Not only trying to push for the best time possible Saturday afternoon, the way Max Johnston doubled over in search of air to breathe after completing the anchor leg of the Bayfield boys 1600-meter relay indicated he believed any available points would boost BHS to the top of the 2026 Abel Velasquez Invitational’s overall team standings.
Though he, opener Travis Taylor, second leg Mason Lamb and third leg Carter Lamb combined to clock a winning time of 4 minutes, 12.75 seconds – 0.94 of a tick quicker than second-place Durango – in the Ignacio-hosted meet’s final event, it only ended up solidifying BHS’ third-place status.
All told, Bayfield amassed 130.5 points and trailed Pagosa Springs (150) and Durango (151.5) at day’s end. IHS’ boys managed a fourth-place 70 points, with Dove Creek (42.5), Dolores (39), Mancos (38), Montezuma-Cortez (18.5) and Norwood (10) following.
Helping lead the champion Demons, senior Grant Gordon cleared a first-place 13 feet in the pole vault and also took third in the 100 meter (11.41 seconds) and 200 (23.75) sprints. Senior Miles Snow won the 1600 in 4:49.12, beating Ignacio junior Thunder Windy Boy (4:55.29) and senior James Martin (4:59.18), and junior Rashad Reece won the 300 hurdles (42.98) over fellow junior Isaiah Lyons (44.92).
Sophomore Jed Peach finished second in the 800 (2:09.63), and Durango also scored runner-up points in the 400m (48.33), 1600 (4:13.69) and 3200 (10:02.18) relays.
For the hosting Bobcats, senior Lincoln deKay, who did not run the 300 hurdles, took the 110 hurdles in 15.72 and beat Reece by four-hundredths of a second. Senior Evan Perkins earned first in the discus by winging a 126-04, besting Dove Creek junior Gavin Gill by three inches, and senior Trace Crane took third with his 124-07 maximum. Perkins also took fifth in the shot put (33-02).
Crane took fourth in the 400, clocking 55.22 seconds, and fellow senior Norman Hackett ended up ninth in 58.68. Martin placed third in the 800 (2:12.25) with Windy Boy sixth (2:19.55), and Crane placed fourth in the high jump (5-04).
Bayfield senior Ayden Casillas won the 100 dash in 11.14 seconds, defeating Mancos senior Jonah Ritter by seven-hundredths of a tick, and sophomore brother Colton Casillas ended up fourth in 11.58. The elder Casillas and Ritter also went 1-2 in the 200, clocking 22.34 and 22.61 seconds respectively.
Colton Casillas, however, captured the 400 in 52.76 seconds, with junior Tanner Vyborny finishing second in 53.85. BHS’ 4x100 relay placed fourth (51.08), but the Wolverines’ 4x200 (1:33.62) won by more than five seconds over runner-up Dolores (1:38.66) and third-place Ignacio (1:40.44).
Sophomore Harrison Williams won the high jump with a 6-02 best and took second in the triple jump (36-08), while Johnston tied for seventh in the long jump (15-10) and Taylor owned seventh in the triple (30-09).
On the girls’ side of things, Pagosa Springs racked up 179 points to earn the Invitational’s team title over Durango (148). Mancos came in third with 61 points, Bayfield finished fourth with 51 and Norwood took fifth with 42. Dolores (20), Dove Creek (16), Ignacio (15) and M-CHS (12) filled out the standings.
Highlighting BHS’ effort, junior Abigail Robertson won an exciting 800 run, with her 2:45.88 defeating Durango junior Ellie Bruckbauer (2:46.16), Mancos freshman Carly Kroll (2:47.04) and fellow BHS junior Vivien Clance (2:47.27).
The Wolverines’ 400 relay clocked a winning 53.93, and Robertson was second in the pole vault (6-06) to Durango sophomore Sydney McAllister (6-06). Senior Delilah Zink won the shot put with a best heave of 31-10 and also placed fourth in the discus (85-08).
For Ignacio, sophomore Julia Torrecilla Bernal placed fourth in the 100 with her time of 13.85, and freshman Justina Jessepe ran sixth in the 400 with her 1:11.35. Jessepe also took fifth in the high jump with a 4-06 best.
Seniors Evie Morris and Aileen McManus helped power Durango’s drive, with the former winning the 400 (1:02.12) plus the 100 hurdles (16.82), and the latter taking the 300 hurdles (50.07) as well as the triple jump (34-02). McManus also earned second in the 100 hurdles (18.29) and freshman Kylie Williams took third (19.03). Williams placed second in the 100 meters (13.63) and Bruckbauer third in the 1,600 (6:12.65).
Senior Samantha Riddell, whose prep career started at Ignacio, cleared 4-08 in the high jump and earned first via tiebreaker over Mancos senior Destiny Kramer. Williams and freshman Grace Frazer went 2-3 in the 300 hurdles, clocking 52.84 and 55.35, and the Demons’ 4x400 relay (Frazer/McAllister/McManus/Morris) won in an unopposed 4:50.77.
Ignacio track and field will compete at the Bob Archibeque Invitational in Cortez on Friday. Durango track and field will compete at the Bob Archibeque Invitational and the Phil Wertman Invitational in Grand Junction on Friday. Bayfield track and field will compete in the Mullen Invitational at Mullen High School in Denver on Saturday.
