Ridgway middle school runner Macey Cornell leads her way to victory in the 3,000-meter girls cross country race at Boggy Draw near Dolores, during the Chicken Creek Challenge on Saturday. Macey led the girls’ team to win the San Juan Basin League Championship, with her first-place finish in 12:40.82. Ouray Middle School runner Cameron Skoloda finished a hair behind Cornell, with a time of 12:59.72, earning her second place in the field of 77 runners. The former teammates from the Ouray and Ridgway cross country teams are now competing against each other, after administrators decided to split the teams in May. David Emory – Special to the Plaindealer

Freshman runner Ariel Hessler keeps pace in the Chicken Creek Challenge on Saturday, held at Boggy Draw near Dolores. Hessler completed the 5,000-meter run in 24:01.94, placing eighth out of 51 runners, and helped the Ridgway High School girls cross country team win the San Juan Basin League Championship. Ridgway Coach Trevor Peterson was also named coach of the year for the conference. David Emory – Special to the Plaindealer

Ouray sixth-grade runner Cash Hirt competes in the Chicken Creek Challenge on Saturday, held at Boggy Draw near Dolores. He completed the 3,000-meter run in 15:09.09, helping the Ouray Middle School boys’ team place third overall at the meet. David Emory – Special to the Plaindealer

Ridgway cross country runner Macey Cornell looks to extend her lead over Montrose’s Claire Metzger on her way to her second straight win at the 3,000-meter distance race on Oct. 4 at the Delta Pantherfest meet at Confluence Park. Cornell placed first in the middle school girls’ race, with a time of 11:13.1. Both Ridgway and Ouray cross country teams will be competing at the San Juan Basin League Conference meet on Saturday, held at the Chicken Creek Challenge in Mancos. Photo courtesy Trevor Peterson

Ouray middle school cross country runner Mikayla Hirt crests a hill in the race on Oct. 5 in Aspen at the Chris Severy Invitational meet. Hirt finished the race in 18:45.7, placing ninth. The girls’ team and the boys’ team both placed third in the meet. The team competed Tuesday at Rifle and is headed to Mancos on Saturday for the Chicken Creek Challenge. David Emory – Special to the Plaindealer