Competing at the Center Invitational in Monte Vista on March 16, members of the Mancos High School boys and girls track teams proved themselves capable of keeping pace with some of the state’s top athletes.

On the boys’ side, the Bluejays were led by sophomore Caden Showalter, who finished first in the discus (135 feet, 1½ inches) and first in the shot put (44 feet, 8¾ inches) in the 18-team event. Showalter’s discus mark was nearly 14 feet better than the event’s second-place finisher and he was the only underclassman to finish in the Top 3 of the shot put.

Also coming through with a victory for Mancos was sophomore Anthony Medina, whose leap of 20 feet, 2¾ inches was good enough to take top honors. Not far behind Medina was teammate Griff Huver, who finished second in the long jump with a mark of 19 feet, 6½ inches.

Other Top 5 finishers for the boys included Jake McKie, who finished second in the 1600-meter run (5:12.48), Caleb Yoder, who placed fifth in the 800-meter run (2:21.19), and Zane Wilson, who crossed the line fifth in the 3200-meter run (12:38.17).

Alex Fleitz finished ninth in the 3200-meter run (13:01.81), and Mancos finished third overall as a team behind Buena Vista and team-champion Salida High School. Eighteen boys teams competed in the event.

On the girls’ side, Mancos was led by freshman Grace Manning, who finished third in the 400-meter dash (1:09.45) and sixth in the 800-meter run (3:00.20). Kristen Fogel rounded out the Lady Jays’ Top 10 finishers with a second-place finish in the shot put (30 feet, 20 inches).

The Mancos girls team finished tied for 12th in the team standings, and Buena Vista finished first in the 21-team event.

Next up for both Mancos track teams will be the Hotchkiss Invitational on March 24.