On Friday, the Mancos Cross Country team ran at the inaugural Southwest XC Challenge at Fort Lewis College in Durango. Nine schools brought varsity, junior varsity and middle school runners to compete on a course that was part dirt road and part single-track trail.
The Mancos girls were led by varsity runner Kristin Adams who finished the five kilometer course in 24 minutes and 1 second which was good for 36th place. Junior Varsity runners Kia Baikie (24:18) and Maya Bonde (31:42) finished in sixth place and 43rd respectively. The varsity girls champion was Eva Lou Edwards from Bayfield in a time of 19:11.
The Mancos boys were led by Justin Burton who ran to 20th place in a time of 18:59. He was followed by Brandon McKie in 45th place in a time of 20:38 in the varsity race. The varsity boys champion was Jeffery Miller from Page in a time of 17:06. The junior varsity boys were led by a 13th place finish turned in by Ro Paschal in a time of 20:21. Asa Kearns followed closely in 16th place and a time of 20:25. Nic Archuleta was next across the line for the Blue Jays in 44th place and a time of 22:43. He was followed by Vincent Grego (23:06) in 49th place and Zane Goodell (24:02) in 57th place. The JV boys were fourth as a team out of the nine competing teams.
Our runners went up against some very good runners today, said coach Brady Archer.It was a tough course on the second part of the loop because there was not a lot of room to pass on the single track but I think our runners ran it fairly smart. Overall, I was happy to see where our runners ended up today. Some of them are still getting into good running shape but they are all improving week by week and that is what I like to see. At these next couple of meets, our freshmen will get a chance to run with the varsity.
On Friday, Mancos will compete in the Ramble at the Reservoir at Ridgway State Park hosted by Ouray High School starting at 3 p.m. and then head over to the Mountain Chili Cha Cha in Pagosa Springs on Saturday with races starting at 9 a.m.