Heather Holt

The top girls performances delivered at the Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational in meet history.

Adam Maal, a face likely to soon be a bit more familiar on Colorado cross country circuits, took third at Saturday's Liberty Point 5K in Pueblo. Colorado Track XC file photo by Alan Versaw.

Savannah Mercado was one of a herd of Impalas having outstanding days at their home invitational. Photo by Ben Hershelman.

If you fade the singlet color into purple, you will see Fort Collins' answer to the graduation of Josie Natrasevschi. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Okay, so we'll do a little spoiler here and tell you up front that Dior Hall's story ranks #1. Colorado Track XC file photo by Paul Jaeger.

Based on Desert Twilight and overall season performance, Katie Rainsberger looks like the one to beat at NXR-SW. Photo by Alan Versaw.

By the time Lauren Gregory dropped into the creek crossing at state she had forged an insurmountable lead. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

When you lay out all the factors leading to Fort Collins' stunning 5A girls title, possibly no factor looms larger than Heather Holt's eight-place finish. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Do you like showdowns? They don't come prepackaged much better than this one. Photos by Ashley Green, Alan Versaw.

Kate Leatherman's success this season has been a big part of the Fossil Ridge success story. Photo by Ashley Green.

The picture is starting to look brighter once again for Heather Holt and her Fort Collins teammates. Photo by Ashley Green.

Joshua Joseph bided his time early, then buried the field for a winning margin of 31 seconds. Colorado Track XC file photo by Alan Versaw.

Whether in track or in cross country, it's hard to think of Fort Collins without this kind of scene coming to mind. Colorado Track XC file photo by Alan Versaw.

Fort Collins took flight when it counted, narrowly beating Davis and earning an NXN berth. (Photo by Margot Kelly)

Seniors and NXN veterans Audrey Oweimrin and Kari Van Zyl helped to key the biggest upset of the day at NXR-SW. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Add Abby Cohen to the ever-expanding list of Legacy standouts. Photo by Paul Jaeger.

Rocky Mountain will be counting on Kacey Doner for some big production this fall. Colorado Track XC file photo.

If you're a fan of 5A girls cross country, you already recognize most of these faces--and you realize that they're all back for more this year. Photo by Jeff McCoy.

One message has shown through in the last five weeks. Whether you put Elise Cranny, Heather Bates, and Katie Rainsberger on hills, in mud, or on a flat and fast course, they are among the very best in the nation. Here, Elise Cranny crosses the NXN finish line in seventh. Photo by Patty Morgan.

By the midway point of the race Erin Hooker had pulled even with Heather Bates and was applying the pressure to wrest the lead from Bates's hands. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Cerake Geberkidane is making a habit of leaving fields in his dust. This week it was the Arvada West Invite field. Photo by Alan Versaw.