Elation for the girls, heartache for the boys. That was the story at the 2A Region 4 cross country meet, held in Delta on Friday, Oct. 18.
For the Mancos girls' team, things could not have gone better as the group finished third - punching their ticket to the state meet.
Leading the way was Emma Most, who finished 10th with a time of 21:11. Not far behind was Hannah Skinner, who crossed the line 11th (21:15).
Running an especially impressive race, Jessalyn Bay-Voit finished in 14th with a season best time of 21:32.
"Our group of freshman girls ran outstanding races today," wrote Bluejays' head coach Brady Archer in an email to the Mancos Times. "It is always fun to see what confidence does for a runner as the season goes along. (Bay-Voit) ran just over a 2-minute personal best."
Rounding out the varsity finishers for the girls, Kristin Adams placed 18th (22:06), Kia Baikie finished 19th (22:07) and Maya Bonde crossed the line in 38th (26:55).
"Our girls ran incredibly well," Archer wrote. "Some girls have been fighting injuries and still went out and ran great races today."
On the boys' side, things did not go as well. Although members of the team ran well, the absence of standout Ro Paschal, lost because of a late-season injury, clearly affected the group.
As a team, the boys finished sixth in the region, thereby narrowly missing out on a trip to state.
Leading the way for the boys was Justin Burton, whose time of 17:05 was good enough for fifth. Burton's top-15 finish qualified him individually for state.
Next across the line for the boys was Asa Kearns, who finished 18th with a time of 18:42.
Other varsity finishers for the boys included Nic Archuleta in 24th (19:07), Zane Goodell in 32nd (19:57), Vincent Grego in 34th (20:04) and Anthony Reiners in 41st (20:49).
"Our boys ran so hard out there today," wrote Archer. "Every one of them had a personal best today, but unfortunately, they came up 2 points short . of qualifying for state. I know they took it pretty hard. They will grow from this and come back stronger next season."
Next up for the Bluejays' harriers, Justin Burton and the entire Bluejays' girls' team will travel to Colorado Springs on Saturday, Oct. 19, to compete in the Colorado Cross Country State Championships.
imaclaren@cortezjournal.com