Over the past several seasons, the Montezuma-Cortez and Dove Creek track and field programs have put plenty of individuals at or near the top of the podium in individual events.

To win an invitational with hundreds of competitors, however, it takes a team effort and plenty of depth. The M-CHS girls team utilized 12 individual scoring performances and three scoring relays to best the eight-team field at the Bluejays Invitational.

M-CHS edged the host Bluejays by a single point (122-121), to go along with the boys’ dominant effort, as the Panthers won by 63 points over second-place Dove Creek.

The Bulldogs continued their strong first-half of the season on the following day, as Dove Creek’s boys cruised to a team victory at the Abel Velasquez Invitational in Ignacio.

In Mancos, the Panthers girls piled up a bundle of points in the field events, as Sophia Shepard won the triple jump (30 feet, 11 inches), Marlee Mack and Markylla Jones took second place in the long jump (14-9) and shot put (26-6), respectively, to go along with Olivia Yarbrough claiming second in the high jump (4-4).

Danielle Billie added a third-place mark in the discus (65 feet, 6½ inches), leading three Panthers to score in the event. Esperanza Vargas (sixth, 59-1) and Jones (eighth, 57-8) added to the parade of Panthers scoring in the invite. Alivia Durall (seventh, 19-9¼) joined Billie (sixth, 22-10½) to tally in the shot put.

Evelyn Caciagli rounded out the field even scoring for head coach Bob Archibeque’s squad, claiming seventh in the long jump (13 feet, 5 inches).

Tatom Endres (fourth, 400 meters, 1:13.38) and Aubrie Mathias (fourth, 100 hurdles, 20.55) assisted the Panther depth on the track, while Madeline Pipkin took fourth in the 200 (31.86). Heather Martinez scored in both hurdle events, taking eighth in both the 100 (22.26) and 300 (1:05.16).

Caciagli added a sixth-place 100-meter dash (15.29), while Yarbrough claimed seventh in the 200 (32.13). The Panthers scored in all three relays they entered, including a first-place effort in the sprint medley relay (2:14.05). Mack rounded out a full day with a first-place race in the 100 hurdles (17.67), second place in the 100 dash (14.14) and third place in the 300 hurdles (56.32).

The Panther boys took home nine top performances in the field to outdistance the competition. Zander Cruzan’s weekly sweep of the 100 and 200 meters joined a strong high jump (first, 6-2).

Raul Soto and Ben Hoffman had fantastic days as well, as Soto won the 300 hurdles (45.52) while taking third in the 110 hurdles (19.68). Hoffman, meanwhile, won the 400 meters (54.83) and took third in the 800 meters (2:22.87).

The Panthers went 1-2-3 in the 3,200, with Farrar Desloge taking top spot (13:24), with Ryan Pipkin and Houston Hurst not far behind. The Panthers also won the 4x200-meter relay (1:36.35), 4x400 (4:21.18) and 4x800 (9:45.98).

Hurst helped the Panthers to a strong field performance, as he took third in the triple jump (34-4½”), joining Bradley Fresquez (third, high jump, 5-6), Dalton Muzzy (fourth, shot put, 32-5½), Austin Wood (fifth, long jump, 19-5), Simeon Erlandson (fifth, shot put, 31-0), and Xander Bennetts (fifth, triple jump, 31-1) with top-five field events.

Dawson Stubby took fifth in the 110 hurdles (20.25), one place behind Fresquez (20.05), while Ridge Hathale scored in both hurdle events (sixth, 300 and eighth, 110) to go along with sixth-place high jump. Parley Smith (sixth, triple jump), Isaak Lewis (sixth, 1,600), Tay Wheat (sixth, 100 meters and long jump) and Atticus Keel (seventh, 300 hurdles) all added scoring performances for the Panthers.

Mancos put together plenty of strong showings on their home track, as Tegan Archer won the 1,600, Randi Lewis took second in the 100 hurdles, and Aysia Mathews claimed second in the high jump and triple jump, while taking third in the 100 meters.

Brooke Jabour added a third-place run in the 800, while Madilynn Ritter took third in the 1,600, and Claire Goodwin took third in the 100 hurdles. Haylie Higgins and Akima Kane scored fourth-place performances in the field, Higgins in the high jump and Kane in the shot put.

The Bluejay girls took first in both the 4x100 relay and 4x800, while the boys team won the 4x100 relay.

Jonah Ritter, Levi Martin, and Jake Lewis all scored in the 100 meters (second, fourth and eighth), while Braxton Dennison took fourth in the 800 meters. Colby Lewis took fourth in the triple jump, and Nicolai Charley scored in both of the throwing events (seventh, discus and eighth, shot put). Spencer Eschallier also scored in two field events – fourth in the high jump and seventh in the long jump to help the Bluejays to a third-place finish in the team standings.

Much like M-CHS the day before, Dove Creek utilized scoring from numerous sources to help propel the Bulldogs to a high-profile win the 12-team Abel Velasquez Invitational.

Six different Bulldogs claimed top-six performances in the field, to go along with two scoring relays to allow them to claim the win. Kade Hankins boasted three individual victories, winning both hurdle events and the long jump, with all three performances potentially earning Hankins a spot in the 1A state meet.

Kendall Gardner (second, shot put) and Quaden Huffaker (second, long jump) took the runner-up spots, while Asher Nye (third, discus), Bobby Pastorius (third, 110 hurdles) and Huffaker (third, 100 meters) rounded out the top-three individual efforts.

Jonathan Davis took fourth in the 800, Cody Alexander scored in both hurdle events, taking sixth in both.

The Bulldogs added a runner-up race in the 4x100-meter relay and fourth in the 4x200 to accumulate 96 points, six better than second place Pagosa Springs.

Dove Creek’s girls team took fourth in the field, led by Tara Glover’s double victory in the shot put and discus. Raylnn Hickman took second in the long jump while Aspen Nye took third in the 1,600 in Ignacio.

Elia Lowe of Dolores won the 3,200 for the Bears, while Bridger Beyhan took second in the 800 to help the Dolores girls to a fifth-place team finish, while the boys landed in eighth overall.

With the league meet coming up at the end of the month, M-CHS gets set to travel to Grand Junction for the large Phil Wertman Invitational, hosted by Fruita Monument. Dove Creek will next be in action in Bayfield on Tuesday, April 18, with the San Juan Basin League Meet scheduled for May 2 in Mancos.