For the Montezuma-Cortez High School boys and girls track teams, competing at the Nike Rotary Invitational in Chandler, Ariz., March 20-21, turned out to be an eye-opening experience.
Among the meet’s stacked field were 130 teams hailing from as far away as California and Montana, as well as several of the nation’s top track athletes.
The meet’s less elite teams and athletes competed on March 20, while the meet’s top athletes and teams competed in either the morning or afternoon on March 21.
Leading M-CHS’s finishers on March 20 was junior Tayla Topaha, who placed first out of 73 athletes in the discus (106 feet, 4 inches) and eighth in the shot put (30 feet, 1 inch).
Also registering an individual win for M-CHS was senior Dante Dennison, who placed first in the shot put (42 feet, 1 inch).
Other top finishers for M-CHS included junior Weslie Kirks, who finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (17.63) and 11th in the triple jump (30 feet, 8½ inches), and senior Shaunnell Butler, who finished 22nd in the 100-meter hurdles (18.78) and 23rd in the long jump (14 feet, 1 inch).
Victor Perez placed 11th in the shot put on the boys’ side (39 feet, ½ inch).
In addition to M-CHS’s March 20 competitors, senior Justice Ramos and sophomore Josh Ramos ran against some of the meet’s top competition on March 21.
Justice Ramos placed 62nd in the 400-meter dash (54.16) and 62nd in the 800-meter run (2:14.76), while Josh Ramos placed 44th in the 800 (2:05.64).
Head girls’ coach Paul Koops noted that in addition to M-CHS’s top placers, several other Panthers came through with career best results.
“I would like to see us continue to get personal bests,” said Koops. “At this point in the season, (personal bests) suggest that the work is paying off.”
Next up for the M-CHS teams will be the Montezuma-Cortez Invitational Tournament, which will take place in Cortez at Panthers Stadium on March 25. The Invitational will be the only home meet for M-CHS this season.
“It will be a big day for everybody,” said Koops. “It’s always fun because we’ll get a lot of the local teams and we’ll have some teams from New Mexico coming up. It’s always fun to show off in front of the home crowd.”