The Durango cross country programs performed well over the weekend as the most important meets of the season get closer.
Both teams captured the Southwest League Championships on Friday in Grand Junction on the Lincoln Park Golf Course.
“The kids, really across the board, ran so well,” Durango cross country head coach Michael Fadil said. “Probably three-quarters of the kids, if not more, had season bests. Many of them had times that were better than the fastest times last year … it’s especially encouraging given how the kids continue to progress.”
It could be a confusing leaderboard to look at without context. The Southwest League Championship was contested inside a larger meet. Many teams outside the league competed in Grand Junction in this meet.
Both teams finished fifth overall in the meet but beat out league foes Grand Junction, Grand Junction Central, Montrose and Fruita Monument for the title.
Fadil said unlike many cross country meets run on golf courses, this course was run on the fairways which makes it easier to run on with the short grass and runners don’t have to worry about where they are stepping.
Durango senior AJ Bonanno led the Demons with a 19th-place finish in 16 minutes and 12.03 seconds. Freshman Caden Voss continues to perform well and finished in 21st in 16:17.2. Sophomore Rocco Enea finished 40th in 16:56, junior Slader Schweitz finished 41st in 16:56.5 and junior Jack Purcell finished 42nd 16:57.7 to round out the scoring positions for the Demons.
On the girls side, sophomore Lacy Ruggiero once again led the charge for the Demons, finishing in ninth in 18:57.7. Senior Brynn Aggeler was the second-best female Durango runner, finishing 25th in 19:58.6. Junior Mira Quayle finished 35th in 20:29.7, freshman Mena Cerwin finished 36th in 20:30.1 and junior Ayumi Lambert finished 44th in 20:36.9.
Fadil said it’s been a focus for the kids to train together and run together in races. It happened on Friday with Quayle, Cerwin, Lambert and sophomore Olivia Glover running together for the first 2.5 miles of the 3.1-mile 5K.
“The kids are running together, working together and finally are starting to understand when you're doing races, and you got four people who literally could touch each other, on the girls side, for probably 17 of the 20 minutes, it makes it easier,” Fadil said. “You get the familiarity with your teammates. You have the comfort and support of your teammates right there.”
The Demons travel to Chandler, Arizona, on Friday to compete in the Desert Twilight Invitational. It’ll be one of the most competitive meets of the season and one of the fastest with a flat course at sea level. Fadil said he’d be surprised if most of the kids don’t have a personal best time.
Demons volleyball snaps two-game losing streak with win at Grand Junction
Durango volleyball head coach Kelley Rifilato knew at the start of the season the 4A/5A Southwestern League would be a challenge every match regardless of opponent.
The Demons were challenged in their first two league matches and couldn’t come away with victories against Grand Junction Central and Fruita Monument.
Another challenge was at Grand Junction on Saturday. Durango was up for the challenge and took down Grand Junction 3-1 for its first league win.
Durango improved to 5-4 overall and 1-2 in 4A/5A Southwestern League with its 26-24, 22-25, 25-15 and 25-17 win. Grand Junction fell to 6-4 overall and 1-3 in the league with the loss.
Senior outside hitter Avery Rike led the Demons with 15 kills. Junior outside hitter Hadyn Neiman had eight kills and junior Aysia Mathews had seven kills.
The Demons return home to play Montrose on Friday at 5 p.m.
Durango softball goes 1-2 on road at Battle Mountain, Palisade
The Demons softball team had one of its more dominant performances in recent memory to start the weekend. Durango score nine runs in the first inning and then 12 in the second to put Battle Mountain down 21-0 and end the game via mercy rule on Friday.
Unfortunately, the Demons couldn’t keep the fantastic hitting going into their two games at Palisade on Saturday. Durango dropped the first game 15-11 and the second game 9-2.
After the three-game road stretch, the Demons fell to 7-8 overall and 1-5 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League.
In the first game against Palisade, Durango fell behind 6-4 after the first inning and trailed 10-8 after the fifth inning. Palisade extended its lead after the sixth inning to 15-10 before Durango could only manage one run in the seventh.
Senior Megan Downey went 3-4 hitting with two RBIs. Senior Ellie Casias went 3-4 from the plate, sophomore Avery Clair went 3-5 with two RBIs and senior Molly Best went 2-4 with an RBI and a home run.
Junior Jenna Glueck pitched all six innings for Durango. She finished with three strikeouts and allowed 15 hits.
In the second game against Palisade, Durango trailed 3-2 after four innings. Then Palisade had three runs in the fifth and seventh innings to cruise to its 9-2 win.
Downey went 2-3 and Clair went 2-4 from the plate. Freshman Abigail Gordon pitched all seven innings and allowed 11 hits and had seven strikeouts.
Durango hosts a doubleheader against Rifle at home on Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
