Not even in his wildest dreams could Durango High School cross country head coach David McMillan predict how the Demons would finish at the Desert Twilight Invitational on Friday night in Casa Grande, Arizona.
DHS took fourth place in the sweepstakes division composed of the largest schools at the meet, which gathered teams from all over the Southwest, with 187 points.
Desert Vista (Phoenix, Arizona) won the boys meet with 74 points, followed by El Paso (El Paso, Texas) with 104 points and Corona del Sol (Tempe, Arizona) with 186 points.
“The boys team ran absolutely out of their heads,” McMillan said.
Gordon Gianniny paced DHS in 33rd place, finishing the 3.1-mile race in 15 minutes, 47.84 seconds. Benjamin Lachelt was next for the Demons in 36th place in 15:48.78, followed by Nicholas Turco in 37th in 15:48.77 and Seamus Millett in 38th in 15:49.6.
Durango’s William Chandler finished 74th in 16:21, Jordan Helms 76th in 16:22.4, and River Weiss rounded out the team in 107th in 16:43.11.
“If there’s not a team in 4A that isn’t a little bit intimidated, then they need to wake up,” said McMillan, putting the rest of his Colorado classification on notice.
Carlos Villareal of Rio Rico (Rio Rico, Arizona) won the boys 5K individual race in 14:49.99.
The Demons’ girls team finished 19th of 21 teams in the girls sweepstakes race.
Shannon Maloney was out front of Durango’s pack in 18:47.63. Sarah Smagacz was 84th for the Demons in 20:05.26, Marley Weaver-Gabel took 90th in 20:12.05, Aubree Lorenzen finished 114th in 20:47.1, Emily Edwards-Colsman was 125th in 21:06.75, and Maggie Wigton took 136th in 21:30.16.
Air Academy’s Kaitie Rainsberger won the girls race in 16:41.62, and Desert Vista won the girls team competition.
The Demons next will compete Oct. 17 at regionals.
“We’re starting to climb the mountain,” McMillan said. “We’re ready for the postseason.”
Bayfield High School
BHS freshman Sloan Mazur proved that he’s one of the best freshmen runners in the Southwest when he won the boys small school freshmen race in 17:34.59.
Mazur was three seconds clear of his closest competitor.
Bayfield’s big gun, senior Trevor Gabbard, also showed he belonged in the top-tier sweepstakes race, finishing 32nd in 15:46.26.
The rest of the Wolverines’ boys runners competed in the small school varsity race. Alex Knight took 102nd for BHS in 18:19.59, Justis Herrera was 196th in 19:39.95, Bryan Gram finished 231st in 21:12.98, and Joey Sandrey took 255th in 21:06.93.
The Wolverines’ girls team ran in the small school varsity and were led by Rachel Cooper in 71st at 21:48.83. Bridget Goddard was 109th for BHS in 22:41.35, and Amber Johnson took 168th in 24:04.17.
BHS next will run at the Eric Wolfe Invitational at 9 a.m. Friday in Monte Vista.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
DHS runs deep into the Arizona night
Durango didn’t just bring its varsity squad to the Desert Twilight Invitational on Friday night in Casa Grande, Arizona.
The Demons entered racers in seven total divisions, winning the boys large school open race.
Harry Steinberg finished second for DHS in 16 minutes, 56.62 seconds. David Moenning was close behind him in fifth in 17:01.64 for the Demons, followed by Liam O’Brien in seventh in 17:03.74, Coltin Gallegos in 13th in 17:16.57, Thomas Pannell in 15th in 17:18.78, Isaac Ducker in 41st in 17:37.71 and Ande Lloyd in 56th in 17:58.07.
In the girls small school race, Elli Trussel took 21st for DHS in 23:17.69. Sarah Clark was 40th for the Demons in 24:12.67, Rebecca Clark took 112th in 26:58.5, Aileen Debances-Gamion finished 147th in 28:33.13, and Hannah Vigil was 190th in 32:02.35.
Kohler McInnis led Durango’s small school boys open squad in 38th in 19:20.85. DHS teammate Kaleb Harris was right behind him in 39th in 19:23.17, Sam Dippold took 58th in 19:48.78, Cameron Jacobs finished 71st in 20:17.28, Joaquin Valdez was 90th in 20:40.65, Jonathan Middleton took 171st in 22:37.71, Joshua Thompson finished 238th in 26:20.85, and Korbin Walsh was 239th in 26:21.12.
Marit May took third in the girls small school freshmen race for DHS at 21:56.58, Lilah Slaughter finished fifth in 23:02.47, Mary Fenberg was seventh in 23:43.72, Grace Panze took ninth in 24:12.78, and Carter Reiter finished 25th in 27:29.83.
In the boys small school freshmen race, Will Swenson paced Durango’s effort in 13th at 18:35.83. Zachary Bewley followed in 67th for the Demons at 23:27.98, Kaden Lloyd took 68th in 23:31.28, Luthy Quinn finished 73rd in 24:23.56, Avory France was 78th in 24:38.96 and Triston Anthony finished 115th in 33:41.84.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
