SPARTANBURG -- Nearly an hour after they had sprinted to the end side by side, the rest of the field in their wake, Riverside's Jessie Crowley and Cate Ambrose talked about the thrilling finish of Saturday's Eye Opener, their relationship, their team and what's most important when it comes to running.
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When the subject turned to running, it was clear the outcome of the race wasn't high on either's list.
Ambrose had no idea who won and didn't seem to care.
Crowley thought Ambrose won. Instead, it was Crowley who wound up winning in 18:41.64, officially six one-hundredths of a second ahead of her teammate.
"It's pretty awesome to have a teammate like her," said Ambrose, one of four seniors in the top seven. "All the girls, we all have fun and love on each other no matter who wins."
"Me and Cate are really good friends," said Crowley, a freshman. "All of us are. We push each other in practice. We have fun."
"It matters just that it was ...