On Saturday, Durango High School’s varsity track and field athletes traveled to Grand Junction for the Mickey Dunn Invitational. All eight relay teams (four boys teams, four girls teams) ran times that have them in the top 18 in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 4A division, qualifying them for the state meet.
Six out of the eight DHS relay teams finished first or second in Grand Junction. On the girls side, the 4x100 meter relay team of senior Ainsley Sampson, juniors Molly Bertrand and Juliana McKown and freshman Hailey Tripp ran 51.18 seconds, earning them second place out of 24 teams. Sampson, Bertrand, McKown and Tripp also ran the 4x200, taking second out of 21 teams in one minute and 49.78 seconds.
The 4x400 team of Sampson, Bertrand, senior Sofia Voss and junior Evie Morris finished first out of 13 teams with a 4:16.89. Finally, the 4x800 team of Voss, senior Mira Quayle, junior Ayumi Lambert and freshman Maeve Daley ran 10:27.78 to take second out of six teams.
On the boys side, the 4x100 team of junior Grant Gordon, senior Seb Tripp, junior Gus Halls and sophomore Mason Miller ran 43.72 finished first out of 24 teams. Tripp and Miller also ran the 4x200 along with senior Malakai Baier and sophomore George Preston, finishing in 1:32.37 and taking first out of 18 teams.
The 4x200 squad also ran the 4x400, finishing in 3:35.01 and taking third place. The 4x800 team of junior Slader Schweitz, senior AJ Bonanno, sophomore Ben Lively and senior Luke Swenk earned fourth with an 8:36.60.
Here are how the Demons’ relays rank in 4A, as well as the top-ranked time:
Girls 4x100: 14th. No. 1 is Niwot’s 48.64.
Girls 4x200: 11th. No. 1 is Windsor’s 1:40.17.
Girls 4x400: Ninth. No. 1 is Niwot’s 4:02.97.
Girls 4x800: 10th. No. 1 is Thompson Valley’s 9:58.04.
Boys 4x100: Sixth. No. 1 is Mason Ridge’s 42.38.
Boys 4x200: Seventh. No. 1 is Mullen’s 1:30.07.
Boys 4x400: Eighth. No. 1 is Roosevelt’s 3:24.95.
Boys 4x800: 13th. No. 1 is Thompson Valley’s 7:55.41.
DHS had eight other athletes finish in the top three in their individual events. For the girls team, junior Ayumi Lambert’s 11:54.95 was enough for third in the 3,200. Morris took third in the 300 hurdles with a 49.37. Rounding out the girls medalists was junior Aileen McManus, who took home a silver medal in the triple jump with her leap of 34 feet, 5.75 inches.
For the boys team, Baier took third in the 400 with a 51.21. Swenk finished third in the 3,200 in 9:44.96. Senior Xavier Sutherlin took home a pair of bronze medals in the 110 hurdles (15.12) and the 300 hurdles (41.51). Finishing out the boys medalists was Miller, who earned second in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet and 11 inches.
The Durango track and field athletes are headed to Farmington this weekend for the Farmington Invitational. Field events begin at 8:30 a.m., with running events starting at 10 a.m.
