It was an electric day for the Durango High School cross-country teams.
The DHS girls dominated the field of 219 high school runners at the Joe Vigil Invitational in Alamosa. The Demons took first place with 22 points, well ahead of second place Dakota Ridge. Alamosa was third with 86 points.
Durango’s boys placed second behind Class 5A powerhouse Dakota Ridge with 46 points. Dakota Ridge’s winning score was 27. Alamosa was third with 116.
“What a fantastic day of racing for the Demons,” DHS head coach David McMillan said. “After this weekend, the girls are sitting as a clear No. 1 atop the 4A rankings, while the boys moved up to the No. 2 spot. This is largely due to really strong performances by our younger athletes.”
Dakota Ridge’s Michelle Renner won the 5-kilometer girls race in 18 minutes, 56.21 seconds. It was all Demons behind her in second through fifth place, with another Demon in the top 10.
Madeline Burns led the Demons’ attack with a second-place finish. The sophomore crossed the line in 19:05.35. Fellow DHS sophomore Kiara Hamlin was third in 19:20.08. Anna Smagacz, a junior, turned in a fourth-place time of 19:21.86, and DHS freshman Ruth Holcomb placed fifth in 19:23.23.
Abby Scott, a DHS senior, was eighth in 19:36.40 to give Durango five runners in the top 10.
But the Demons weren’t done when Scott crossed the line, as freshmen Breanna Wolf (20:10.11) and Maddy Persing (20:10.12) finished 15th and 16th, respectively, to round out the Demons’ point scorers.
“Our dominance was almost complete up front,” McMillan said. “We clobbered a strong Dakota Ridge team. Burns made a bold move after the mile to lead the race until about a quarter mile to go where she was reeled in by Renner. Madeline held on for second running a lifetime best.”
Hamlin’s third-place time shaved 80 seconds off her personal best 5K.
Dakota Ridge won the boys meet with 27 points after Conner Ohlson and Austin Vancil finished first and second.
Durango’s Aidan Fitzgerald finished third overall in a time of 15:56.19. It was his first sub-16 minute time of his career.
Nineteen teams and 229 boys competed at the meet.
All five Demons whose times counted for the team score finished in the top 15.
Noah Bodewes and Logan Moore turned in top-10 finishes for the Demons, as Bodewes placed seventh in 16:13.70 and Moore finished 10th in 16:27.82. Bodwes moved to Durango from Wisconsin this year, and McMillan was impressed by his adjustment to running above 7,000 feet of elevation with a personal-best time.
Marcus Flint ran the course in 16:35.40 to place 13th, and Paul Knight was 15th on a time of 16:38.34.
Bayfield finished 11th at the meet with 303 points, led by Elco Garcia at 30th overall with a time of 17:22.45.
Sloan Mazer was 40th in 17:36.23, Jonas Nanaeto placed 60th in 18:00.24, Nathan Carlson finished 120th in 19:40.72 and James Chenowith was 125th in 19:45.5 to round out the team for the Wolverines.
For the Bayfield girls, Olivia Keitz placed 148th in 25:38.95, Sarah Ruybal was 159th in 26:18.65 and Mylee Sanders placed 203rd in 30:00.98.
Next up for both teams is the Southwest XC Challenge in Durango at Hillcrest Golf Club. The night race will have its biggest field ever this year with teams across the region planning to attend.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
