The Durango girls cross country team had three runners finish in the top-five Friday at Dolores’ Boggy Draw Bear Chase, helping the Demons win the team title.
Durango High School head coach Ken Flint said they mostly sent junior varsity runners to the race, giving them a chance to compete early, and the athletes took advantage of the opportunity.
Freshman Dewa Ilg won the race by 41 seconds for DHS, crossing first after the rolling hills in 21 minutes, 44 seconds.
“Dewa ran a smart race,” Flint said. “She kept the first girl close early and then in the second half she got away from her pretty good.”
Durango’s Avery Cerwin placed third in 23:24, Seneca Wilson finished fourth in 23:57 and Elena Forrest placed 12th in 26:17 to secure the team win for DHS. Only the top four runners scored for each team.
Ellie Clark (22nd, 28:05), Nola Fox (23rd, 28:05) and Madison Hening (24th, 28:19) and Zoe Freeman (33rd, 32:58) also competed for Durango.
Mancos finished second, followed by Monticello, Dolores, Ignacio, Telluride and San Juan.
Avaleena Nanaeto led the Ignacio girls team, placing 11th in 26:14.
Ignacio’s Moriah Ashley finished 19th in 27:29, Lauren deKay placed 21st in 27:56, Harmony Reynolds placed 25th in 28:45, Darlyn Lechuga placed 28th in 29:46, Alannah Gomez finished 29th in 29:46 and Zoey Ashley crossed 30th in 30:16.
Nathaniel Ellis led the Durango boys contingent with a second-place finish. Ellis finished the race in 18:47, 28 seconds after the winner, Mancos’ Edgar Hernandez.
The coach said Ellis went out a little fast, running a sub-six minute first mile, but was able to hold off a big pack of runners after that.
“That was a good first race for him, as a sophomore running a sub-19,” Flint said.
San Juan won the team race, followed by Monticello, Durango, Mancos and Bayfield.
DHS’ William McFarlene finished ninth in 20:34, Thomas Pope placed 11th in 20:37, Joshua Yu finished 30th in 25:15, Hudson Curry placed 33rd in 25:34 and Evan Robinson crossed 34th in 26:34.
Royce Hinojosa led Bayfield with a 12th-place finish in 20:42. Tristan Sager finished 22nd in 23:20, Liam Smith finished 29th in 25:05, Will Kennedy-Jones placed 38th in 33:10, Hunter Carroll crossed 39th in 34:00, Jonas Gerritts finished 41st in 46:02 while Moss Gerritts placed 42nd in 46:05.
Ignacio also competed in the boys race, but didn’t have enough runners to post a team score.
Eppie Quintana led Ignacio with a 15th-place finish in 21:21. Phillip Quintana finished next, placing 16th in 21:54.
“We came away encouraged,” Flint said. “The kids had smiles on their faces; it was a fun day.”
With temperatures reaching only about 70 degrees, Flint also called it a “beautiful day for a race.”
This week, both Ignacio and Bayfield will run in Cortez on Friday.
Durango, meanwhile, will take its varsity squads and race against some of the top teams in the state Saturday at the Battle Mountain Husky Invitational.
Durango’s girls, who are ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, will square off with Battle Mountain and, likely, Niwot, the two top ranked teams.
“It could be the top-three teams in the state going at it,” Flint said. “I’m looking forward to next week to see where our varsity stands.”
