There was no escaping it or them.
As clear as the large white D on their uniforms, the top 7 from Downingtown West wore the favorite's tag heading to Hershey in Class AAA. Come race time Saturday, Scott Burns' Whippets let it be known that the dominance they had shown all season long would continue, resulting in the school's first PIAA crown in cross country.
"We knew that people were aiming for us, but we didn't talk a lot about this," Burns said after his team's wire-to-wire performance in the day's final race. "We talked about what we needed to do, what we needed to accomplish and how we needed to prepare ourselves. The guys were real low key, we didn't bring them over to the course until 12:20 and just got our warm-up in and did what we needed to do.
"We definitely knew there was pressure out there, but we did a really great job of focusing on the process and focusing on ourselves and what we needed to do to be successful and tried not to think of the outside sources."
After 1,600 meters, Downingtown West had its top three of brothers Jaxson and Josh Hoey and Henry Sappey contributing just 12 points to a stunning 56 total, with defending champion North Allegheny back in fourth at 117. The front-running trio of Whippets was still locked on to 2014 race winner Jake Brophy of Central Bucks East as the top 10 were only separated by three seconds after 3,200.
"It was exciting to see those guys run so high up and feel confident and comfortable through the mile and then they kind of really got after it," Burns said of the action. "Jake Brophy is an amazing runner, and he deserves all the credit in the world and we're so pumped for him and for the success that he's had."
In the team standings, Downingtown West added a few points in the second section but also grew its lead to 40. The new champions continued to pad their advantage over the field, saving a large part of the excitement for the final sprint to the finishing chute.
"We tried to run smart, we tried to follow a plan that we laid out," Burns said of their strategy in battling the difficult 3.1-mile layout. "I think the kids did an amazing job of executing that plan and doing exactly what we had talked about. In the last 800 meters, it all comes down to belief and confidence, and those guys showed that they really shined on that front and were able to step up and do what was necessary.
"Jaxson came off the hill, and we were hoping he would be able to outkick (Jake) but it didn't happen but Jaxson is such an amazing runner, too, and Josh Hoey and Henry Sappey. Those guys are all tremendous pieces of the puzzle and what we're trying to accomplish, and we had great days from the back of our pack too. Jake O'Neill had just a standout performance today. We couldn't have been happier with the results."
For the rest of the field, it was pretty obvious that second place was the best that they would be able to accomplish Saturday as the Whippets scored just 57 on the day, thanks in large part to placing three in the top six overall.
"(Their top three) was unbelievable, and then their 4-5 kids backed it up, too," North Allegheny coach John Neff said in describing the champion's performance and their 48-point margin over his Tigers.
"I told the guys it's no shame in losing to a dynamite team, and that's just what they were. We came and got the best place humanly possible, and I'm proud of the guys. I really take my hat off to Downingtown. They were dynamite."