Heading into the Class 3A Region 1 in Delta on Oct. 20, the Montezuma-Cortez High School boys and girls cross-country teams knew that they faced long odds in qualifying for state.
The girls were paced by Ayanna Silas, whose time of 22:04 was good enough for 36th overall. Ridley Dennison finished 44th (22:41), Regina Schuster finished 61st (24:16), Trinity Meyers finished 62nd (24:17), and Johanna Ruiz placed 69th (24:40).
The girls finished eighth overall in the 11-team region, which was captured by Steamboat Springs.
The boys placed two runners in the Top 30 – Trenton Bagge, at 22nd (18:13), and John Whyte, at 26th (18:29).
Ben Castillo-Calvillo placed 45th (19:11), Will Brown finished 59th (19:44), and John Hughes finished 100th (22:41) for the Panthers, who placed 11th overall in the 14-team region. Gunnison High School finished first as a team.