AURORA — Let it be said that the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds course that will host this year's state cross country meet next month is both fair and brutal.

Most of the nearly 2,000 harriers that came to the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial pre-state meet had rave reviews for the hilly test, but others gave way to the dusty terrain and the early September heat.

"That course is not easy; it might be fast, but it's not easy," said Columbine senior Woody Kincaid, who finished in 16 minutes, 11.32 seconds and outkicked Palmer's Andrew Goodman down the stretch of the Class 5A boys race for an eight-second victory. "A lot of ditches and a lot of weak ankles isn't a good mix."

The top 11 runners in the 5A boys race were packed within 50 seconds of one another, speaking to the depth of what most view as a wide-open individual and team chase.

"If you're going to pass somebody," said Kincaid, who took up the sport last season and finished 11th at state, "you've just got to be able to kick it up the hill. They won't be able to do it. It's just all mental."

The Class 5A girls race was won by Highlands Ranch's Eleanor Fulton. Last year's state runner-up to Boulder's Kelsey Lakowske (who was not in the field) breezed to a 16-second victory over Loveland's Kailie Hartman.

Monarch captured the boys and girls team titles, the boys led by junior Kirk Webb's fifth-place finish and the girls having three in the top 20.

From 4A on down, the spotlight belonged to Colorado Springs-area schools.