DURANGO – There are plenty of Montezuma County track and field athletes who are entering the state qualification picture.

Notably, in the jumps and relays, Mancos and Montezuma-Cortez are poised to send a number of competitors after key performances at the Ron Keller Invitational Saturday in Durango.

For the Bluejays, sophomore Aysia Mathews placed second overall in the girls triple jump (32 feet, 11½ inches). Her best result in that event is 34-8¾, which occurred earlier this month. She is the second-best performer in Class 2A, according to MaxPreps.

In the girls 400-meter relay, Mathews, Teya Yeomans, Adaline Kearns and Brooke Jabour posted a time of 54.27 seconds, their best time of the season.

On the boys’ side, Mancos junior Spencer Eschallier improved upon his best high jump and long jump results to inch closer to the top 18 in both events, clearing 5-7 and leaping 19-1¾, respectively.

Montezuma-Cortez also had a strong showing in the girls 1,600-meter relay this past Saturday, posting a time of 4:22.02 – which was a 14-second improvement.

As a result, the girls 1,600-meter relay team moved into the top 10 in Class 3A, according to MaxPreps.

Freshman Tessa Jackson cleared 5 feet in the high jump, while classmate Tatum Endres improved her season-best in the pole vault (7-3) to inch closer to qualifying for state.

As for the Panther boys, junior Tay Wheat is one of approximately 20 jumpers to have cleared the 20-foot threshold in the long jump, and classmate Houston Hurst (11-3) is right in the mix in the pole vault.

The Panthers’ boys 1,600-meter relay team clipped off another second from its season best, now down to 3:41, which has them in the hunt.

Montezuma-Cortez also eyes a return to state in the other sprint relay events like the boys 400-meter relay. The Panthers’ boys 400-meter relay team, which included Wheat and Raul Soto, qualified for state in 2023.

Mancos will host the annual Bluejay Invitational this upcoming Friday.