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COLORADO SPRINGS — When Rosie Mucharsky’s signature “Beast Mode” takes over, good luck trying to catch her.

The Denver East junior surprised a loaded Class 5A field Saturday at the CHSAA cross country state championships at the Norris Penrose Event Center to claim her first cross country crown. With the phrase painted on the back of her legs and pointing to a bracelet on her wrist with it after a winning time of 17 minutes, 28.8 seconds, Mucharsky dug deep in the final mile to earn an emphatic win.

“You just get a boost of energy when you do something you do not expect to do at all,” Mucharsky said. “All of it (was a surprise). I was hoping to get top-five. There’s some incredible girls running in this race, and I love running with them. I had literally no idea that that was going to happen.”

It was noticeable in just how much she beat the rest of the field: a 17.3-second gap over Air Academy’s Tessa Walter, who took second with a time of 17:46.1. The Kadets went on to win the team title with five of the top eight runners across the line, totaling 26 points. Air Academy’s Bethany Michalak, a North Carolina State commit, was the clear favorite heading into the race. She led by a healthy 16-second margin after two miles but fell back in the last mile and finished sixth.

Mucharsky was surprised at her final mile, which came in at a blazing pace.

“The last mile, the long stretch is usually when I get in my head, but I started to think positive and I just started thinking ‘I’m so grateful to be able to run today, and with this amazing competition.’ … I stopped focusing on the pain and it was like, ‘I’ve gotta go.’ I was in a really good place and I didn’t know I was going to catch her at all.”

When the junior, who won the 800-meter run in the state track and field championship last spring, turned the corner to enter the arena? It all sank in.

“It’s the most unreal feeling in the world when you turn the corner and you’re ahead. You’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s no way this is real.'”

Chap’s Draper claims title in 5A boys

Chaparral’s Brennan Draper was always expected to be in the mix heading into the 5A boys race. And as long as you’re in the mix, anything can happen. For the senior, it resulted in a first title after battling injuries throughout much of his high school career.

Draper won the race with a time of 15:14.4 and beat the favorite, Benjamin Anderson from Mountain Vista, by 3.6 seconds (15:19.0). Anderson was ranked No. 38 in the country by MileSplit heading into Saturday.

For Draper, emptying the tank meant giving every ounce he had to cross the finish line first 鈥� a goal he’s wanted to achieve since the seventh grade.

“I was just hoping (Anderson) wouldn’t catch me; I didn’t want anything to spare,” Draper said. “I didn’t look back or anything like that 鈥� I’m a little winded right now.”

Given the strong field, it was understandable. Nine different schools were represented in the top 10 finishers. In the end, Rock Canyon won the team title and held off Mountain Vista by nine points. But what matters to Draper is getting the top individual spot after years of hard work.

“It means victory,” Draper said. “It’s amazing. I was filled with joy in the end. I was trying to hold it in the whole week and not think about the race. Then, the gun went off and I was really excited to get out there. Normally I’m nervous, but not today.

“I was injured for about half of high school, on and off, and I’d swim two hours a day and I hated it,” Draper said about his recovery. “I figured it’d pay off and I was doing it so hard. I trained really consistently, and right when August started, I think that peaked me at the right time to execute today.”

CHSAA state cross country meet

Norris Penrose Event Center

Distance: 5 kilometer

BOYS

Class 5A

Team results: 1. Rock Canyon, 96; 2. Mountain Vista, 105; 3. Fairview, 118; 4. Valor Christian, 123; 5. Grandview, 213.

Class 4A

Team results: 1. Niwot, 58; 2. Cheyenne Mountain, 104; 3. Thompson Valley, 146; 4. Coronado, 151; 5. Eagle Valley, 190.

Class 3A

Team results: 1. The Classical Academy, 48; 2. Berthoud, 81; 3. Frontier Academy, 88; 4. Salida, 150; 5. Jefferson Academy, 162.

Class 2A

Team results: 1. Wiggins, 41; 2. Clear Creek, 73; 3. Banning Lewis Prep, 102; 4. Golden View Classical Academy 104; 5. Rocky Ford, 106.

GIRLS

Class 5A

Team results: 1. Air Academy, 26; 2. Fossil Ridge, 120; 3. Chaparral, 134; 4. Cherry Creek, 135; 5. Mountain Vista, 143.

Class 4A

Team results: 1. Niwot, 20; 2. Cheyenne Mountain, 150; 3. Northfield, 150; 4. Conifer, 155; 5. Summit, 183.

Class 3A

Team results: 1. The Classical Academy, 69; 2. Peak to Peak, 133; 3. Holy Family, 134; 4. Alamosa, 146; 5. Salida, 162.

Class 2A

Team results: 1. Heritage Christian, 37; 2. Lake County, 47; 3. Banning Lewis Prep, 69; 4. Caprock Academy, 84; 5. Denver Christian, 100.

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