After a week’s hiatus, Moffat County cross country runners were back in the race this weekend.

MCHS hit the trails Saturday at Connected Lakes State Park for the Grand Junction Tiger Invitational.

Bulldog boys placed seventh and girls eighth in the meet that attracted 15 schools from across the Western Slope.

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The race was a different vibe than the season-starting D’Evelyn Dash on Aug. 25, which gave runners a preview of the regional event later in the season.

Among smaller schools at D’Evelyn, girls placed third, led by sophomore Danna Montanez in seventh place at 23:28.5, while senior Owen Gifford led the boys with fifth (18:20.1) as the team took seventh.

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At Grand Junction, Gifford trimmed his time down to 17:52.4 and ranking 12th of 109 in the boys race, followed by Carson Laehr in 26th, Haven Carr 37th, Zach Womble 52nd, and Daniel Gomez 55th.

MoCo junior Josefina Kuberry led the girls group at 22:51.6 to place 30th of 89, with Joslyn Bacon 37th, Brook Wheeler 50th, Alyssa LeWarne 52nd, and Hannah Kilpatrick 64th.

MCHS runners will next compete at the St. Vrain Invite this Friday in Lyons, followed by the first of two home events, the Moffat County Invite Saturday, Sept. 23 at Loudy-Simpson Park.

Grand Junction Invitational 5K results

Moffat County Boys — 12. Owen Gifford, 17:52.4; 26. Carson Laehr, 18:28.1; 34. Haven Carr, 18:59.9; 52. Zach Womble, 19:40.9; 55. Daniel Gomez, 19:51.8; 84. Karson Fedinec, 21:46; 85. Brady Nunez, 22:10.6; 91. Travis LeFevre, 22:44.9. The team placed 7th overall.

Moffat County Girls — 30. Josefina Kuberry, 22:51.6; 37. Joslyn Bacon, 23:21.1; 50. Brook Wheeler, 24:02.6; 52. Alyssa LeWarne, 24:09.4; 64. Hannah Kilpatrick, 25:09. The team placed 8th overall.