When Colfax High runners Nick Read and Sarah Howard line up Saturday at the Sac-Joaquin Section’s CIF championship meet at Willow Hills in Folsom, the numbers three and 14 loom big.

Competing in their respective Division IV boys and girls races, both Read and Howard will be looking to finish in the top 14 of their runs to advance as individuals to the CIF State Meet slated for Nov. 28 in Fresno.

The 14 runners that advance to the state do so by basis of the section qualifying three teams.

With the Colfax boys and girls varsity teams slowed by injuries, both Read and Howard turned in fine efforts at last weekend’s sub-section meet held in Angels Camp.

In the boys ranks, Read ran a time of 16:58 to finish 4th overall and advance to Saturday’s meet. Following the Colfax senior in for the Falcons were Alex Morgan (38th, 18:53), Max Schopfer (43rd, 19:00), Dylan Laidlaw (57th, 19:37), and Nelson Wheelehan (84th, 21:08).

Also running for the Falcons were Daniel Graupensperger (92nd, 21:49) and Jason Funk (93rd, 21:49).

Colfax finished 10th as a team.

Howard stepped off a run of 20:40 to finish 5th overall in the girls Div. IV race. Howard was followed in by teammates Haley Walker (11th, 21:09), Maddie Newman (43rd, 22:45), Christina Keyes (53rd, 23:25), Madeline Richards (61st, 24:19) and Shae Wall (65th, 24:33).

Colfax’s frosh boys team also qualified for the section meet behind Patrick Myers, 5th in 13:03; Max Tucker, 16th in 13:55; Harrison Graves, 27th in 14:39; Jesse Dail, 30th in 14:47 and Curtis Hilgenberg, 40th in 15:35.