It was a banner start for La Plata County track and field teams at the Piedra Vista Invitational in Farmington on Saturday.
The Durango High School girls team placed second, while the boys took fifth. The girls swept the longer running events, as Bekah Moenning claimed the 400 meter, Madeline Burns won the 800 meter, and Abby Scott cruised in the 1,600 meter. Scott ran 5:28.95 in the 1,600 meter and ran a blazing fast 800 anchor leg of the sprint medley relay to help the Demons win first in that event.
Kathleen Duft placed second in the 300 hurdles and won her heat. Jessica Lee was also second in the pole vault, while track and field rookie Lana Razma had a stellar debut in the triple jump with a second-place finish. Cassandra Blau also took second in the 100-meter dash finals. Blau also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash and sixth in the 400.
Madeline Burns was second in the 1,600 meter behind Scott by only half of a second. Anna Smagacz and Cecilia Compton finished fifth and sixth in the event, respectively. Smagacz added a second-place finish in the 3,200 and a third-place finish in the 800.
A DHS newcomer, Azalea Santillan gave the Demons a boost in throwing events. The transfer from Aztec placed third in both the javelin throw and shot put. Alex Poulter claimed second in the discus and fifth in shot put for DHS.
The boys team saw many impressive performances from a few new additions, as well. But it was Alex Hise’s fast 23.47 time in the 200 meter that gave him a big win. Newcomer Connor Henry was fourth in the 800 meter in 2:13. Another soccer player and track newcomer, Aidan Urban, ran his first 800 meter since seventh grade in the 4x800 relay. His time of 2:08 help put the Demons in front in that race, and Harry Steinberg closed out the win with an anchor leg after Marcus Flint and Aidan Fitzgerald ran the middle legs in strong fashion. Stineberg also took second in the 1,600 meter.
Sam Dippold ran from the front in the 3,200 meter but was nipped at the post and took second place. Corbin Lyman was third in the 300-meter hurdles. Camden Garland was second in the pole vaults with a jump of 11 feet.
Freshman Martin Cuntz soared to seventh in the long jump, while Braden Evans was third in discus and Chandler Schneider close behind in fourth.
It was a big meet to open the year for the Wolverines.
Sam Westbrook placed first in both the discus and shot put, while Carl Heide claimed victories in the 300-meter hurdles and 110-meter hurdles. His time of 40.75 seconds in the 300 hurdles broke his own school record.
The BHS girls also received a first-place result from Jordan Lanning in the high jump at 5-feet, 2-inches, equaling her personal record. Lanning was also second in the long jump at 15-10 and third in the triple jump at 32-3.5. She added a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles.
Amber Johnson was a force all meet and placed second in the 200-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles.
On the boys side, Brian Mashak was second in the 100-meter dash in 11.58 seconds, a solid time after two years of battling hamstring injuries. Gus Roberts was second in the 400-meter, while Cody Speece, Jackson Sibley, Alx Knight and Sloan Mazur combined to take second in the 4x800 relay.
Dax Snooks also was second in the high jump at 5-8, and Ryan Phelps was right behind teammate Sam Westbrook for second in the shot put and discus.
Mazur was third in the 800 in 2:10:31. Bayfield’s boys sprint medley relay team placed fourth, and the 4x200 team was fifth. The 4x400 relay was sixth.
Bayfield’s girls relay teams took fourth in the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800. The 4x200 team palced fifth.
Snooks also took fifth in the triple jump for the boys. Tymbree Florian was sixth in the girls long jump.
Azala Perez was fifth in the 100-meter dash and 13th in the 200 for the Bobcats. She also placed ninth in the pole vault to lead the girls team.
Natoni Cundiff threw his way onto the podium in the discus for the boys team. Colten Smithson was ninth in the pole vault.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
