Thanks to heavy rain before the Pagosa Springs Cross-country Challenge on Sept. 23, runners were forced to navigate through a slick track.
The conditions did little to hinder M-CHS’ John Whyte, however, as the freshman raced to seventh-place (20:30). Other top finishers for the Panthers boys included Trenton Bagge, who placed 16th (21:07), and Will Brown, who finished 21st (21:22). Ben Castillo-Calvillo finished 24th (21:37), and Gavin Bennett finished 64th (27:23).
The Panthers boys finished fifth out of seven qualifying teams. Monticello placed first.
The M-CHS girls were paced by senior Caisey Duran, who finished eighth (25:23), and Ridley Dennison, 18th (26:32). Rounding out the varsity finishers were Cassandra McCully, who finished in 28th (27:53); Regina Schuster, 32nd (28:57); and Trinity Meyers, 33rd (28:58).
The girls placed fifth out of the five teams that qualified. Durango High School finished first.
Next up for M-CHS will be the John Thornton Invitational in Blanding on Sept. 27. The Panthers will be at the Chicken Creek Challenge in Mancos on Sept. 30.