CORTEZ – First-year Montezuma-Cortez softball head coach Anthony Mestas stepped into a program with a wealth of young talent to begin his tenure in orange and black.
One of his first tasks at hand will be sorting out how to deploy all of the different combinations of his underclassmen-heavy roster to continue making the Panthers into the potent program that has dominated the 3A Western Slope League in recent years. With the fall season already underway, the new wave of Panthers varsity players are earning their stripes with each new challenge.
Among the experienced returners, junior infielder Raegan Veach brings some punch to the top of Mestas’ batting order, having pushed a .500 average during her sophomore campaign. Classmate Jayden White also developed into a reliable bat for M-CHS, while fellow juniors Chelsey Kramer and Annalisa Abeyta along with senior Afton Unrein looks to have increasing roles after proving themselves to be dangers on the basepaths last year.
While the Panthers will look to their upperclassmen for leadership, the 2025 campaign will invite an influx of sophomores to the varsity scene. From that class, Ava Hawkins and Paislee Mestas lead a group from the Class of ’28 that fill the lineup card. Graduation from this past May opened up a variety of spots around the infield and in the circle, and the Panthers feel like they have the right pieces to fit into the gaps. Sophomores Madisyn Gapp, Ellisia Winter, Hailee Martinez, CeJae Snyder and freshman Aubrey Taveira are among the many other faces that Mestas and the Panthers will lean on right out of the gate this fall.
In the circle, Hawkins and Taveira look to shoulder some of the load alongside sophomore Samara Reuben, while the Panthers look for their defense to make strides to continue developing the chemistry that many of the Panthers enjoyed at the subvarsity level.
Mestas is joined by strong assistant coaching crew focused on developing the Panthers at both the varsity and junior varsity levels – in the hopes that this group will continue the recent run of powerful Panther softball that has lifted the program to multiple 3A state appearances over the past decade.
M-CHS (0-4, 0-4 3A WSL) opened the season at home this past week with contests against Cedaredge and Gunnison, as the Panthers saw some of their rising varsity players take to Englehart Field. Veach led the offense during a couple of big flurries at the plate – including a 10-run outburst in the first inning against the Cowgirls – but the visitors answered with their own precise hitting to keep the Panthers at bay.
The rest of August will provide further tests for the Panthers, with a trip to Durango on Aug. 26, followed by home contests against Delta (Aug. 28) and a doubleheader with Meeker (Aug. 30). The Panthers make their annual trip to Berthoud the following weekend before facing Durango (Sept. 9) for the second meeting in their home-and-home series. Senior Day will be Sept. 25 versus Alamosa, before the Panthers hit the road for their final regular season action, in hopes that they will be a part of the 3A postseason, which begins with the regional tournament over the weekend of Oct. 17 – 18.
