The runners at Durango High School are proving again to be some of the best in the state.
The Demons’ boys and girls track and field squads took on a talented field with success. The boys team took third place out of 22 teams, and the girls finished eighth over the weekend at the Mickey Dunn Invitational in Grand Junction.
The Demon boys finished with 58 points behind second place Palisade (97) and the overall winners from Fruita Monument (118). Among many impressive performances, the team’s success was highlighted by the first place 4x800-meter relay team of Jordan Helms, Seamus Millett, Coltin Gallegos and David Moenning.
Moenning also finished in second place in the 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute, 59.20 seconds. The sub-two-minute time bumps him up to No. 2 in the state’s 4A rankings.
“David was about 80 meters back and he made an impressive push to win it for the relay team,” Durango head coach David McMillan said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “In the 800, the winner outran him at the end, but his goal was to break two minutes, and we were all happy that he did that.”
The 4x100 relay team (Lucas Baken, Kaleb McMunn, Oliver Haaland, Ben Bates) earned second place, finishing in 45.82 seconds.
Seamus Millett finished fourth in the 1,600-meter run (4:40.79) while Jordan Helms took fifth and Nicholas Turco finished eighth for Durango in the 3,200-meter run.
Adding to the success of the 4x100 relay team was the 4x200 (Haaland, Bates, Hise, Joaquin Valdez) and 4x400 (Vincente Jimenez, Moenning, Paxton Scott, Bates) teams both of which took fifth place in their races.
The Demons also had some standout efforts from their throwers. Chandler Schneider was fourth in discus with a throw of just 129 feet, and Braden Evans finished sixth with a career-best throw of just more than 123 feet.
On the girls’ side, Abby Scott and Bekah Moenning were top runners for the Demons. Scott finished second and recorded a personal best time of 2:28.59 in the 800-meter run, while Bekah Moenning also had a second-place finish in the long jump with distance of 16.25 feet.
Breann Hawman showed that the Demons’ girls are strong throwers as well. Hawman’s shot put heave of 34 feet, 5.50 inches was a personal best good enough for second place. She also finished fourth tossing the discus 102 feet, 7 inches.
“Our throwing coach, Robin Oliger, was really excited with the performances on both sides,” McMillan said. “The throwing crew has a really bright future.”
Kathleen Duft led the Demons in three races and posted two personal records. She was 23rd (14.52) in 100 meter, ninth in the 100-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles.
Duft, Scott and Moenning were also part of a fourth-place 4x400 team with Siena Widen and the 4x800 team of Sarah Smagacz, Moenning, Scott and Emily Edwards-Colsman placed third.
“It’s a really competitive group, and they’re competitive in a constructive way, not nasty,” McMillan said. “The day reflected on the bi-model makeup of our team, youth and experience.”
All in all, the Demons walked away from the Mickey Dunn Invitational with 16 personal records and six top-18 state rankings, which is crucial because it’s the top 18 that qualify for state in each event.
The DHS team is in for a special occasion this week as they’ll meet with Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills. Mills shocked the world winning gold in the 10K in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games. He will speak at Fort Lewis College as part of the Native American Center Speaker Series and will offer a presentation at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the FLC Student Union Ballroom. The event is free, but tickets are required and can be ordered at www.durangoconcerts.com .
The Demons will travel to Denver for a highly competitive meet at Mullen High School next weekend.
jfries@durangoherald.com
