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Photo by David Pressgrove

Junior Nike Cleverly races to the finish line Friday at the Grand Junction Central Cross Country Meet. Cleverly was third on the Bulldog team and fifth overall. The Bulldog boys and girls swept the meet with two first-place team finishes.

As the new season dawned on the Moffat County High School cross-country team, coach Todd Trapp said he had high expectations for his runners.

After his team's performance Friday during the Grand Junction Central Cross Country Meet, the expectations might have been raised.

The boys and girls teams finished first, and Maddy Jourgensen and Chris Zirkle finished first overall for the girls and boys, respectively.

"We knew we were going to have a competitive team this year," Trapp said. "Everyone ran well, and I think even better than last week, because they are getting in race shape."

Moffat County was solid across the board, with three of the top five in both boys and girls.

Zirkle won the boys event, with Alfredo Lebron finishing second and Corey Wojkiewicz fifth.

Jourgensen won her first race, with teammates Erin Leonard (fourth) and Nike Cleverly (fifth) right behind her.

But it wasn't just the top-five runners who impressed, Trapp said.

"From top to bottom, the whole team ran well," Trap said. "We thought we'd have a chance to finish first, but you never know."

With nine teams running, it was a smaller meet, which was a nice change of pace for the team, Trapp said.

"Next week, we'll go back to Denver for another meet," he said. "It was still a competitive meet, though.

"We knew Fruita has some good runners, and we talked to both the boys and the girls about it."

But even with solid competition, the Bulldogs were able to run away with the meet.

Having the boys and girls squads finish first doesn't happen every year, Trapp said.

"Probably the last time it happened was at a home meet," he said. "I can't remember the last time it happened."

The wins only furthered Trapp's hopes for his team.

"The girls side is coming together really well," he said. "We had high expectations before the season started, and the kids are getting better as the season goes on."

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 875-1795 or bbulkeley@craigdailypress.com.