The Durango High School track and field teams had to wait to begin their seasons after the weather delayed the Durango Dust Off at Durango High School. But the Demons made it worth the wait with numerous wins in all types of events against local schools on Monday.
“The team competed very well overall,” Durango track and field head coach Johnny Bertrand said. “We had a lot of kids get PRs (personal records), match PRs or starting better than they started last year.”
It was a smaller field at the Durango Dust Off after some teams couldn’t make the rescheduled meet. Bayfield, Montezuma-Cortez, Dolores and Mancos competed against the Demons.
Durango’s Juliana McKown won the girls 100-meter dash in 13.23 seconds and the 200 in 28.07. Maeve Daley won the 400 for Durango in 1 minute and 4.72 seconds.
Sofia Voss returned to competition for the Demons after missing the cross country season recovering from her calf surgeries. She won the girls 800 in 2:27.88. Bertrand was very happy to see Voss running again after everything she’s been through.
Lacy Ruggiero started the track season strong by winning the girls 1600 for Durango in 5:25.02. Bertrand was happy to see the progress Ayumi Lambert has been making; she set a PR in second place in 5:38.38. Lambert won the girls 3200 in 12:19.75.
Durango’s Aileen McManus won the girls 100 hurdles in 17.69. McManus finished second in the girls 300 hurdles in 52.76 to her teammate Evie Morris, winning in 49.97. McManus also won the girls triple jump with a jump of 33 feet and 7.50 inches. Bertrand was happy McManus did so well since the Demons only started practicing triple jump last week.
Morris also won the girls 300 hurdles in 49.97.
The Demons won the girls 4x100 relay with a 53.73. Juliana McKown started the relay and handed the baton to Kynzle Boren who handed it off to Abigail Gordon. Hailey Tripp was the anchor leg for Durango.
Gordan and Abigail Standifer tied for first in pole vault with vaults of 6-06.
Durango’s Violet Mazenko won the girls shot put with a throw of 31-02.50. Oshi Reider finished first in girls discus throw with a throw of 106-03.
On the boys’ side, Luke Swenk returned to running for the Demons and won the 800 in 2:10.58, the 1600 in 4:46.71 and the 3200 in 10:22.43.
Xavier Sutherlin started his hurdling season for Durango with wins in the 110 hurdles (15.42) and 300 hurdles (42.05).
Bertrand said Sutherlin’s goal is to run 14.8 this year in the 110. That time would’ve put Sutherlin into the top three in the state last year. He’s been passing on his hurdling knowledge to the freshmen and sophomores which will only deepen his own knowledge of the events, according to Bertrand.
“If you went down to the track during the summer at a certain time, he was there,” Bertrand said about Sutherlin. “All fall every day, he was out there; all winter every day he was out there working so he's definitely putting in the work. He's really been trying to perfect his form going over hurdles which Coach Keller worked with him a lot over the winter.”
The Durango boys 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams won.
Mason Miller showed his athleticism by winning the boys high jump with a 6-foot jump. Grant Gordon won in boys pole vault with an 11-foot vault and Will Zahradnik won in boys long jump in 21-03.75.
Bertrand said Zahradnik is only three to six inches away from completing his goal of qualifying for state.
Mauricio Gonzalez won the boys shot put for Durango with a throw of 39-07. Oliver Clark won the boys discus throw with a throw of 116-03 for Durango.
The Demons will return to the track to compete in the Bayfield Invitational on Friday.
Bertrand is excited about the potential of this group. The Demons have been practicing since Feb. 24 and have benefited from a mild winter. He said the relay teams are very deep and he’s expecting multiple relay teams to make it to state.
Both teams have a lot of depth, but the boys’ depth specifically stands out to Bertrand. He thinks a top-10 finish at state could be possible for them.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
