Rainfall the previous night hardly concerned those tasked with preparing the arriving runners’ route.
Bovine migration at Jack-a-lope Acres in Ignacio was more a worry, as cows’ hooves easily dug deep into the softened dirt and thus pockmarked portions of the Class 2A-Region IV Championships’ course – meaning that in some spots competitors would have to pay closer attention to their footfall.
But in the end, the Ignacio-hosted event went off beneath a near-cloudless sky and with hardly a hitch, and with only four of the 16 attending teams advancing to the 2025 season’s grand finale, the Bobcats boys cross country team made sure they were one.
With senior Trace Crane clocking a fifth-place time of 18 minutes, 46 seconds and junior Thunder Windy Boy only a few swift strides behind, IHS’ lead quartet ended up with an adjusted score of 55 points and, most importantly, a third-place result guaranteeing them inclusion in the state championships.
“Coming in third at our ‘home’ meet was really pretty phenomenal,” head coach Kent Gillin said. “I’m glad they could do that in front of the students, all the parents – it was just awesome for them to help show how Ignacio does a race! Then also just having a strong performance …. it was just really great to find that level of success.”
Almost able to finish on Crane’s heels, Windy Boy clocked 18:50 but couldn’t outkick Westcliffe-based Custer County’s Mason Stover (18:48), Buena Vista’s J.D. Windle (18:49) or CCHS’ Jacob Weeks (18:49) as the four juniors bolted across the downhill finish line.
“We started doing elevation stuff this week because this course, like the last three-quarters of a mile … you’re climbing the whole time,” Gillin said. “So we made sure to do a lot of hill work coming back from (Sargent’s Eric Wolff Invitational in) Monte Vista – notoriously flat – so we could race well today.”
IHS senior James Martin placed 19th in 19:45. Junior Judah Ashley finished 24th in 20:14, freshman Matthew Maestas took 42nd in 22:37, and freshman Kanoa Thompson was 63rd in 25:57.
“There’s a lot of improvement there as well,” Gillin said. “Matthew, if he continues to develop at this pace, will be one of our rocks starting next season.”
Crested Butte Community School senior Cody Pleak won in a time of 17:59, or 14 seconds ahead of Del Norte junior Mads Kreutzer. Dolores sophomore Joseph Padilla’s solid season continued with his third-place 18:24, and DNHS junior Cruz Matta earned fourth in 18:41 – helping the Tigers tally a winning score-4 low of 43 points. CBCS was right behind with 44, and Dolores came in fourth with 57 – denying Custer County (58) a team ticket to state by a point.
The 2A boys state championships race is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Norris-Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.
NO MORE WOLVERINES: Running at the 3A-Region II meet Thursday afternoon at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs, no Bayfield runners advanced to state.
Senior Porter Sutherlin ended his prep cross country career clocking 18 minutes, 25.43 seconds and placing a team-leading 31st in the boys race. Sophomore Travis Taylor (19:14.85), senior Parker Perkerewicz (19:26.71) and junior Cameron Mars (19:27.24) packed relatively well and finished 44th, 49th and 50th. Junior Ryan Kurtz (19:46.77) took 57th as BHS’ No. 5. The Wolverines finished ninth out of 11 schools.
Junior Abigail Robertson led the Wolverine girls with her 23rd-place 20:50.07 and senior Wrenalee Moore took 36th in 22:07.54. Seniors Kamala Smith (25:03.28) and Mila Feely (25:41.96), along with freshman Ashlynn Bravo (25:58.62) filled out Bayfield’s scoring quintet – which tallied 231 points and placed ninth out of 10 female teams.
Alamosa sophomore Ethan Merrick (15:46.44) was the boys’ individual champ; Telluride senior Austin Cook (18:51.39) ruled the girls’ feature. Manitou Springs (37 points) won the girls’ team title, while a higher-placing sixth runner gave MSHS (57 points) the boys’ title via tiebreaker over Alamosa (57).
