On Saturday, Oct. 12, a cross-country meet that has been at Chicken Creek for 25 years and got its namesake from the area was moved to Boggy Draw because of safety concerns.
The route comes within 700 meters of the disputed 1,460 acres between the U.S. Forest Service and the Free Land Holder Committee, so Mancos Town Marshal Justen Goodall suggested the school move it, said Brady Archer, head coach of the team.
“It’ll still be the Chicken Creek Challenge, it’ll just be at Boggy Draw,” Archer said.
Four hundred high school and middle school runners are coming from the Four Corners states to run in the race.
“We didn’t want to put anyone in an unsafe situation,” said Superintendent Todd Cordrey of the Mancos School District. “We thought it was in the public’s best interest to move it.”
Boggy Draw is where the Dolores cross-country team runs, so there’s an existing course they will run.
“It’s a keystone kind of meet, it’s a shame we had to move it to Boggy Draw,” said Cordrey.
“It’s particularly disappointing for the seniors, since this was their last opportunity to set their personal best at the location and a final memory to conclude their cross-country career,” he said.
Teagan Archer, the coach’s daughter and one of two seniors on the Mancos team, underscored how disappointing it is. She said she’s been running trails at Chicken Creek most of her life.
It’s all about the atmosphere of a place, she said.
“It’s different running at Chicken Creek,” said Teagan Archer. “That’s in our backyard.”
