It all came together on the perfect day for the Ignacio High School girls cross-country team.
Led by a third-place finish from Maci Barnes, the Bobcats won the 2A Region 4 cross-country championship Friday at Confluence Park in Delta.
IHS scored 51 points to beat Colorado Rocky Mountain School by 18 points. West Grand High School was third with 71 points, and Hotchkiss was fourth with 87 points. In Class 2A, the top-four teams qualify for state along with the top-five finishers not on qualifying teams.
The race was won by Crested Butte’s Ruby Pendy in 20 minutes, 31 seconds. Colorado Rocky Mountain’s Morgan Karow was second in 20:39. Mary Scoggins of Rangely was fourth in 20:47, and Grand Valley’s Alex Mendoza was fifth in 21:03.
Mancos’ Grace Manning qualified for state in eighth place in a time of 21:11.
Also for IHS, Charlize Valdez placed 11th in 21:47. Avaleena Nanaeto was 21st in 23:00, and Alannah Gomez placed 22nd in 23:02. Vanessa Gonzales was 42nd in 24:39.
Ouray won the boys team title with 57 points. Rangely was second with 92, Caprock Academy was third with 94, and Grand Valley took fourth with 98. Ignacio was 12th with 176 points. Mancos was 11th with 166, and Dolores was 13th with 179.
Connor Williams of Crested Butte won the boys race in 16:36. Ouray’s Vincent Schierenberg was second in 17:35, four-tenths of a second ahead of Soroco’s Alex Colby.
Michael Brafford of Dolores was seventh in 18:12 to qualify for state. Edgar Hernandez of Mancos was 10th in 18:26.
IHS was led by Phillip Quintana in 36th in a time of 19:54. Dylan LaBarthe placed 41st in 20:12, Eppie Quintana was 46th in 20:44, and Gabriel Tucson was 53rd in 21:33. Trajan Garcia placed 58th for IHS in 22:07.
The Class 2A state championships will be held Saturday at the Norris-Penrose Events Center in Colorado Springs.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
