Aside from more sunshine and less rain, the Tiger Invitational in Grand Junction, May 8-9, could not have gone better for Montezuma-Cortez High School’s track teams.
Boys finish eighth overall
Among the top performers for the M-CHS boys’ team were senior Justice Ramos, who finished 3rd in the 400-meter dash (51.22) and senior Dante Dennison, who finished third in the shot put (46 feet, 11½ inches).
Justice Ramos will compete in the 400-meter dash, 800-meter run and 4x400-meter relay at the state meet in Denver, while Dennison will compete in the shot put event at the same meet.
“Justice is the first kid that I’ve had in a number of years who has qualified for state in three events,” said M-CHS boys’ coach Bob Archibeque. “Dante rose up and threw his best at the end and that’s what we want from all of our kids.”
Also cracking the top-three for the M-CHS boys’ team was sophomore Josh Ramos, who finished third in the 800-meter run with a career-best time of 2:00.90. Josh Ramos will compete in the 4x400-meter relay at state.
“Josh had one of the best sophomore half-mile performances I’ve seen in a long time,” said Archibeque. “He just missed qualifying for state by a couple of tenths of a second. He has a great future.”
Rounding out members of the M-CHS boys’ team who cracked the top 10 were Seth Long, who finished fifth in the 200-meter dash (24.17), Skylar Yarbrough, who placed seventh in the 300-meter hurdles (45.12) and Randy Haley, who finished seventh in the triple jump (45.12).
The M-CHS boys’ team finished 8th in a field that included more than 25 teams.
“We had some real good performances at the Tiger meet and it was really fun to be a part of,” said Archibeque. “We had a lot of personal records from kids all the way through our lineup.”
Girls’ place ninth overall
Like their male counterparts, several members of the M-CHS girls’ team turned in season-best performances and the Lady Panthers finished ninth overall as a team.
Leading the way was junior Tayla Topaha, who finished third overall with a throw of 103 feet. Topaha is currently ranked 12th in Colorado’s 4A Class and will compete at state.
“Tayla had a remarkable season,” said M-CHS girls’ coach Paul Koops. “She was a frontrunner in every meet that she was at and helped other kids on the team. She just needs to fine tune some of her mechanics and get comfortable and confident.”
Also turning in a top-three performance for the Lady Panthers was senior Rachel Demby, who came off a season-long injury to finish third in the 400-meter dash (1:00.28).
“It’s a shame that (Rachel) didn’t get to run more this year,” Koops said. The two injuries that she sustained put a damper on her senior year. I know that if we had her for two more weeks, she would run in the low 58’s.”
Rounding out the Lady Panthers top-10 finishers were Shaunnell Butler, who placed 6th in the 100-meter hurdles (17.99) and 7th in the 300-meter hurdles (52.32), and Kristine Candelaria, who finished sixth in the shot put (31 feet, 3¾ inches).
Next up for M-CHS’ state qualifiers will be the Class 4A State Championships, which will take place in Denver, May 14-16.
“It’s an honor to be competing at the (State Meet) in Denver,” Archibeque said. “The 4A Class is Colorado’s largest for our kids who qualified, it’s a big accomplishment.”