It’s been a busy few weeks for new Durango cross country head coach Michael Fadil. Since being hired in early August to take over for longtime head coach Ron Keller, Fadil has had to prepare his team for this season. He’s also had to prepare for the inaugural Durango Invitational at Ewing Mesa Park on Aug. 31.
Fadil also has a big roster this year. He has 30 kids who’ve all been active participants so far. Last year, there were more boys than girls and this year the Demons have 18 girls and 12 boys.
“There’s a lot of underclassmen on both sides, especially with the boys,” Fadil said. “Boys is a total rebuilding year. I think right now we have one of our top five returning running on the team and two of our top seven. Then there were a couple of kids last year who were ninth graders, who were kind of right on that bubble of seventh, eighth and ninth that … if they develop and come along, could make a real big difference.”
Gone are last year’s top seniors Charlie Dillman and Brodie Dorko along with current junior Miles Snow and current senior Luke Swenk.
Dillman was consistently the top Durango boy last season and made it to the 4A state championship meet. Dorko was a consistent runner for the Demons who had a 5-kilometer PR of 16 minutes and 23 seconds. Swenk won the Bloomfield Invitational last year and set a 5k PR of 15:55.9 at the Desert Twilight meet. Snow had three top 10 finishes including a 10th at regionals. He set his fastest time of 16:06 at the Southwestern League Championships.
One runner who could help fill those shoes is senior AJ Bonanno. Fadil said Bonanno has taken a leadership role as one of the few top returning male runners.
“AJ has just plugged away solidly ever since his freshman year,” Fadil said. “He's had a really good summer running. He's looking really good. He's running well, I would say, AJ, right now anyway, probably is our top runner.”
A runner new to the high school scene who’s poised to make an impact on the boys side is freshman Caden Voss. The younger brother of standout senior Sofia Voss, Fadil said the younger Voss will be a factor and has already stood out in workouts.
Other returners in senior Slader Schweitz, sophomore Rocco Enea and sophomore Jack Purcell have been working hard and can step up.
For the Durango girls right now, how things look on paper doesn’t match up to reality.
On paper, the girls return their top eight runners from last year. Sofia Voss is a senior and led the Demons last year. She won two events and ran a PR of 18:46 at Liberty Bell Cross Country Invitational. Sophomore Lacy Ruggiero is a rising star and was one of the top freshmen in the state last year. She won the Bloomfield Invitational and set a PR of 18:40.7 at the SWL Championships.
Senior Dewa Ilg was very consistent last year with multiple top-10 finishes. Junior Aileen McManus was another runner with numerous top-10 finishes. Junior Mira Quayle returns after two top-10 finishes last year. Junior Ayumi Lambert returns after two top-five finishes last year. Junior Ayla Williams and senior Bryn Aggeler also return with a lot of experience and consistency.
The problem for Fadil and the Demons is injuries. Voss’ status for the season is up in the air. She’s been dealing with a rare calf injury that has required multiple surgeries. Ilg has an Achilles strain that could take some time. Lambert has been dealing with some calf soreness.
Like last season, the Durango girls team’s potential could come down to health. With Voss out for the foreseeable future, Ruggiero should be the Durango girls’ top runner.
“She's got a ton of potential and we need to just keep bringing her along,” Fadil said about Ruggiero “Like a lot of kids, she likes being part of a team and embracing the team success. Hopefully, she’ll be working with all the other girls, pulling everyone along, everyone together because there should be three, four or five girls not too far behind her. She's solid. She didn't have any real injury problems last year, which was great.”
Voss has been the leader on the girls’ side but with her out, Fadil said it’s been a collective effort of leadership with the other girls.
Although Fadil was only hired in early August, he did work with Keller and assistant coach Jeremy Voss on making the schedule. Familiar meets like Desert Twilight and Bloomfield Invitational are back. The Demons open up the season at Pre-State on Friday at Norris Penrose in Colorado Springs. Fadil said it was important for some kids to see that venue for the first time before state. It has a lot of gravel which is rare.
Then comes the Durango Invitational and the Joe Vigil Invitational at Alamosa which Fadil said is a great place to run at. Three of the biggest events on the calendar are the SWL Championships on Sept. 20 in Grand Junction, regionals in Colorado Springs on Oct. 24 and state championships at Norris Penrose on Nov. 2.
Fadil and Voss wanted to focus on lessening the effects of travel which is always tough for Durango.
Durango cross country is moving up to Class 5A. This won’t affect much until the regional and state championships.
While many coaches may have goals for their team’s season, Fadil is looking at the long term. He wants the kids to have long-term sustainability which he thinks can be done with some short-term success. The team was up at Purgatory Resort for a few days to have fun and get in shape. Fadil met with each runner to see what their individual goals are.
“I look at myself as kind of the steward of each of the teams to help get each one individually and the teams collectively to where they want to go,” Fadil said. “I'll do everything I can to do that. After the races on Friday, we’ll have a better idea of where they are, where we need to go, and how each one of those groups will fit into their season team goals.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
