Challenged by a tough course and temperatures that hovered in the mid-90s, the Mancos Cross Country team opened their season in Colorado Springs at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede on Aug. 29.

Competing against 23 other 2A schools, which included many of the top 2A teams in the state, the Mancos girls' team finished 12th overall and the Mancos boys' team finished fourth.

On the girls' side, the Vanguard School finished first overall while Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy took the boys' title.

"(The meet) provided a great chance for all of our runners to preview the state course," wrote head coach Brady Archer, in reference to the fact that the 2A state meet will be held on the same course in Colorado Springs later this year. "It was pretty hot out, so the times were something I asked (the team) not to focus on in this race."

Leading the way for the Bluejays on the girls' side, freshman Hannah Skinner placed 29th with a time of 28:13. Following Skinner was Kristin Adams, who placed 40th with a time of 29:46.

Other Bluejays' finishers on the girls' side included Emma Most, Maya Bonde and Jessalyn Bay-Boit. Most placed 49th with a time of 32:54, Bonde placed 50th with a time of 33:07 and Bay-Boit placed 56th with a time of 36:33.

On the boys' side, junior Justin Burton and sophomore Ro Paschal led the way for Mancos, placing 10th and 11th respectively. Burton finished with a time of 19:19 while Paschal finished with a time of 19:37.

Also running well for the Mancos boys were Asa Kearns and Nic Archuleta. Kearns finished in 29th place with a time of 21:33 while Archuleta finished in 59th place with a time of 24:39.

Considering that the cross-country season is still in its infancy, Archer expressed satisfaction with his team's performance.

"I wanted to see our freshman go out and see what the high school race feels like," wrote Archer. "For our other runners, it was a chance to see where they are starting at in the season. I was very happy with the race results. All of our runners ran fairly well and now we have a better idea of what we need to work on in the weeks ahead."

Looking to build on their opening season performance, the Bluejays will next travel to Monticello to compete in the Lloyd's Lake Classic on Sept. 6.