With the 2A/1A San Juan Basin League meet on the horizon, the trio of local squads took separate paths to get one more trial run before the league championships on May 5 in Ignacio.
Mancos and Dolores ventured to the Blue Mountain Invitational in Monticello on April 29, while Dove Creek took on a large field in Montrose in their preleague tuneup.
Against a field primarily composed of Utah schools, the Colorado contingent held their own, as the Bluejays and Bears collected a number of top-five performances in the meet.
Mancos’ girls posted some strong efforts in the sprints and the distance events, as freshman Adaline Kearns took third in the 800 meters (2:44), while junior Madilynn Ritter matched the feat with a bronze in the 3,200 (14:26).
Junior Shelby Jabour took fifth in the 100 meters (14.69), and helped the Lady Jays to a fourth-place effort in the 4x100 meter relay (1:00.25).
For Mancos’ boys, sophomore Braxton Dennison provided a pair of top-five finishes, taking third in the 1,600 (5:41) and fifth in the 800 (2:36). Teammate Edgar Hernandez won both events (4:51 and 2:06, respectively) to help the Bluejays to account for two of the five individual titles on the day.
Senior Connor Showalter topped both of the throwing events (50 feet, 1 inch in shot put and 128 feet, 4 inches in discus), while Mason Goodwin outleaped the field in the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches).
Cole Dainty-Guilfoyle added third-place marks in three separate events, the long jump (19 feet, 11 inches), discus (100 feet, 10 inches) and shot put (40 feet, 11 inches). The Bluejays also added a 4x100 relay effort of 49.19 seconds, good for fourth overall.
Dolores’ girls team put together their own collection of top performances over the weekend, led by Akima Edwards’ victory in the long jump (15 feet, 1½ inches). Edwards also took second in the 100 meter (14.74) and 200 meter dashes (29.69).
Maya Lowe took third in the 400 meters (1:11.99) while Elia Lowe raced to a second-place finish in the 1,600 meters (7:04) and a fourth-place effort in the 800 (2:55). Siena Parr tallied a 3,200-meter fourth-place result (15:14) to round out the top-five marks for the Lady Bears.
A small contingent competed for the boys squad, with Dylan Rantz leading the Bears in the 200-meter dash with an eighth-place finish (27.84).
As the championship portion of the schedule continues for Mancos and Dolores, the 2A Track and Field State Championships await, to be competed May 19-21 at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood. In the 2A, the top 18 individual and relay performers in each event will qualify for the meet, based on performances from meets during the season.
In one of the largest fields they will see all season, the Bulldogs prepped for the San Juan Basin League meet with a large collection of season-best performances at the Montrose Invitational on April 29.
Across the board, the Lady Bulldogs raced to quality times on the track, with junior Trista Barnett leading the way in the 200 meters (28.68), 100 hurdles (19.23) and 300 hurdles (52.02), all three of which were season-best efforts.
Classmate Rylee Hickman enjoyed similar success, dropping below 14 seconds in the 100 meters (13.97), and adding nearly half a foot to her top long jump effort (14 feet, 6½ inches). Freshman Ralynn Hickman enjoyed a new best in the 100 meters (14.45), while teaming up with the 4x100 meter relay to post a mark of 55.87.
Tara Glover added the best individual finish in the field – seventh place – with a toss of 32 feet in the shot put.
The boys sprinters put on quite a display as well for Dove Creek. Senior Chorbin Cressler put up the fastest time in the state’s 1A classification so far this year, running the 100 meters in 11.54, albeit the effort will officially be regarded as “wind-aided,” which means it won’t officially move him into the top spot in the state.
Junior Quaden Huffaker also dipped below 12 seconds for the first time, running the 100 in 11.93, also officially wind-aided, but proving that Huffaker will likely be in the mix for one of the individual spots in the event for the state championships.
The Dove Creek 4x100 relay slid up the state standings officially, now sitting in third in the state, thanks to a time of 46.07, and their best placement in the Montrose Invite, taking third overall. Their 4x400 meter season debut, meanwhile, provided a mark (3:48) that may land another state qualifier.
Junior Kade Hankins became the third athlete in the classification to drop under 17 seconds in the 110 hurdles, with a mark of 16.90 seconds.
The Dove Creek Track teams will join Mancos and Dolores, along with the rest of the SJBL for a full day of competition in Ignacio on Thursday, May 5, to crown the top track team in the league. Mancos seeks to defend their league title on the boys side, while the girls field will look to unseat defending champion Telluride.
