Mancos boys place fourth at Durango

Mancos boys place fourth at Durango
Cross-country running is a good way to get into shape

Sept. 16, 2000

STAFF REPORT

DURANGO — It was a very hard cross-country meet because of a challenging course but the Mancos High School boys cross-country varsity team handled the competition and the course very well, according to MHS head coach Tim Dunham.

"It was a very tough meet," Dunham commented. "I’m really proud of them because we made such a strong showing on such a difficult track."

The Blue Jays finished in fourth place overall. An excellent team from Albuquerque Academy actually won the meet with an impressive 19 points. The Chargers captured the first three places.

Durango finished second out of seven teams with 42 points. Monticello, Utah, came in a distant third with 101, followed by Mancos 116, Monument Valley (Ariz.) 127, San Juan High (Blanding, Utah) 180, and Alamosa 207.

Individually for Mancos, Jordan Davis placed 13th in 20:39; Doyle Edgerton 23rd in 21:35; Jesse Rousset 25th in 21:56; Sven McNeil 27th in 22:15; and Greg Cummings 28th, also in 22:15.

"The meet was run as a (Class) 5A meet with five runners per team being counted. That stretched us kind of thin. But I thought our guys handled it real well," Dunham commented.

Academy’s John Bunting ended up winning the race in 18 minutes, 30 seconds.

Durango’s Jason Salo jumped out to a quick start, leading the pack along with teammates Clark Johnson and Tanner Kroeger. But, three-fourths of the way through, as he was starting his ascent up the final hill, the Albuquerque Academy threesome passed Salo, who finished fourth.

Durango's Emily Roser easily was the class of the girls. Roser led the Demons to victory by taking first place overall with a clocking of 22:15. Monument Valley, Ariz., runner Rebecca Wiseman came in second in 23:13). Durango won the meet with 24 points, Albuquerque Academy came in second with 60, followed by Monument Valley 79, Monticello 109, San Juan High 142, and Montezuma-Cortez 149.

"We did not have enough runners to make a team," Dunham remarked about his girls’ team. "Even though we did not have enough and we ran several freshmen, they still did not finish last."

For the Jays, senior Amanda Kennedy finished 38th in 31:46. Freshman Kara Dunham took 44th in 37:52 and frosh Dorothy Edgerton 45th in 38:0.

Here are the times for the Panthers: Julie Christenson, 26th, 28:06; Sara Snyder, 28th, 28:35; Holly Smith, 30th, 28:42; Chesleigh Keene, 32nd, 29:40; Jessica Millican, 33rd, 30:32; and Becca Whitehead, 37th, 31:31.

Mancos will compete at Shiprock, N.M., in a meet today, Sept. 16, featuring many teams from the Navajo Reservation and others from throughout the Four Corners area. Cortez will also compete at the meet. Both schools will head to Ridgway on Sept. 22.

Cross-country running is a good way to get into shape