It came down to the final moments, but Moffat County track and field athletes got the results they were hoping to see as the boys emerged the top team of the 3A Western Slope League to conclude the two-day conference championships Friday and Saturday in Grand Junction.

The group victory was by a slim margin, with the Bulldog boys’ 156 team points only one point ahead of Coal Ridge. Of that total, 38 points came from senior Evan Atkin, who had wins in the 100-meter dash, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.

The 300 hurdles included a big highlight during the preliminary round, as Atkin’s first time competing this season in the event amounted to a school record as he clocked in at 38.9 seconds.

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It’s the second record the Bulldog upperclassman has broken this spring after edging out a 40-year-old record in the 400 dash last month.

The previous record in the 300 hurdles was set in 2021 by Logan Hafey, who earned a state title in the event, and Atkin’s prelim time shot him to the top of the rankings among 300 athletes. He also placed second in the long jump, while his teammates were doing their own due diligence in other events.

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Sophomore Andrew Duran won the 200 dash, and junior Hudson Jones won the triple jump. Going the distance was Owen Gifford with second in the mile and third in both the half-mile and two-mile races, as well as getting the bronze in the 4×800 relay alongside Boden Reidhead, Noah Beason and Haven Carr.

Also taking third place were junior Ian Hafey in the discus, sophomore Wyatt Tucker in the high jump, and the 4×200 group of Duran, Reidhead, Conner VanQuill and Jimi Jimenez. With points in nearly every event, it came down to the final race.

“We knew we had to finish fourth or better going in the 4×400,” assistant coach David Pressgrove said. “We survived a dropped baton and hung on for fourth.”

MoCo boys hit new season bests left and right, including Atkin in the 100, 110 and 300; Zeke Cordero in the 200 dash; Gifford in each of the distance races; Jones in the triple; and Hafey in both shot put and disc.

Despite contending with some malfunctioning equipment, the Bulldog girls also saw success with fourth place among teams. They got the gold in the 4×100 with Quincy Lowe, Sadie Smilanich, Cayden King and Camila Nunez and in the 4×400 with King, Teya Miller, Alexis Jones and Lizzy LeWarne. The times were new bests for the year in both events.

The girls also notched new bests with second place in the 800 sprint medley — Lowe, Nunez, Smilanich and King — and third place in the 4×800 — Danna Montanez, Miller, Brook Wheeler and LeWarne.

The girls also earned silver in the 4×200, Alexis Jones in the high jump, and Smilanich in the 200 dash. Taking bronze were Nunez in the 100 dash, LeWarne in the 100 hurdles, and Alexis Herndon in the shot put.

The girls were hindered by incomplete timing results in the 800 run and a 300 hurdle final that was a wash, though they saw significant cuts for new bests in the 100 dash, and half-mile and mile events.

With the state championships coming up, MCHS track will complete the regular schedule with a final go to improve their results this week at the Dennis Teeter Tiger Invite in Grand Junction.

Moffat County track and field 3A Western Slope League Championships

Boys

100-meter dash — 1. Evan Atkin, 11.3 2.  Zeke Cordero, 11.64

110-meter hurdles — 1. Evan Atkin, 15.84

200-meter dash — 1. Andrew Duran, 23.28 2. Zeke Cordero, 23.57 14. Conner VanQuill, 25.09

300-meter hurdles — 1. Evan Atkin, 40.18 4. Hudson Jones, 43.68 8. Patrick Neton, 46.39

400-meter dash — 4. Zeke Cordero, 51.39 6. Andrew Duran, 53.16 18. Wyatt Tucker, 1:01.12

800-meter run — 3. Owen Gifford, 2:01.05 6. Boden Reidhead, 2:07.33 16. Logan Reidhead, 2:24.97

1,600-meter run — 2. Owen Gifford, 4:41.56 8. Boden Reidhead, 4:54.91 12. Haven Carr, 5:08.22

3,200-meter run — 3. Owen Gifford, 10:22.005 8. Haven Carr, 11:06.78 9. Noah Beason, 11:21.27

4×100-meter relay — 4. Patrick Neton/Jimi Jimenez/Isaac Vallem/Conner VanQuill, 47.2

4×200-meter relay — 3. Andrew Duran/Boden Reidhead/Conner VanQuill/Jimi Jimenez, 1:35.02

4×400-meter relay — 4. Zeke Cordero/Patrick Neton/Ian Trevenen/Jimi Jimenez, 3:40.22

4×800-meter relay — 3. Boden Reidhead/Owen Gifford/Noah Beason/Haven Carr, 8:39.16

High jump — 3. Wyatt Tucker, 5-8 8. Ian Trevenen, 5-6 9. Hudson Jones, 5-6

Long jump — 2. Evan Atkin, 20-7.75 5. Hudson Jones, 20-2 10. Jimi Jimenez, 18-4

Triple jump — 1. Hudson Jones, 43-0.25 11. Logan Reidhead, 34-10

Discus — 3. Ian Hafey, 130-2 10. Isaac Vallem, 108-8 17. Milo Gifford, 86-6

Shot put — 5. Ian Hafey, 38-8 14. Milo Gifford, 32-11 18. Isaac Vallem, 32-3

Girls

100-meter dash — 3. Camila Nunez, 13.68 9. Quincy Lowe, 13.66 13. Sofia Vanzo, 14.31

100-meter hurdles — 3. Lizzy LeWarne, 19.19

200-meter dash — 2. Sadie Smilanich, 27 5. Camila Nunez, 28.62 9. Teya Miller, 28.57

400-meter dash — 9. Mena Tucker, 1:09.09 16. Teryn Carter, 1:12.66

800-meter run — 5. Danna Montanez, 2:33.91

1,600-meter run — 8. Bella Vanzo, 6:14.81 10. Josefina Kuberry, 6:24.88 12. Brook Wheeler, 6:26.57

3,200-meter run — 7. Josefina Kuberry, 13:46.68

800-meter sprint medley relay — 2. Quincy Lowe/Camila Nunez/Sadie Smilanich/Cayden King, 1:56.5

4×100-meter relay — 1. Quincy Lowe/Sadie Smilanich/Cayden King/Camila Nunez, 52.27

4×200-meter relay — 2. Quincy Lowe/Caitlyn Adams/Alexis Jones/Sadie Smilanich, 1:51.36

4×400-meter relay — 1. Cayden King/Teya Miller/Alexis Jones/Lizzy LeWarne, 4:20.21

4×800-meter relay — 3. Danna Montanez/Teya Miller/Brook Wheeler/Lizzy LeWarne, 10:51.9

High jump — 2. Alexis Jones, 4-9.5 6. Caitlyn Adams, 4-7.5 9. Sofia Vanzo, 4-3.5

Long jump — 8. Caitlyn Adams, 14-9.75 9. Teya Miller, 14-5.75 14. Teryn Carter, 13-5.5

Triple jump — 9. Mena Tucker, 28-8.25 11. Teryn Carter, 26-10.75

Discus — 6. Taylen Hume, 89 10. Alexis Herndon, 73-2

Shot put — 3. Alexis Herndon, 32 5. Taylen Hume, 31-5