With 21 teams in attendance at the Mickey Dunn Invitational track meet on March 22, competition was surely stiff.
In no way intimated by top level opponents however, several members of the Montezuma-Cortez High School track team performed well in Grand Junction, setting the stage for what they hope will be a solid rest of the season.
Girls led by Demby and Topaha
Pacing the Panthers with another outstanding performance, junior Rachel Demby owned the 400-meter dash, placing first in the event with a time of 1:00.47.
Demby also performed well in the 800, placing seventh overall with a time of 2:37.10.
Also placing well for the Panthers was sophomore Tayla Topaha, who finished second in the discus (111 feet, 10 inches) and tenth in the shot put (28 feet, 7 ¾ inches).
Other Panthers cracking the top 20 included Amy Campbell, who finished ninth in the 100 (13.88) and 13th in the 200 (29.26), Jordan Miller, who finished 19th in the 100 hurdles (20.26), Dani Owens, who finished 19th in the 400 (1:08.65) and Kristine Candelaria, who finished 19th in the shot put (25 feet, four inches).
Boys paced by Ramos
Leading the way for the Panthers’ boys team, junior Justice Ramos turned in his finest performance to date, placing first overall in the 400 (51.59).
“Right now, (Ramos) is ranked fifth or sixth in the state,” said Panthers’ head coach Bob Archibeque. “That’s a good sign for him. He has to keep getting better.”
Also cracking the top-10 for the Panthers, Dante Dennison finished seventh in the shot put (42 feet, three ½ inches), Briston Walker finished seventh in the discus (121 feet), Victor Perez finished eighth in the shot put (42 feet) and Josh Ramos finished ninth in the 400 (54.74).
Next up for the Panthers’ track teams will be the Montezuma-Tri scrimmage, which will take place in Cortez on March 26.