As he circled the track at the Tiger Invitational track meet in Grand Junction on May 6, Jake McKie could tell that he was running well.
Just how well he was running was not completely clear until he crossed the line and realized that his time of 10:36.87 was good enough to slot him into second place in the highly competitive meet.
Other top finishers for the Mancos boys team at its final regular-season meet at the season included Griff Huver, who finished eighth in the triple jump (37 feet, 8 inches), Zane Wilson, who placed ninth in the 3200-meter run (11:15.70), and Anthony Medina, who came in 10th in the long jump (18 feet, 9 inches).
Freshmen phenom Caden Showalter also enjoyed a solid day for the Bluejays with a seventh-place finish in the shot put (42 feet, 5¼ inches) and an eighth-place finish in the discus (135 feet, 6 inches).
On the girls side, Mancos was led by Emma Most, who crossed the line ninth in the 3200-meter run (13:07.79).
Also cracking the Top 10 for the Lady Jays was Kristin Fogel, who placed 10th in the shot put (28 feet, 10 inches).
Next up for the Mancos track teams will be the Class 2A State Championships, which will take place in Lakewood, May 18-20.