Every year the Mancos High School cross-country team just gets better and better. The program started three years ago and has continued to grow and the runners keep improving.

Coach Tim Dunham, the only coach the program has every had, is back again for his third year. And from all indications, this year’s boys and girls could be very good.

Graduation took nearly all of the girls’ team. However, nearly all of the boys’ team returns.

The Blue Jays, on the guys’ side, return Jordan Davis, Jesse Rousset, Sven McNeil, Doyle Edgerton, and Greg Cummings. Also returning are Alan Cummings, Preston Henrich, Clint Hill, Ernest Bauer (ran two years ago), and Levi Martinez (ran two years ago). Freshmen out include Logan Stiles, Justin Wince, and Scott Yost.

On the girls’ side, Amanda Kennedy is back. Megan Doty ran some distance events last year in track but this is her first year running cross-country. Rory Davis, Dorothy Edgerton, and Kara Dunham are all three freshman.

"For the girls, this will be a rebuilding year. They are very, very young and very, very inexperienced.

"For the boys, we should do very well. We have some strong runners. I think we should get some boys qualified for State. The boys also should be very strong as a team," he said.

Rousset is coming off an injury that sidelined him for much of last fall. But he is back at full strength. Davis has been running all summer and looks very strong. McNeil is a veteran distance runner who has improved year after year. Edgerton and Cummings have varsity experience.

The Blue Jay boys may be a team to beat at Regionals and possibly State. Haxtun graduated its top couple of runners. Gunnison will be down after graduating three of their top runners.

"It should be a lot more wide open this year," Dunham remarked. "I don’t think our classification has a lot of those dominating runners as it did last year.

"My number one goal is just for them to improve. For me, the measure of improvement is not winning meets, although that is great when it happens, but to just keep improving times. For the ones who come out, I just want them to develop a love for running."

The Jays open the 2000 season at Pagosa Springs on Sept. 2. They were slated to go to a meet at Aztec, N.M., but that has been changed to Durango on Sept. 9, but that meet could change, according to Kevin Dimmick, MHS activities director. And those runners plus some of the best from the Navajo Reservation will join the Jays on Sept. 16 in Shiprock, N.M.