The course was difficult, the competition was significant and the standings may not have turned out the way they wanted, but all in all, members of the Montezuma-Cortez High School cross country team performed well.
Competing in the 4A Region 6 Championship on Friday, Oct. 18, in Delta, the Panthers were led by star junior Rachel Demby, who qualified for state with a 12th place finish (19:41).
“(Demby’s) time was a personal best, and places her among the best cross country runners on the West Slope,” wrote Panthers’ head coach Paul Koops in an email to the Cortez Journal.
Complementing Demby’s outstanding performance, freshman Samantha Bagge performed well, finishing 58th overall with a time of 22:37.
Rounding out the top five for the Panthers, junior Elana Cope finished 67th (23:18), senior Abby Lock finished 69th (23:36) and junior Madison VanBibber finished 82nd (24:54).
As a team, the Panthers’ girls finished 10th overall in the region. Battle Mountain won the regional championship.
Pacing the Panthers boys’ team, as he has all season, junior Chandler Dee turned in a season best time of 18:35, which was good enough for 48th place overall.
Justice Ramos crossed the line next for the Panthers’ boys, finishing 57th overall with a time of 18:57.
Rounding out the top five for the boys, Jonathan Bloedel finished 74th (19:33), Taylor Wilson finished 76th (19:40) and Bracken Whiteskunk finished 77th (19:41).
“All five of the top Panther boys finished their race in under 20 minutes – A significant goal and one which represents great gains for this group,” Koops wrote.
As a team, the boys finished 10th, while Durango won the team championship.
The season is now complete for the majority of the Montezuma-Cortez High School harriers, but Rachel Demby will continue training in anticipation of the 4A State Championship, which will take place in Colorado Springs on Saturday, Oct. 26.
A feature story detailing Demby’s accomplishments will appear Friday in the Cortez Journal.
imaclaren@cortezjournal.com