Over the course of two days, the Mancos cross country team competed in meets in Ridgway and in Pagosa Springs. Both races saw a number of successes for the Blue Jays including a first career cross country win for Justin Burton.
On Friday afternoon, Sept. 21, the Blue Jays made the trek over Lizard Head Pass to the Ramble at the Reservoir hosted by Ouray High School inside Ridgway State Park. The meet attracted many local schools but also included Cheyenne Mountain High School from the Front Range. In the boys varsity race, the Blue Jays were led by Brandon McKie who finished the demanding course in 21:42 which was good for 23rd place. He was followed by Asa Kearns in 31st place and a time of 22:33 and Vincent Grego in 44th place and a time of 24:54. The varsity boys champion was Chuck Bisbee from Fruita-Monument in 19:10. Mancos finished in eighth as a team behind the team champions from Cheyenne Mountain.
On Saturday morning, Sept. 22, the Mancos team travelled to Pagosa Springs to compete at the Pagosa Springs Cross Country Classic. Seven teams competed in the annual event that switchbacks its way up a hillside in Pagosa.
The Mancos girls were led by the duo of Kristin Adams and Kia Baikie. They finished in fifth and sixth and times of 24:32 and 24:33, respectively. They were followed by Maya Bonde who finished in 28th place and a time of 32:42. The individual champion was Emily Bryant from Pagosa in a time of 22:05. The team champions were the Pagosa Springs Pirates.
The Mancos boys were led by individual champion Justin Burton who finished the course in 19:23 which was 13 seconds ahead of the second place finisher Sumner Erhard from Del Norte. Ro Paschal was next across the line in 22nd place in 21:31. He was followed by Nic Archuleta in 31st place and a time of 23:08 and Zane Goodell in 39th place and a time of 24:40. The Mancos team finished in fourth place behind the team champion for Pagosa Springs.
This was a tough weekend from our runners, said coach Brady Archer. Both of these courses are notoriously rough. The Ridgway course included switchbacks going up a hillside and the runners had to climb a set of stairs on the trail before heading back down the hillside. There were cacti along a narrow course, also. The competition was great though. Brandon had his best looking race of the season. Asa and Vincent were racing in their first varsity competition and really held their own. We only ran part of our team since we had two meets so close together. At Pagosa, our girls really ran well. One runner unfortunately took a wrong turn on the course and had to back track a ways to get back on course. Our boys had three freshmen running varsity for the first time. Ro, Nic and Zane did a great job pushing themselves on a tough course. Justin Burton has worked very hard this season to make himself a better runner and a team leader. He consistently pushes himself in practice and he is a smart runner. I am happy for him and I hope this win is something that helps him see how good he can be as the season moves along.
This Saturday, Mancos will host the 15th running of the Chicken Creek Challenge. Mancos expects teams from Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. The event is held at the Chicken Creek Cross Country Ski Area up County Road 40 in Mancos. The middle school races start at 9 a.m., JV races at 10 a.m. and Varsity races at 11 a.m. Come support your local teams from all of the Montezuma County schools.