Racing around the track at the Pueblo Twilight track meet on May 5, Jake Mckie and Caleb Yoder felt as if they were flying.
Thus, when the blue-and-white clad tandem crossed the finish line and glanced at their results, they were not completely surprised by Mckie’s time of 4:50.18 and Yoder’s of 4:57.98.
“Both (Mckie) and (Yoder) ran great races in Pueblo and broke (5 minutes) for the first time,” Mancos head coach Brady Archer said. “The weather in Pueblo was cooler, and we had a number of runners PR in their events.”
After the Pueblo Twilight, the Mancos girls and boys competed in the Terry Allen Invitational in Pagosa Springs on May 6.
Mckie and Yoder finished first and second in the 800-meter run with time of 2:06.93 and 2:09.34, respectively.
Also finishing in the Top 5 for the boys team was Caden Showalter, who placed third in the discus (124 feet, 9 inches) and third in the shot put (39 feet, 3 inches).
Anthony Medina placed fourth in the long jump (18 feet, 7 inches), and Shima Ryoya placed fourth in the 3200-meter run (12:56.45).
As a team, the boys team finished fourth in the 13-team meet, which was won by Monte Vista.
On the girls side, Mancos was led by Jessalyn Bay-Voit, who crossed the line first in the 800-meter run (2:41.51).
Emma Most finished fourth in the 1600-meter run (6:42.41), Brittney Peacock finished firth in the 1600-meter run (6:47.28), and Kristen Fogel finished firth in the shot put (27 feet, 6 ¾ inches).
As a team, the Lady Jays finished eighth overall, and Pagosa Springs finished first.
“All of our athletes took advantage of a great day at a meet where we have had challenging weather in the past,” Archer said. “Some of them moved closer to the Top 18.”
Mancos athletes on both the girls’ and boys’ side will have one more chance to qualify for state when they race at the Tiger Invitational, which will take place May 11-12 in Grand Junction.