Competing against some of the top cross country teams in the state at the Colorado 2A Colorado State Championships, the Mancos Bluejays acquitted themselves well.
Leading the way for Bluejays girls, just as she did so many times throughout the season, was Emma Most, who capped off her stellar year in 25th with a finish of 22:41.
Not far behind was Hannah Skinner, whose time of 23:17 was good enough for 37th place.
Next across the line for the girls team was Kia Baikie, who, competing in the final race of her high school career, finished 51st with a time of 24:16.
Rounding out the Bluejays' top five were Kristin Adams, who finished 58th (24:16) and Jessalyn Bay Voit, who finished 66th (25:03).
As a team, the Bluejays' girls finished ninth in the state, while Hotchkiss was crowned team champion at the meet held Saturday, Oct. 26.
"They went out and competed against the best in the state and beat a few ranked teams," wrote Bluejays' head coach Brady Archer in an email to The Mancos Times. "I know that they will be back and use this experience to do even better next year."
On the boys' side, lone Bluejays' qualifier Justin Burton represented his team well, finishing 15th (18:26) in his final high school race.
For Burton, the top-15 finish culminated a wonderful senior season that included multiple individual titles, a fifth place regional finish and several impressive times.
"Justin was almost All-State (top ten), which was his goal coming into the race," Archer wrote.
Summing up his team's final meet of the season, Archer wrote, "It is always bittersweet to go up to the state meet with the seniors. Both Justin and Kia have worked so hard to get to his final race. I am impressed with how all of these runners have represented themselves and their school and community this season."
With winter quickly approaching, most Bluejays' runners will enjoy a brief respite before resuming training early in spring.
And considering that this year's team was composed primarily of underclassmen, the future of the Mancos cross country program seems bright.
