The Rye High School Cross Country team battled the sweltering heat at the Rocky Ford Invitational, and the young team showed well for themselves. Twenty-three High School and Middle Schools competed in the 49th running of the Rocky Ford Invitational.
The boys’ team came in 4th place. Freshman David Maroney placed 12th in a time of 19:14.91 to place highest for the Thunderbolts. The winning time of 17:14.30 was posted by Cole Krug of Lamar.
Senior Garret George placed 22nd in a time of 21:14.97.
Freshman Timothy Blackhurst finished in 21:30.45, good for 23rd place and Sophomore Colton Hendrickson came in 25th with a time of 21:48.26.
In cross country the first four finishers on a team collect the team points but Rye’s Jayden Englert placed 35th in a time of 25:44.73 and Thomas Blackhurst placed 38th in a time of 27:55.00. Carter Ford was 45th with a time of 31:50.50 and Chandler Shifflet ran a 38:05.30.
Banning-Lewis Preparatory School won the boys’ high school team title.
The Rye Girls’ team placed 6th in the tournament.
Freshman Ivey McAlhany placed 28th in a time of 30:07.74. This was the first race for the majority of the Lady T’s. Morgan Gallegos was 29th in a time of 30:27.09. Mylee Garner was 32nd in a time of 31:10.66 and Clara Chandler came in 33rd in a time of 32:00.54.
Alexia Gonzales of Banning Lewis Preparatory was the gold medalist for the girls and Banning-Lewis also won the team title.
“I was pleased with the results of our first meet,” shared Head Coach TJ Blackhurst. “It was of course very hot in Rocky Ford but the kids ran really strong. It was a solid start to the season. I think the potential is definitely there for both teams to get to state. We have a lot of improvement to do, but we have a great group of kids that have been working hard every day in practice.
Craver Middle School was also at the invitational. The boys’ team placed fourth to home town Rocky Ford.
Draven Ferch of Springfield Middle School won the event in a time of 13:16.80. The best finisher for Craver was Jaxon Littlefield with a time of 16:05.73 and a 13th place finish.
The Craver Middle School girls’ team had one competitor. Madison Kirchoff placed 17th in a time of 20:27.60. Scarlett Maxwell of Del Norte won in a time of 14:50.60. Rocky Ford won the team title.
The Craver team is coached by Krystal Hendricksen.
The Thunderbolts compete at Cheyenne Mountain this Friday.