HOTCHKISS – While the first few weeks of the season are usually reserved for translating fitness from other sports to the track, Mancos has wasted little time in posting quality early-season returns with their multisport versatility.
The Bluejays took home plenty to build from in their trip to Hotchkiss on Saturday for the North Fork Invitational, led by juniors Jonah Ritter and Brooke Jabour.
Ritter took home the lone Mancos title from the meet, winning the 100 meters in a time of 11.34 seconds – an effort that joined two other top-tier results in the 200 (second, 22.94) and 400 (third, 51.54). All three of Ritter’s times would have easily made the cutoff to qualify for the 2024 state championships in the 2A classification. The fleet-footed junior looks poised to factor in to the state title picture in each of the three events, a year after he took two top-five finishes in the sprints.
Jabour claimed fourth place in both the 100 (13.30) and 200 (28.09) races to lead the way for the girls team, joining a series of strong performances for the Jays. Senior Randi Lewis earned eighth place in the 100 hurdles, crossing the 10 barriers in 20.70. Lewis also finished in the top half of the field in the 100 dash (14.80), just in front of junior Destiny Kramer (14.99).
Senior Teagan Archer led the Bluejays in the middle distance, claiming 18th in the 800 meters (2:56.89), while her freshman brother Cuinn Archer took 25th in the same distance in his race (2:30.74).
Other strong early season marks for Mancos included sophomore Michael Resner taking 13th in the long jump (17 feet, 1 inch) and 27th in the 100 (12.50), while senior Sarah Knezek and Kramer both cleared 4-3 in the high jump.
Vaughn Bankston posted the second-best discus toss (76-6) by a freshman in the deep field as Mancos looks to build momentum heading into the spring break.
Mancos will return to action on April. 5 in Ignacio as part of the Abel Velasquez Invitational, followed by a trip to Cortez and the Bob Archibeque Invite the following Friday
