Cunningham ticked off lap after lap with metronomic precision, consistently running between 1:09 and 1:11 per lap. By the mile mark, he had already built a 150-meter lead, with Christian Sanchez of Plains leading the chase pack. Zach Born of San Antonio Stacey worked his way up from seventh to third, briefly challenging before Nolan Schreiber of Windthorst surged ahead in the chase group. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack, including Michael Flores (Itasca), Cooper Ratliff (Mason), and Micah Zapata (Smyer), stayed tightly bunched, all aiming to stay "on the train" for a podium finish.

As Cunningham glided into the final two laps, the only question left was the time on the clock. Though the 2A state record of 9:06 remained out of reach, Cunningham stormed home in a blistering 1:08 final lap to smash his personal best, crossing in 9:14.94. Behind him, the battle for second came down to a furious kick, with Sanchez outleaning Born at the line, clocking 9:58.44 to Born's 9:58.91. Born celebrated his third-place finish with his hand in the air, thrilled with his performance after a season of steady improvement. The 2-6 places were separated by barely two seconds, showcasing the depth and competitiveness of the chase pack in one of the most thrilling finishes of the meet.