A win and a second-place finish will have Durango High School ready to send two full teams to the state cross-country championships next weekend in Colorado Springs.
Durango High School traveled to Elmwood Short Nine Golf Course in Pueblo for the 4A Region 5 championship races Friday. The DHS girls won with five placers in the top 10, while the Durango boys took second behind two top-five finishers.
“It was a hot day at 88 degrees at race time,” DHS head coach Ken Flint said. “They ran smart and got it done – a successful business trip.”
The DHS girls scored 25 points to easily win ahead of Pueblo West, which scored 60 points. Cheyenne Mountain earned the third state-qualifying score with 80 points.
Aspen Fulbright of Pueblo West won the race in 19:24. Hope Stark of Cheyenne Mountain was second in 19:55.
Durango was led by Tea Forrest, who finished third in 20:37, fractions of a second ahead of teammate Willow Lott. Angela McManus of DHS was fifth in 20:52, and Abby Fehr crossed in 21:06. Maddy Persing of Durango also was right there in the bunch Demons finish in seventh, as she crossed the line in 21:09. Kristina Bodewes rounded out the Demons in 16th overall in 22:21. All six girls will travel to state next week.
Cheyenne Mountain won the boys team title with 26 points behind the winning time of Erike Le Roux, who crossed in 16:34. Kaden Levins was third in 16:47.
DHS was second with 60 points. DHS senior Paul Knight was second in 16:45. Land Lambert ran to fourth in 16:54. Damian Frausto was 10th in 17:22, Aiden Quayle was 11th in 17:40 and Sam Persing placed 33rd in 19:29. Jack Benner rounded out the Demons in 40th in 20:02.
Montrose snagged third place with 88 points, led by fifth-place finisher Jonas Graff, who crossed in 16:54.
“Both of our teams are currently ranked fourth in the polls, so I’m excited to see what they can accomplish,” Flint said. “Confidence is high right now for a strong showing at state.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
