IGNACIO – In a tightly contested Class 2A Region 4 meet, the Dolores boys cross-country team held its breath even after their exhausting 5K efforts were complete.
In one of the most competitive regions in the classification, the Bears found themselves among five teams battling for four state berths.
With the final tally of the score-four race Friday morning at Jack-a-Lope Farms in Ignacio, the Bears could exhale, having earned the fourth and final state berth with 59 points. Dolores edged fifth-place Custer County by nine points, with the top five teams separated by just 24 points.
Regional champion Del Norte placed two runners in the top four to win with 44 points, while Crested Butte (46), Ignacio (57) and Dolores (59) punched their tickets to the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs for the state meet Saturday, Nov. 1.
As he has for most of the season, Dolores was led by sophomore Joseph Padilla (18:24), who finished third overall as one of three athletes to break 18:30 on the rigorous course. Junior Corvin Smith also posted a top-15 finish with a time of 19:21 as part of a furious sprint finish that included Mancos sophomore Cuinn Archer and Ridgway’s Orion Catron. Archer (19:23) finished in the heartbreaking 16th spot — the first athlete left out of the state field.
DHS juniors Owen Lowe and Orin Samulski crossed in 20th and 22nd place overall (19:56 and 20:08, respectively) to wrap up the Bears’ scoring pack. Freshman Bodie Fischer and sophomore Nathan Gaddis took 36th and 37th, joining sophomore Levi Rantz (46th) and freshman Isaac Samulski (52nd) in the DHS boys contingent.
In the girls race, DHS sophomore Emilynn Hill earned her second state-qualifying appearance with a 10th-place finish (22:30), leading Montezuma County runners. Mancos freshman Carly Kroll also qualified for state in her debut season, placing 14th (22:54) to round out the county’s state representation.
The Mancos boys finished seventh with 150 points. Freshman Townes Morris (23rd, 20:09), junior Alekzander Bianchi (54th, 24:35), and sophomore Colter Dennison (57th, 24:56) rounded out the Bluejays’ scoring. MHS seniors Maddie Swortwood-Green (33rd, 29:28) and Tyla Henry (37th, 30:12) closed out their cross-country careers.
Ridgway (13 points) ran away with the girls team title. The Demons’ Natasha Hessler won the individual girls title in 20:05, while Crested Butte’s Cody Pleak claimed the boys title in 17:59.
The Class 2A girls race begins at 9:40 a.m., followed by the boys race at 11 a.m. on Nov. 1.
The Panthers continue inching closer to sending representation to the Class 3A state meet each year. Junior Cruz Plewe placed 28th in the Region 2 race with a time of 18:11, while classmate William Blair crossed in 34th (18:33) at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs on Thursday.
A group of seniors closed out their careers wearing orange and black: Roberto Sauzameda (65th, 20:39), Daniel Thornton (80th, 22:13), Kenai Cotonuts (82nd, 22:43), and Micah Stembridge (90th, 24:06) helped the Panthers score 254 points. Manitou Springs won the team title based on sixth-runner tiebreaker after finishing level with Alamosa at 57 points.
In the girls race, M-CHS senior Camryn Oliver placed 70th (26:30), and freshman Shaylie Keiter wrapped up her first high school season in 74th (27:17). Manitou Springs also claimed the girls team title with 37 points.
