After consecutive sunny days to begin the week, cold wind and overcast skies arrived in Cortez just in time for the Montezuma-Cortez Invitational Track Meet at Panther Stadium on March 25.
Chilled but undeterred, the M-CHS boys and girls track teams ran, threw, jumped and hurdled, and all in all, produced solid results.
Boys win championship
Buoyed by the home crowd and bolstered by the participation of several baseball players who have missed meets because of games, the M-CHS boys placed first among the 10 teams.
Leading the way with two top individual finishes was senior Randy Haley, who placed first in the 100-meter dash (11.20) and first in the triple jump (39 feet, 10 inches). Prior to the 100, it appeared that Haley could be challenged by Dolores standout Mikeal Ford, but once the gun sounded, Haley sprang ahead and cruised to an easy victory.
Also scoring top individual finishes for M-CHS were senior Dante Dennison, who placed first in the shot put (46 feet); senior Justice Ramos, who finished first in the 400-meter dash (53.46); and sophomore Seth Long, who won the 200-meter dash (23.4).
Several M-CHS relays also scored victories, including the 4x200-meter relay made up of sophomore Coby Baer, Justice Ramos, Long and Haley; and the 4x400-meter relay composed of Justice Ramos, Josh Ramos, Elisha Vaquera and Haley.
In the 4x800-meter relay, the Panthers sat in second place after Chandler Dee’s opening leg, but made up ground when freshman Sonny Boren flew around the track and ran down the first-place team.
A botched baton exchange between Boren and Littlefield put the Panthers back in second, but after a blazing anchor leg by Josh Ramos, M-CHS secured a seven-second victory.
“I think we all felt good,” said Dee after the face. “I tried to tuck in behind the guy in first place until we had 200 meters left, and then I kicked it in.”
“I’ve been feeling good all season,” added Boren. “We keep getting faster.”
Girls place second at home
Looking to continue a season-long trend of improvement, several members of the M-CHS girls team produced personal-best results, and the team finished second behind Grand County (Moab, Utah).
“I thought that we had a good meet,” said M-CHS coach Paul Koops. “We were missing a few middle distance runners and with them, we would have won.”
Breaking through for the Lady Panthers was first-year track athlete Shaunnell Butler, who won the 100-meter hurdles (16.73) and the 300-meter hurdles (53.11).
Also winning individual events for M-CHS were junior Kristine Candelaria, who placed first in the 800-meter run (2:56.75) and junior Tayla Topaha, who won the discus for the third consecutive week (98 feet, 5 inches).
The Lady Panthers 4x400-meter relay made up of Julia Damore, Ashley Wood, Regina Schuster and Candelaria also captured 1st place (5:15.4), besting the second-place team from Mancos by nearly 25 seconds.
With spring break just around the corner, both M-CHS track teams will take a brief respite, before returning to action at a meet in Aztec, N.M., on April 10.