Dolores High School’s cross-country team wasted no time putting its stamp on a new season.
Carving their way through their home course in the Boggy Draw trail system, the Bears girls picked up the team title in the Boggy Draw Bear Chase on Saturday.
While the field followed Mancos sophomore Teagan Archer around the 5-kilometer course, the name of the invitational proved to be a fitting moniker – the rest of the field spent time chasing after the black-and-white clad Bears.
Dolores placed four runners – all sophomores - in the top six positions overall to easily claim the team title.
Archer’s run of 23 minutes, 11 seconds outpaced the field by more than a minute, but a string of Bears soon followed – led by Elia Lowe (24:23) and Maya Lowe (25:01), who took second and third place, respectively.
Running true to their ambition of pack-running this season, the Bears continued their domination as Keira LaRose (25:31) and Siena Parr (25:51) crossed in fifth and sixth place, while Noble Traweek took 26th place in 34:45 to round out the Bear competitors.
Mancos took second as a team, as a pair of Bluejays upperclassmen joined Archer in the top 10. Senior Madilynn Ritter enjoyed the best finish of any Class of 2023 runner in the field, taking seventh overall in 26:58. Junior Chloe Endres earned a ninth-place finish, tailing Ritter by 17 seconds (27:15).
Freshman Tatum Endres made her high school debut with a 17th place run (28:45) to finish out the scoring for the Jays in the meet.
The Bears picked up 15 points to run away with the team title, with four schools putting together full scoring teams. The Bluejays scored 32 points, edging Telluride and Pagosa Springs for the runner-up spot.
On the boys’ side, a duel between the top Bluejay and Bear individuals came down to a sprint finish, as Dolores freshman Bridger Beyhan out-leaned Mancos junior Braxton Dennison by less than a second to take the top boy runner in Montezuma County honor. Beyhan ran the 5K course in 23:36.02 to Dennison’s 23:36.44 to lead their respective squads – as the duo finished 16th and 17th overall.
Dolores sophomore Wyatt Kiddoo scored a 26th-place result, running a time of 26:14 to round out the local efforts.
Edward Lyman of San Juan, Utah, won the individual title by over half a minute, finishing in 19:16, while the Broncos easily cleaned up the team title, placing seven runners in the top 10. Bayfield took second place in the boys’ field, led by the fourth-place finish of junior Tristan Sager.
After a week off competition ahead, the Bluejays will head to Colorado Springs for a Sept. 2 meet at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede. That same weekend, Dolores will travel to Monticello for the Loyd’s Lake Classic.
