It's no secret that the Colorado women will be good this year.

The Buffaloes are currently ranked No. 1 as a team, and their No. 1 and No. 2 runners, Erin Clark and Kaitlyn Benner, are projected to finish within the top 10 nationally. But this past weekend's Rocky Mountain Shootout revealed more -- Clark's fitness puts her in the same conversation as former Colorado greats and Olympians Jenny Barringer (now Simpson) and Kara Grgas-Wheeler (now Goucher). 

Clark's winning time of 19:54 marks the first time that a woman broke 20 minutes since Simpson in 2009 and just the third sub-20 minute performance ever. Only Simpson (19:25, course record) and Goucher (19:38, previous course record) have clocked marks under 20 minutes on the 5.8K Boulder, Colorado course. 

"The women here were excellent -- everything we hoped for. It's definitely our best front four ever," CU coach Mark Wetmore told CUBuffs.com. 

Clark, a senior, won by a margin of eight seconds ahead of runner-up Benner, who ran the fifth-fastest time in meet history. Makena Morley followed in third for the eighth-fastest all-time mark, and Dani Jones finished fourth for the No. 11 spot in meet history. 

Clark's victory puts her in some seriously fast company. Simpson broke Goucher's course record in the fall of 2009, her last attempt at the Rocky Mountain Shootout after a summer that included a fourth-place finish and then-U.S. record in the steeplechase at the World Championships in Berlin. Goucher ran the then-course record of 19:38 in 2000, the same year she captured NCAA titles in the 3K and 5K and finished eighth in the 5K at the USATF Outdoor Championships.

Simpson went on to earn gold in the 1500m at the 2011 World Championships, silver at the 2013 World Championships, and most recently, a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Rio. Goucher went on to earn a bronze medal in the 10K at the 2007 World Championships and finish as an Olympic finalist in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.  

Simpson, along with former Buffaloes standout Emma Coburn, acted as meet starters for Saturday's competition. Simpson and Goucher, who was also in attendance, congratulated Clark on her performance with messages on Twitter. Both runners knew the significance of Clark's run. 

Huge congrats to Erin Clark joining the sub-20 club today clocking a super impressive 19:54 to win the Rocky Mountain Shootout! #gobuffs !

— Jenny Simpson (@trackjenny) October 1, 2016

Great day for the #buffs at the Rocky Mountain Shootout! Congrats to @erinclark28 for becoming only the 3rd woman to ever break 20min! pic.twitter.com/yVQW1a6RqX

— Kara Goucher (@karagoucher) October 1, 2016

Clark has earned second team All-American honors in the steeplechase for the past two years and first team All-American honors in cross country with an 11th-place finish in 2015 and a 31st-place finish in 2014. Although her credentials at this point in her career don't match Simpson and Goucher's accolades when they wore the Colorado uniform, Clark's victory on Saturday could mark the beginning of a breakthrough senior year not only for herself, but for her team as well. 

"I have very high expectations -- I think we can win," Clark said. "I think that if we can do the right things, we train smart, recover when we're supposed to, I think we're going to be ready to go when the day comes."