Fall sports may have ended for the year, but the Durango Demons cross country team is still kicking up dust.
The Demons XC runners headed to Grande Sports Academy in Casa Grande, Ariz., over the weekend to compete in the medium school division at the Nike Cross Southwest Regionals. The boys finished in seventh place as a team, but the highlight was DHS freshman Madeleine Burns, who finished in 11th place overall and was the top freshman in the girls’ medium school open run.
“Madeleine ran a heck of a race and she’s starting to run with the confidence of a seasoned veteran,” Demons head coach David McMillan said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We’ve been trying to push her a little harder to get up to run with the lead bunch more often. She did that in this race and it was impressive.”
Burns has been improving rapidly in her freshman year and led the Demons with a 10th place finish at the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 4A state meet. It was no different this time around as her time of 19 minutes, 8 seconds was a personal best and an impressive 41 seconds better than her 19:49 mark at state.
Not far behind was DHS junior Abby Scott, who finished in 24th place with a time of 19:37, while Demons sophomore Bekah Moenning’s 20:07 time gave her 50th place.
The NXR Southwest allowed the Demons to run as a club, which gave runners from other high schools the opportunity to join the squad. For the girls, Pagosa Springs’ Delaney Khung joined the Demons XC club and finished 55th in 20:14. Pagosa Springs’ Jacob Hughes joined the Demons XC boys team and took advantage of the opportunity.
“I reached out to Scott Anderson at Pagosa Springs because we were entered in the open race, and ran as a club,” McMillan said. “Jacob was allowed to run with us and he ran superbly.”
Hughes led the Demons XC boys’ team to a seventh place finish with a 15th-place individual run of 16 minutes, 38 seconds. Durango senior Coltin Gallegos finished in 31st in 16:55 and DHS sophomore Marcus Flint was close behind with a 33rd-place 16:57. Demons sophomore Aiden Fitzgerald’s time of 17:13 was good for 59th and senior Sam Dippold placed 127th in 17:56.
“I thought it was a solid effort, not great, but I wasn’t disappointed,” McMillan said.
The event was also the last race for senior Harry Steinberg. The two-time state champion qualified for the championship race and took 92nd place in the talent-rich field with a time of 16:35.
“I couldn’t be prouder of Harry and the way he executed his season,” McMillan said. “He was up against the cream of the crop in the championship race and he mixed it up with the best of the best. I would say that it’s a great way to cap off his career.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
