Dusty Solis had a moment of panic with less than two miles remaining in the 5A Region 5 cross country championship on Thursday at Monument Valley Park.

The talented Coronado senior was clinging to a slight lead on Palmer junior Andrew Goodman, but Solis was afraid he had a bigger problem: one of his shoes was untied.

“That’s never happened to me before,” Solis said. “I double lace them, but it came undone. My shoe never came off, but I was afraid it would. If it had, I’d decided I would just keep going.”

Solis finished with two shoes and 2 seconds ahead of Goodman to win his second straight regional title.

Solis wasn’t pleased with his time (16:16), but Coronado coach Doug Hugill, whose Cougars won the team title, 12 points ahead of Palmer, didn’t mind.

“Our kids were keying off of Dusty, so he went out slow,” Hugill said. “They gain security in that, and nobody panics. We knew Dusty could still win it, but Andrew gave him a real good race.”

Fabulous freshman Heather Bates of Pine Creek ran a personal best (18:21) to handily win the 5A girls’ title by 35 seconds over runner-up Hannah Everson, a sophomore from Liberty.

Bates downplayed her performance and said “my coach (Max Oliver) just wanted me to win and save my strength for state.”

The top 15 runners in each of the four races qualified for state at Fort Collins’ Fossil Ridge on Oct. 31.

Qualifying teams in 5A boys were Coronado, Palmer, Rampart, Mountain Vista and Liberty. In 5A girls, it was Pine Creek, Palmer, Air Academy, Mountain Vista and Doherty.

In 4A boys, qualifiers were Pueblo West, Pueblo South, Widefield, Pueblo Centennial and Alamosa. Reaching girls’ 4A state were Alamosa, Pueblo West, Vista Ridge, Pueblo South and Pueblo Centennial.

Alamosa junior Nicole DeSouchet was the regional champion (18:53), and Pueblo West junior Mike Cernoia (15:57) edged Cañon City senior Tabor Stevens by a second in 4A boys.

Bates, who has won four of six races, said her immediate success is a surprise.

“I was never expecting it, but coach Oliver gives us great workouts, and we have such a good team that we push each other every day in practice,” Bates said. “I just love running.”

“She’s special,” Oliver said. “She works hard and she’s so conscientious. She does everything right: nutrition, rest, never misses a workout. She’s eager, and, like most good runners, she’s smart. We knew she was going to be good but not this good.”

Pine Creek’s Heather Bates blew away the competition during the girl’s 5A cross country regional Thursday at Monument Valley Park. Photo by MARIAH TAUGER, THE GAZETTE