The Durango High School cross-country team ran well at Friday night’s Desert Twilight Festival in Casa Grande, Arizona, as the girls team finished in eighth place with 268 points, while the boys took 10th with 294. DHS senior Madeleine Burns shattered her own school record in the process.
“Thirteen out of the 14 runners ran lifetime personal bests,” said DHS head coach Ken Flint in an email to The Durango Herald. “As a coach, I can’t ask for much more than that. (It’s) a great indicator that we’re on the right track to reach our team goals come late October.”
Niwot won the team title on the girls side with 80 points. Cherokee Trail was second with 97 points and Downers Grove South, based in suburban Chicago, took third with 123 points.
Burns was among those who achieved a personal best, as she broke her own school record and crossed the finish line in 17 minutes, 22 seconds, which was eighth overall. Her previous personal best came at the 2018 Liberty Bell Cross-Country Invitational when she ran 18:10.30.
Other highlights of the race included freshman Willow Lott, who ran the fastest time in school history for a freshman girl at 18:35. Three freshmen were in the top five for Durango, including Sophie Ragsdale, who ran her personal best by over two minutes and finished as Durango’s fifth-fastest runner.
Jenna Hutchins of Science Hill High School of Johnson City, Tennessee, won the race in 16:38, while Lauren Ping of Desert Vista took second in 16:49.
On the boys side, Durango had another strong performance out of Luke Tichi, who had the second-fastest time in school history, as he crossed the finish line in 15:22, which was 22nd overall. Junior Paul Knight was 38th for Durango in 15:41, while Logan Moore finished in 15:52, which was 54th.
DHS’ Land Lambert ran 16:31, which was his fastest time by 1:03. Aiden Quayle was clutch for the Demons, as he broke the 18-minute barrier for the first time this season and finished in 16:39.
The Demons will compete at Pantherfest on Saturday in Delta.
bploen@durangoherald.com
