state title, clocking 10:27.70 to Berg’s 10:27.85.

“It just feels so surreal,” Cohen said, who had written “believe” in black marker on her left wrist. “That was just such a fun race. I’m just so grateful for all the people who believe in me.”

Several hours later introductions were in order, as Alamosa freshman Ethan Merrick stunned the field by running away with the 3A 3,200 state title, clocking 9:41 — a personal best by 10-seconds.

Meanwhile, the girls 3A was unfortunately not without some controversy.

Five girls were disqualified for cutting in to early. Among them was pre-race favorite Delaney Reuter.

Adding salt on the wound was the fact that all of those who were DQ’d raced through eight laps without knowing that their performances wouldn’t count.

It’s of note that Reuter simply dominated the field. The Eaton sophomore set a hot early pace and was well over a straightaway ahead of the field.

Upon finishing a lengthy process ensued as the results had to be revised and the five who would be DQ’d learned of the bad news.

Alamosa’s Elizabeth McQuitty — who finished second in the unrevised results — was moved up to first.

While the moment was heavy for everyone, it led to perhaps the most heartful moment of the day.

After the awards were dolled out, Reuter, along with the other runners who did finish in a podium position prior to the DQ, were ushered up to their actual finishing spots on the podium to the thunderous applause of the crowd.

McQuitty was seen handing her first-place medal to Reuter.

The word “sportsmanship” comes to mind.

A highlight in the 800 came in the 3A race, where Reuter rebounded (barely two hours after the 3,200) to battle Coal Ridge’s Effie Fletcher and Delta’s Paige Kehmeier to the line.

Fletcher, whose meteoric rise this season has stunned the state, once again proved to be the real deal, as she captured her first state title, clocking 2:16.73.

Meanwhile, the boy’s 3A race was a Fagerlin family affair, as Jackson Fagerlin defended his state title, clocking 1:54.59, while his freshman brother was second in 1:56.33.

The two will battle in the 1,600 Saturday.

In the 4A 800 Sage Siegrist would not be denied. The  Grand Junction Central junior saved her best performance for last, torching a 4A No. 1 of 2:11.96 to win the event by nearly two-seconds.

On the topic of torching, the 5A 800s went to script, sort of.

Denver East’s Rosie Mucharsky completed the rare feat of three-peating in the event, having won it as a sophomore and junior.

Wind played a crucial role in strategy, as the Denver East senior usually sets the pace from the gun, though this time she hung back and timed her potent kick late. Lakewood’s Eliana Angelino nearly stole the show, as she pushed Mucharsky all the way to the line, but Mucharsky’s trademark kick prevailed once again.

Both were clocked at 2:09, which Mucharsky defended her title by clocking 2:09.26 to Angelino’s 2:09.73.

Of additional note, that was a three-second personal best for Angelino.

Likewise, Ben Lee defended his state title in the 800 was a furious kick of his own. The ThunderRidge junior torched the final 200 — and the field — to run the fastest 800 in Colorado this season, clocking 1:51.42.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the girls 4A 4×200 came down to the line, and required a few moments of waiting to sift through the hundredths-of-a-second it took to separate Niwot and Windsor.

Windor’’s Kiana Cumings — who we’ll see in several sprint finals Saturday — nearly kicked down Niwot’s Reese Kasper in the final meters.

But Kasper — who we’ll see in several hurdle finals Saturday — held on to give Niwot the state title, clocking 1:38.86 to Windsor’s 1:38.90.

Of additional note, Kasper blazed a 41.75 in the 300 hurdle prelims — that’ s just off her Colorado best.

On the field University’s Nicholas Rothe starred, clearing 16-0 for a 3A state meet record in the pole vault.

Likewise, Roosevelt’s Braelyn Bailey cleared 5-9 to win the 4A high jump in a state meet record.

In the throws Idalia’s Jaylyn Kechter claimed the 1A discus state title in 138-02 — also a 1A state meet record.

We’ve got one more day of competition at Jeffco Stadium as the 2025 Colorado track & field season enters its final lap!