Where to begin? Where to begin? ... I don't know. This year's state cross country championships were full of so many amazing performances....

Glenrock's Brooke Hughes did what few others before here have been able to do -- she started and finished her cross country career as a state champion. She won the 3A state meet as a freshman, then finished second as a sophomore and third as a junior. Clearly the urgency of a senior-year finish was motivating her this time around. And she added a second state championship to prove her abilities.

And who is Jordan Wohlleber? Well, looking back on it, her sudden jump to 2A state champion wasn't so sudden. She won the Class A South Dakota state championship at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte as a freshman and as a sophomore, so the Hulett-Sundance junior had plenty of running experience. Her name just wasn't that well known in Wyoming. It is now.

The 4A race wasn't as close as last year's, but the extra rush of trying to put away last year's second-place finish was enough for Rock Springs' Nicole Peterson to not only win, but to set a state meet record in the process. The record was only four years old, but Peterson's run set the standard to which every other runner will now be measured.

Gillette's Dominick Robinson did exactly what everyone expected: He won the state championship. Again. Robinson winning distance races is now the expectation, not the rule. After all, he won back-to-back XC championships -- the first 4A runner since Gillette's Tony Bachmann in 2000-01 to win back-to-back -- and swept the three longest races and a key leg of the longest relay at the state track meet last year. That expectation, though, came only after a ton of hard work, a ton of miles in practice and a ton of resolve to be the best.

Speaking of repeats, Wyoming Indian's Caleb Her Many Horses won another state championship -- and he could join some rare company next year if he goes on to win his third in a row. Only four other runners (Lander's Matt Heller, Wright's Brett Schuler, Torrington's Rob Marney and Snake River's Trevor Kaisler) have won three straight individual titles since 1973.

In the most wide-open race of them all, Jackson's Andy Phillips was crowned the 3A boys champion. No runner was truly the favorite to win, as any one of a number of runners could have taken control. Phillips was the one who did, and he's the state champion because of it.

Certainly, the individual champions always stick out at state. Did anything else catch your eye up in Sheridan last week? Let me know and make a comment below.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com