After battling snow throughout the early portion of their season, the Montezuma-Cortez High School boys and girls track teams have dry space on which to practice, and both groups are quickly improving.
On the girls side, the Panthers figure to be led by junior thrower Tayla Topaha, who qualified for state last season in the discus. Also figuring to consistently score for the girls will be senior Rachel Demby, who qualified for state last year and is currently nursing an injury.
“Our team’s goal is to have steady improvement,” said girls team head coach Paul Koops. “We have some upperclassmen who are veterans, but as a group, we are green. We have a lot of kids who have very little experience on the track.
On the boys side, M-CHS figures to be led by senior Justice Ramos, who qualified for state in the 400-meter dash last season. Sophomore middle distance runner Josh Ramos, senior thrower Dante Dennison and sophomore jumper Elisha Vaquera also figure to score consistently for the Panthers.
“We have almost 40 kids out for track and it’s always good to have those kind of numbers,” said boys team head coach Bob Archibeque. “When we put all the kids together, including the baseball players, we should be able to have some really good relays.”
Opening their season on March 7 in Farmington, the Lady Panthers finished sixth in the 13-team field and placed several individuals in the top 10 of their respective events.
Leading the way for the Panthers was Topaha, who placed first in the discus (100 feet, 11 inches) and fifth in the shot put (28 feet, 4½ inches). Also cracking the top five in a throwing event was Kristine Candelaria, who placed fourth in the shot put (29 feet, 7 inches).
“(Topaha) went out and won, which we were hoping she would do,” said Koops. “She was disappointed with her mark, but she had only one day (of practice) in the ring.”
M-CHS’s top finishers on the track included senior hurdler Shaunnell Butler, who placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles (18.33) and tenth in the 300-meter hurdles (56.70). Freshman Ashley Wood finished eighth in the 300-meter hurdles (56.54).
“(Butler) has dabbled in the hurdles the last few seasons, but never really competed in them,” said Koops. “She was really excited and ran really well. (Butler) is just aggressive as can be and full of heart. I really enjoyed watching her.”
Rounding out the Lady Panthers top-10 finishers were Regina Shuster, who placed ninth in the 400-meter dash (1:08.80) and Savannah Jacket, who placed ninth in the shot put (27 feet, 2 inches).
“We had some nice stuff happening and it was a good start to our season,” said Koops. “I thought that finishing in sixth place was good for us.”
Also opening its season on March 7 in Farmington, the M-CHS boys team placed several individuals in the top-10 and finished fifth overall in the meet’s 13-team field.
Kicking their seasons in style, Justice Ramos finished first in the 800-meter run (2:03.99) and Josh Ramos finished fourth in the 400-meter dash (55.11).
“Both Justice and Josh ran well,” said Archibeque. “They are going to get a lot better. We’ve only been training a couple of weeks.”
Also enjoying success on the track were Skylar Yarbrough, who finished eighth in the 300-meter hurdles (47.49), Chandler Dee, who placed ninth in the 3200-meter run (11:59.80) and Sonny Boren, who finished tenth in the 800-meter run (2:32.77).
Vaquera led M-CHS jumpers with a fifth place finish in the long jump (17 feet, 10¾ inches, and Perez led Panthers throwers with a second-place finish in the shot put (41 feet, 11 inches).
Next up for both the boys and girls team will be the Red Rocks Invite, which will take place in Moab, Utah, on March 14.
