First, one Bluejay cross country runner crossed the finish line. Then a second Bluejay runner crossed the line. And just like that, the Mancos High School cross country team established itself as one of the premiere programs in the Southwest.
The meet was the Pagosa Springs Cross Country Invitational, held Saturday, Sept. 21, and the first Bluejay across the line was Justin Burton.
Blazing through the course in a time of 18:06, Burton, a senior, recorded his first win of the season, leaving competitors and those in the audience impressed.
The second Bluejay runner across the line was Ro Paschal, whose time of 18:24 was good enough for second place overall.
Following Paschal were Asa Kearns in 22nd place (20:56), Nic Archuleta in 31st place (21:39), Vincent Grego in 25th place (22:18), Zane Goodell in 26th place (22:25) and Anthony Reiners in 42nd place (25:20).
As a team, the Bluejays finished third, leaving head coach Brady Archer impressed.
"Our boys continue to get better as a team," Archer wrote in an email to the Mancos Times. "(Burton) and (Paschal) work very well together and it was encouraging to see the rest of the team running better times this week."
On the girls side, the Bluejays were paced by Kristin Adams, whose time of 24:23 was good enough for 11th place.
Finishing a mere second behind Adams was Hannah Skinner, whose time of 24:24 was good enough for 12th place.
Also running well for the Bluejays, Emma Most finished in 13th place (24:30), Kia Baike finished in 14th place (24:50), Jessalyn Bay-Voit finished in 15th (25:30) and Maya Bond finished in 23rd place (30:08).
Overall, the Bluejays girls' team finished third.
"Our girls continue to get better as a group while still packing so well together as a group," wrote Archer. "Once again, we had a different girl lead the group."
Next up for the Bluejays is the Chicken Creek Challenge, which is scheduled to take place in Mancos on Saturday, Sept. 28. Middle school races will begin at 8 a.m. JV races will begin at 10 a.m. and the varsity race will begin at 11 a.m.
imaclaren@cortezjournal.com