Start slow, and finish fast.
For the second consecutive meet to start the Durango Demons’ cross country campaign, the boys side has embraced that strategy to a pair of team victories: first, the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede on Aug. 21 in Colorado Springs; second, the Joe Vigil/PUMA Invitational on Saturday in Alamosa.
“We had a plan in mind, and the boys executed it beautifully,” Durango High School cross country head coach David McMillan said. “Start slow, then the boys moved up beautifully.”
Three DHS cross country runners finished in less than 17 minutes, and four finished in the top 15. The top five finished within 17 seconds of each other, and the top seven finished within 50 seconds of each other, “and eight and nine were right there, too,” McMillan said.
“The kids really packed it in well,” he said.
Nick Turco, Benjamin Lachelt and Gordon Gianniny finished 8-9-10, respectively, and all ran sub-17-minute races. Seamus Millett and Will Chandler finished 15-16 to finish the Demons’ first-place varsity effort with 59 points.
Alamosa finished second with 70 points.
Shannon Maloney paced the Demons’ girls varsity to a runner-up result, and she paced the entire Joe Vigil/PUMA field, too.
Maloney won the girls 5-kilometer race in 19 minutes, 17 seconds – 21 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
“She was kind of running back of the lead pack, then two or three girls broke out,” McMillan said. “She went with them, then was able to find another gear and open up. She looked really comfortable, really relaxed; she ran a strong race.”
Jake Rogers of Lamar won the boys 5K in 16:21, two seconds ahead of Dan Mordecai of Brighton. Isaiah Delacerda of Alamosa finished third on his hometown course in 16:28, while Roy Madrid of Taos (16:33) and Trevor Gabbard of Bayfield (16:47) rounded out the top five.
Turco ran a 16:52.51, Lachelt a 16:52.71 and Gianniny a 16:55. Millett ran 17:07 and Chandler a 17:10.
Also for DHS under 18 minutes: Jordan Helms finished 24th in 17:27; River Weiss finished 29th in 17:33; David Moening finished 30th in 17:34; and Harry Steinberg finished 31st in 17:41.
“We had a really strong showing from the depth of our varsity to the JV,” McMillan said.
Sarah Smagacz finished sixth for the Demons in 20:26.
Marit May finished 18th for DHS in 21:25.
Emily Edwards-Colsman finished 22nd for DHS in 21:35.
Emily Fogel finished 28th for DHS in 21:47 to secure the Demons’ second-place team finish, 21 points behind Dakota Ridge (49).
Also for the varsity DHS: Lilah Slaughter finished 35th in 22:04, and Grace Panze finished 63rd in 22:51.
Aubree Lorenzen, who transferred to DHS from Bayfield High School, finished third in the open heat. Lorenzen has to sit out half of the Demons’ varsity races because of the transfer rule.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
