While wins are always nice, running behind talented athletes can be extremely beneficial for runners looking to improve.

With that in mind, the Mancos High School Bluejays' cross country team traveled to Bayfield on Sept. 13 to compete in the Southwest XC Invitational. Hosting 11 schools from Colorado and New Mexico, the Invitational featured some of the area's top runners, thus providing a challenge for runners participating on the up-and-coming Mancos team.

Leading the way for the Bluejays in the girls' competition was Kia Baikie, whose time of 24:48 placed 27th.

Closely following Baikie for the Bluejays were Hannah Skinner and Emma Most, who finished a mere 6 seconds apart, recording times of 25:06 and 25:12 respectively. Skinner's time was good enough for 30th , while Most finished in 34th.

Rounding out the varsity finishers for the Bluejays were Dara Sanderson, who finished 37th (25:30) and Kristin Adams, who finished 40th (25:45).

"The girls continue to work well running as a group," wrote Bluejays' head coach Brady Archer, in an email to the Mancos Times. "We have had three different top finishers in three races this year."

Overall as a team, the Bluejays' girls finished eighth overall, while Durango took top team honors. Bayfield High School runner Eva Lou Edwards won the girls' individual title in a time of 19:32.

"With each race, our girls' team figures out more and more about running a cross country race," Archer wrote. Every one of them keeps getting better each week, and I know that all of this experience will pay off by the time we get to regionals."

Competing on the boys' side for the Bluejays, Ro Paschal and Justin Burton ran exceptionally well as each recorded a top-10 finish. Paschal finished 8th with a time of 18:24 while Burton finished 10th with a time of 18:30.

"It was great to see both (Paschal) and (Burton) work well together up front to lead our boys," Archer wrote.

Also running well for the boys' Bluejays Asa Kearns and Nic Archuleta finished 33rd (20:31) and 55th (23:20) respectively.

"(Kearns) and (Archuleta) continue to make progress with their races, which helps our team score," wrote Archer.

As a team, the Bluejays' boys finished sixth overall. Piedra Vista High School runner Harrison Flemming took top individual honors (17:21) while Durango High School took the boys' team title.

Up next for the Bluejays will be the Pagosa Springs Cross Country Classic, which will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, in Pagosa Springs.