LAKEWOOD – With two days in the books at Jefferson County Stadium, local teams ensured more podium finishes heading into the final day of the state track and field championships.
Both the Dolores and Montezuma-Cortez boys 4x400 relay teams advanced to the Saturday finals in their respective classifications, with the Dolores quartet of Aaron Nielson, Bridger Beyhan, Tray Traweek, and Michael Rantz taking seventh in the preliminary heats in a time of 3:33.1.
Montezuma-Cortez, meanwhile, took fifth in the 3A field with a time of 3:26.83, running with Houston Hurst, Ben Hoffman, Isaac Dozal, and Colby McMillian. Both the Bears and Panthers will line up on Saturday afternoon to vie for a podium spot.
The M-CHS and Dolores girls 4x400 relays also took to the track for their preliminary heats on Friday afternoon, and the Panthers group of Tatum Endres, Tessa Jackson, Hayden Matthias, and Addison Spitzer claimed 12th in a time of 4:16.22. DHS’ relay team of Elia and Maya Lowe, Kendall Chavez and Emilynn Hill earned 17th in the 2A crossing the line in 4:27.45.
The final relay in action on Friday among the Four Corners representatives came in the boys 4x100, where Mancos placed 16th in a time of 45.99 with James Potts, Levi Priestley, Michael Resner, and Jonah Ritter.
M-CHS had a pair of girls 300 hurdlers take on the field in the preliminary heats, and Faith Muzzy came away 17th in a time of 51.30 while Hayden Matthias came in one place after in 51.67.
The Panthers had multiple field event athletes in action on Friday, including both of their pole vaulters. Tatum Endres took 16th in the girls competition, clearing 7 feet, 5 inches, while Houston Hurst claimed 14th with a vault of 11-6 on the boys side.
Tay Wheat earned 16th place for the Panthers in the 3A long jump, as he leaped 18-9 to close out the day for Four Corners athletes.
Saturday’s action will conclude the meet, as Mancos’ Jonah Ritter and Dolores’ Michael Rantz will each compete in a pair of individual finals, M-CHS’ Colby McMillian will take on the 400, Dove Creek’s Jessica Alexander will race the 1A 1,600, Panther Tessa Jackson will compete in the 3A high jump, and the M-CHS and Dolores boys 4x400 relays will cap the weekend.
