Competing against several of Southwest Colorado’s finest teams at the Pine River Invitational in Bayfield on April 14, the Montezuma-Cortez High School boys and girls track teams performed as well as they have all season.
Leading the way for the girls was junior Aryelle Wright, who showcased unrivaled speed during first-place finishes in the 100-meter dash (13.14), 200-meter dash (26.52), and 400-meter dash (1:00.05).
Also scoring a top-overall finish for the Lady Panthers was junior Morgan Short, who placed first in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 9 inches). Short also finished fifth in the 200-meter dash (27.85) and eighth in the 400-meter dash (1:05.61).
Among the top distance runners for M-CHS were freshman Ridley Dennison, who crossed the line third in the 3200-meter run (14:20.97), and juniors Carmen Navarro and Mandy McAfee, who placed seventh (7:01.80) and eighth (7:10.04) in the 1600-meter run, respectively.
Freshmen hurdlers Devon McHenry and Cassandra McCully turned in solid performances as McHenry placed eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (18.67) and 10th in the high jump (4 feet, 2 inches), and McCully finished ninth in the 300-meter hurdles (56.30).
The M-CHS girls team finished fifth overall in the meet’s 12-team field with 76 points. Alamosa High School finished first with 196 points.
The boys were led by senior Jasen Engel, who looked fresh after playing two baseball games the day before. He finished second in the 100-meter dash (11.54) and third in the 200-meter dash (23.75).
Also scoring two Top 5 finishes in individual events was sophomore Titus Jackson, who came in second in the 300-meter hurdles (44.96) and fourth in the 110-meter hurdles (17.73) while racing against tough competition.
Junior Cordell Baer placed fourth in the triple jump (39 feet, 1½ inches), and senior Sonny Boren finished fifth in the 200-meter dash (23.91). Senior Austin Foxworth crossed the line seventh in the 110-meter hurdles (19.37) and the 300-meter hurdles (48.26).
Freshman John Whyte led M-CHS in the distance event with an eighth-place finish in the 3200-meter run (12:03.85) and a ninth-place finish in the 1600-meter run (5:24.11). Sophomore Tyler Cutrone also enjoyed a solid day with a ninth-place finish in the 400-meter dash (54.88).
Senior Trey Yarbrough and freshman Trenton Bagge rounded out the Panthers’ Top 10 finishers with 10th-place finishes in the 200-meter dash (24.45) and the 300-meter hurdles (48.89).
M-CHS finished fourth in the 12-team meet, which was won by Bayfield High School with 159 points.
Next up for both M-CHS track teams will be the Ron Keller Invitational in Durango on April 17.