Search up and down the Western Slope, you’d be hard-pressed to find a small-school distance running program as consistently strong as Mancos High School.
Upon closer inspection – it’s easy to see why.
On a late fall afternoon, pairs of Bluejays stream along the dirt roads leading away from the school, gently striding through the freshly fallen leaves.
With the state meet on the horizon, the Lady Jays’ lone senior, Madilynn Ritter, guides an youthful program the way an elder sister looks after her siblings. For a group of talented underclassmen, Ritter’s steadying influence serves as the ballast for a program that seems to restock its talent each autumn.
“They’re some of my best friends,” said Ritter. “We all depend on each other a lot, and we’re very supportive of each other.”
Ritter has consistently finished among the top three Bluejays to cross the finish line over her past couple seasons, including serving as the Jays’ No. 3 runner in her junior and senior year regional races.
“It’s nice to know that I can help be a leader,” she said, “and that I have the gist of what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Sophomores Teagan Archer and Adaline Kearns have regularly finished atop the field in races across Southwest Colorado, while junior Chloe Endres has been a major cog in the Bluejays scoring pack. All of the Jays, regardless of team placement, have looked to their senior captain for guidance.
The Jays program steadily improved yet again, over the course of the season – another hallmark of a successful XC team – and head coach Brady Archer credits Ritter for her role in that improvement.
“She grew so much in her junior year about how she viewed herself as a runner,” said Archer, “and seeing that success made her really want to push herself even more.”
Ritter earned a captain role in her junior year, and her role expanded even further into her senior season. “She’s like another coach for us,” said Archer. “We trust her to take the team through what they need to be doing, both at practices and in meets.”
The Bluejays took fifth at the 2A Region 4 meet, extending the lengthy tradition of at least one of the school’s XC teams qualifying for the state meet.
“Cross-country has been one of the highlights of my high school experience, so to get to run at the state meet both of my last two years has been really nice,” added Ritter.
Mancos finished 10th as a team at the 2A state meet in 2021, Ritter’s state debut, where the then-junior took 53rd overall in the field.
While she indicated that her season-best regional time of 22:36 from this past week wasn’t her best race, the fact that her team advanced again to the state championships more than compensated.
“She has such a strong internal drive in everything that she does,” said Archer, “and to see that pay off for her has been great to see.”
Ritter takes on a full plate of additional activities to supplement her student-athlete balanced lifestyle, including National Honor Society, student government, cheer and Knowledge Bowl. She’s set her sights on collegiate plans beyond graduation, looking to pursue pre-med.
In the short-term, one final cross-country meet in the blue-and-white has Ritter focused on bringing out her best for her teammates and for herself. Twenty of the best small schools in the state will line up on the starting line at the Norris Penrose Events Center on Saturday, Oct. 29, set to race for a state title.
“You’re going to have good races and bad races,” said Ritter of what running has meant to her, “but no matter what, I’ve learned that I have to keep moving forward – not just in running, but in every part of life.”
