The Durango High School boys cross-country team went into Saturday’s Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A boys state championship meet in search of a championship. It didn’t happen, but the Demons put in a good performance, as they finished in fourth as a team with 111 points at the Norris-Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.
Centaurus took home the team title with 63 points. Second through fourth was decided by just 12 points. Palmer Ridge finished second with 99 points while Air Academy rounded out the top-three teams with 106 points. Niwot, one of the favorites heading into the race, finished fifth as a team with 136 points and had the top-two finishers in junior Cruz Culpeppper, who won the race with a time of 15 minutes, 48.6 seconds and senior Ares Reading, who finished in second in 15:58.4.
Durango was led by senior Noah Bodewes, who finished with a time of 16:36.4, which was ninth overall. Senior Marcus Flint was second for DHS and finished 18th in 16:52.2, and junior Logan Moore took 22nd in 16:57.6. Senior Aidan Fitzgerald, who set a school record earlier this season, was seventh for the Demons and finished 70th in 17:45.4.
Durango head coach Ken Flint thought it was not the best afternoon for the boys but was proud that they did not quit.
“It wasn’t the result we were hoping for, but I’m proud of the effort they put forth today,” Flint said. “It just wasn’t (Aidan’s) day, and some days are like that. Today’s result is not indicative of the type of runner that he is, though. He’ll bounce back. I thought it was a good effort from Noah and Marcus. They ran the race plan they wanted to, just weren’t able to execute in the way that as far as final results, that they wanted to. Really, it was an excellent effort but it just didn’t fall our way in terms of placing.”
The Durango High School girls team finished seventh overall in the Class 4A girls race with 202 points.
Niwot took first place with 47 points, while Battle Mountain, the preseason favorite, finished second with 59 points. Air Academy took third with 131 points. Niwot senior Layla Roebke won the race with a time of 18:29.3 while fellow Niwot sophomore Taylor James took second in 18:35.4, while senior Naomi Harding of Battle Mountain finished in third in 18:41.0.
Durango was led by junior Madeleine Burns, who had a personal best at the course with a 13th-place finish at 19:15.3. Sophomore Kiara Hamlin took second for the Demons in 20:17.2, and freshmen Angela McManus and Tea Forrest finished in third and fourth for DHS, respectively.
“Madeleine had another solid race and had a personal best at the course by a few seconds,” Flint said. “I was proud of what she and the rest of the team they were able to accomplish. They were ranked seventh coming in, and they finished seventh, so I was pleased. They fought out there and they didn’t quit, which I love to see.”
The Demons are poised for another strong season next year when they will return much of the girls team and plenty of promising runners on the boys side.
“Overall, I liked our fight,” Flint said. “We didn’t get the results we were going for; our guys shooting to win it all and the girls were shooting for sixth. Again, our effort was really great and the future looks good with four of five coming back for the girls and the guys. We will have a solid crew despite losing a fair amount of seniors. Our 3-4-5 guys return next year, so it will be another strong group on both sides. It’s been fun coaching these kids and I thought we had a great season.”
In the Class 1A/2A girls meet, Ignacio High School freshman Avaleena Nanaeto took 73rd with a time of 24:22.4.
Lyons took home the state championship as they had 15 points and had the state champion in junior Katie Fankhouser, who won the race with a time of 19:24.5 while freshman Quin Gregg finished in second overall in 19:36.7. Platte Canyon finished second as a team with 43 points, and South Routt took third with 47 points. Mancos was the only school in the area that competed as a team, and it finished in 18th with a 205 points and was led by sophomore Grace Manning, who finished in 50th in 23:30.3.
In the Class 3A boys meet, Bayfield High School had two finishers in the top 100. Junior Jonas Nanaeto took 42nd with a time of 17:42.7. Meanwhile, Nanaeto’s running mate and fellow junior Elco Garcia finished in 92nd with a time of 18:30.8.
Peak to Peak Charter School won the team title with 76 points, while Salida (80) and The Classical Academy (107) rounded out the top three. Junior Mason Norman won the race with a time of 15:33.4 while senior Camden Gillis of Salida took second in 16:18.8.
bploen@durangoherald.com
