2A Region 1 Boys
As the gun sounded for the first race of the day, runners grouped around Ben Kelley, cautiously eyeing the pre-meet favorite to see how he would approach the race. Trailing in the chase pack, a bright blue wave of runners with the Mancos 'M' on their chest seemed content to let the initial spurt of energy play out.
By the race midpoint, the pack mentality had given way to Kelley's insistent pressing of the pace and only Mancos' Simon Kearns was making an attempt to try to keep stride with him. Behind them, Telluride's Jaden Evans and Rangely's Patrick Scoggins were trying to stay in contact.
The later part of the race circles around Confluence Lake and provides no protection from the sun or, on this day, the wind. If you are on your game, it is an opportunity to make some headway. If you are not, the race can start to take its toll here.
Kelley was on his game and shed all challengers, assuming a commanding lead. Scoggins moved into second position while Kearns and Evans were now contending for third.
Over the last half mile, Kearns secured third position and crossed as Mancos' first runner. Ouray's Cooper Rondinelli, Hotchkiss's Sam Rodriguez and Dolores's Phillip Hufman each passed a fading Evans.
Mancos' second finisher, Jake McKie followed for a close 7th and, with teammate Caleb Yoder finishing 11th, the scoring tally stopped with the Blue Jays garnering the team win with 18 points. Ouray eked out the runner up position over Paonia 36 to 38 and Telluride captured the final team qualifier.
Kelley's winning time of 15:52.53 was the fastest of the day and a PR despite less than optimal conditions. Even with a truncated season, Kelley seems poised to be a front runner going into next week's championship.