The Durango High School girls cross-country team placed third out of 20 teams at the 4A state meet Saturday at the Norris Penrose Events Center in Colorado Springs, finishing just five points behind the runner-up, Battle Mountain.
In the boys championship, DHS senior Land Lambert placed sixth, and the Demons finished 11th in the team race.
“I’m just proud of all of the teams and thankful to my assistants and all they brought to the table,” said DHS head coach Ken Flint.
Niwot placed its five scorers in the top seven to win the girls race handily, but Durango, Battle Mountain and Air Academy fought hard for second.
Seniors Angela McManus and Abby Fehr led DHS. McManus finished 25th in 20 minutes, 7 seconds. Fehr crossed next in 26th with a time of 20:12.
“Angela and Abby finished strong,” Flint said. “They led us as seniors should.”
Freshman Sofia Voss was in 56th after the first mile but passed runner after runner to finish 30th in 20:28. “She put it together when it mattered the most,” the coach said.
Junior Nina Quayle placed 40th in 20:43, and freshman Dewa Ilg rounded out Durango’s team score with a 49th-place finish in 20:54.
“Dewa stepped up, and Nina transformed herself this year,” Flint said.
Freshman Brynn Aggeler finished 64th in 21:10, while junior Willow Lott, who had led DHS most of the season, finished 96th in 22:06.
“It just wasn’t her day,” Flint said about Lott. “But she’s too good of a runner. She’ll bounce back and be better next year because of it.”
Niwot, led by individual champion Eva Klingbeil (17:58), won the championship with 20 points, followed by Battle Mountain (138), Durango (143), Air Academy (170) and Mullen (206) in fifth. The top-two teams won trophies.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Flint said. “Our goal all year was to get third in every race (except Desert Twilight) and we did that. It just stings a little because we missed second by five points.”
In the boys race, Lambert’s goal was to run a sub-16 5K and finish in the top 10.
“He got his goals and did it in nice fashion,” Flint said.
Lambert was in 10th place halfway through the race, but closed hard to pass several runners. Flint said Lambert was in sixth when he entered the stadium for the final straightaway with four runners on his heels. Lambert, however, held them off to place sixth in 15:55. His time is the second fastest for a Demon at the state meet, trailing only Luke Tichi’s 15:53 from 2018. Paul Knight, who runs for the Colorado School of Mines, is the only other Demon to run a sub-16 at the state course in Colorado Springs. Knight, who was at the meet cheering the Demons on, finished 10th in 15:59 last year.
Besides his 4A foes, only the top two 5A runners and the 3A state champ had faster times than Lambert.
Senior Damian Frausto was DHS’ next finisher, placing 18th in 16:27.
“Damian ran a strong race as well,” the coach said.
After the seniors, three sophomores rounded out Durango’s team score. Nathaniel Ellis placed 81st in 18:02, Charlie Dillman placed 85th in 18:06, and Will McFarlene placed 136th in 19:16.
“The sophomore crew will lead us next year,” Flint said. The coach also said McFarlene got injured partway through Saturday’s race, but pushed through it even though he could have dropped out.
Senior Thomas Pope finished 148th in 19:57 at his first state race. “That was a great way to cap off his cross-country career,” Flint said. Sophomore Micah Zastrocky, who was the team’s third alternate, placed 155th in 21:25.
“We had some illness and injuries with our fifth and sixth guys, but we still performed well,” Flint said, adding, “Micah never thought he was going to run.”
Cheyenne Mountain had five runners place in the top 12 to win the championship with 26 points.
“They deserved it,” Flint said. “They ran pretty much to perfection.“
Niwot finished second with 63 points, followed by Battle Mountain (136), Palmer Ridge (144) and Mead (227) in fifth. Durango scored 282 to place 11th out of the 20 teams who competed.
Niwot’s Zane Bergen won his second title in 15:17.
In the Class 2A boys championships, junior Eppie Quintana represented the Ignacio Bobcats.
Quintana placed 56th in 18:59.
Lyons’ Tyler Ball won the race in 16:16. Fort Collins’ Heritage Christian won the team title with 54 points, three better than St. Mary’s of Colorado Springs.
Nadhia Campos of the Vanguard School (Colorado Springs) won the 2A girls’ title in 18:47, while Lake County High School won the 2A team title with 48 points.
No Bayfield runners qualified for the 3A state championships.
Matthew Edwards of the Classical Academy in Colorado Springs won the 3A boys race in 15:34 to lead his team to the title. TCA also won the girls team title while Basalt runner Katelyn Maley won the individual race in 18:37.
In Class 5A, Mountain Vista won the boys team title, and Arapahoe won the girls title. Tanner Brown of Chaparral (15:44) and Riley Stewart of Cherry Creek (17:20) won the individual crowns.
