Sports enthusiasts — participants and fans alike from the Mancos area — enjoyed several days of activities at Mancos Days, which was held July 27-30 here.

They played and watched softball, distance running, volleyball, arm wrestling, horse shoes, rodeo events, horse racing, firemen’s water fights, and special games for children.

For the weekend warrior and the general sports fans, Mancos Days was the place to be.

"Everything went very well, it was a great weekend," Jennifer McWilliams, Mancos Recreation Department director and coordinator for the sports events, said. "We had a great turnout for the softball and volleyball tournaments, the most teams we’ve ever had. And we had more than 30 runners for the 4-Mile Run. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves."

The final game of the Mancos Days men’s slow-pitch softball games pitted Western Excelsior against Custom Woodworking. Western Excelsior was only down three runs, 10-7, at the end of the third inning, and the score stayed that way through the fifth. A run in the sixth inning and a six-run barrage in the top of the seventh clinched the tournament for Custom Woodworking, 17-10.

Kevin Wayman won the Most Valuable Player tropy, a carved figurine from Spit ‘N Whittle.

The team is sponsored by Craig Liukko, owner of Custom Woodworking.

There were nine teams in this year’s men’s tournament, up from last year’s eight. The extra team extended the length of the series, with the first game being held on Thursday evening. Rain stalled play for a few minutes on Sunday afternoon and cooled things down, but the rest of the games were played in very warm sunshine.

Hit-And-Run and B-Bats battled it out for the title in the Women’s bracket. Hit-And-Run won the title with a 11-9 score. Regina Schaak of Hit-And-Run was named Most Valuable Player. Six teams entered the women’s division, the most ever.

"The field was in great shape," McWilliams said. "Volunteers worked very hard getting it ready. It looked great."

The 3-on-3 women’s volleyball tournament had more teams than in previous Mancos Days events. The eight teams fought hard through the unusually hot hours. When the sand quit flying, the team of Kristi Dahl, Annie Mortensen and Julie Engel emerged victorious. The winners received gift certificates from Mancos Pizza.

Reagan Robb, one of the premier collegiate runners in the nation, breezed to the overall title of the 4-Mile Run. He clocked 22 minutes, 05 seconds. Robb, who competes for Colorado State University, also was the winner in the his age group (20-29). Robb is coming off winning the Animas Mountain Mug Run in Durango. He clocked 45:30 for 6.6 miles. He was the winner in the age group (19-34) as well.

Coming in second overall for the Mancos Days race was Dan Yarbrough who crossed the finish line in 22:30. Taking first place for the women was Cindy Putnam with a time of 29:39. Coming in second was Rene Davis with a time of 33:13.

Luke Ott won the 9-12 age group with a clocking of 33:21. Jordan Davis won the 13-19 bracket in 25:38 and Tyrone Yazzie placed second in 27:23. Yarbrough won the 30-39 group and Tim Dunham came in second in 26:35. Geoffrey Ames took the 40-49 title in 26:18 and Mark Ott came in second in 30:32. Steve Stovall captured the crown in the 50-plus bracket in 30:16 while Joe Keck came in second in 31:42.

Elisa Mullikin won the 8-and-Under bracket in 54:04. Susan Keck, competing in the 40-49, bracket won the women’s division in 36:41. Mary Katherine Ames, competing in the 50-plus group, crossed in 41:42.

The kiddies enjoyed games featuring greased pole, nail drive, sack race, money find, arm wrestling, and more.

The Mesa Verde Stampede/Mancos Days Rodeo was held at the Wild Wild Rest Arena. Cowboys and cowgirls of all ages competed in such events as stick horse, flag race, key hole race, barrel racing, pole bending, mutton busting, and goat tying among other events. There was jackpot barrel races for all ages of competitors. The Mesa Verde Stampede Rodeo is part of a series. Rodeos have been held June 3 and July 4. The final event is set Aug. 26.