DOLORES – For Bears and Panthers runners with big goals this fall, the Boggy Draw Bear Chase offered a preview of the season ahead. Athletes, coaches and fans gathered on the 5K course through the namesake trail system to witness the strength of Southwest Colorado’s cross-country teams.
Dolores lived up to its early-season expectations, placing second behind Utah small-school powerhouse San Juan with 45 points in the score-four format. Montezuma-Cortez made its season debut with 95 points, finishing sixth.
While neither M-CHS nor Dolores fielded a full girls team, both programs showed promise in their 2025 openers.
Dolores sophomore Joseph Padilla led the Bears with a seventh-place finish in 20:10, earning the second-best time among Colorado 2A runners. Junior Corvin Smith followed in 12th (20:42), just ahead of classmate Owen Lowe in 13th (20:49). Junior Orin Samulski rounded out the scoring pack with a 19th-place finish in 21:18.
Other Bears finishers included Bodhi Fischer (21st, 21:47), Grant Wright (34th, 23:38), Nathan Gaddis (37th, 24:02), Levi Rantz (42nd, 24:44), Isaac Samulski (52nd, 26:29), Bodhi Patillo (58th, 28:24) and Ranger LaRose (62nd, 30:32).
M-CHS junior Cruz Plewe led the Panthers with a 15th-place finish in 20:58 for second-year head coach Dan Tamminga. Classmate William Blair placed 27th (22:33), while Kenai Cotonuts and Daniel Thornton tied for 49th (25:48).
On the girls side, Dolores sophomore Emilynn Hill looked strong in her season debut after qualifying for state as a freshman. She placed eighth in 23:44.
M-CHS’ Camryn Oliver led a pair of Panthers, finishing 31st in 33:21. Teammate Shaylie Keiter took 34th in 44:10.
San Juan won the boys race with 14 points, led by Platte Lyman’s winning time of 18:59. Ridgway dominated the girls race with 15 points, paced by Natasha Hessler’s first-place finish in 20:20.
Next up for area teams is the Durango Invitational, followed by a trip to Alamosa for the Joe Vigil Invite to kick off a busy September.
