The Durango High School indoor track and field athletes went to Albuquerque over the weekend to compete against some of the region’s top performers in the Martin Luther King Jr. Indoor Classic.
The Demons had top-five finishes in almost every event, and had the top two competitors in the one. Junior Braden Evans won first place in the shot put with a hefty throw of 39 feet, four inches. Chandler Schneider took second, just a foot behind Evans.
“It was the first meet of the season and first indoor meet for a lot of these kids,” Durango indoor track coach Maria Creech said. “I told them to think of this meet at a practice session, to do their best but not to put any pressure on themselves since we haven’t really been able to practice field events and full sprints out on the track. The kids were excited, nervous, but stoked to be back in the track atmosphere.”
Alex Poulter won second place in the girls shot put with a throw of 30 feet, six inches. In the high jump, Alyssa McConnell got third place with a 4-foot, 10-inch jump.
Kathleen Duft and Kylie Ryan ran their first ever 60 meter hurdles race with Duft posting a time of 11.01 and Ryan 11.71. Sophomore Cassandra Blau was the 60-meter dash in 8.40 and Teagan Garand was close behind in 8.43. In the boys 60-meter dash, Oliver Haaland ran in 7.43 and Ben Bates finished in 7.53.
In the 400-meter dash, Bates led three Demons with a 53.93 effort. Paxton Scott finished in 54.54 and Ethan Jack ran a time of 59.66.
Blau (27.94) and Garand (28.26) also did well in the 200-meter dash, with
Camden Garland running a time of 24.19 and Bates 24.22 in the boys 200. Garand also had a triple jump of 28 feet, 10 inches and Garland also posted an impressive pole vault mark of 10 and a half feet.
The team will travel to Colorado Springs next weekend to compete at the Air Force Academy facility.
jfries@durangoherald.com
