Durango High School was very busy on Saturday. Over a dozen schools traveled to Durango to compete in the Ron Keller Invitational including Ignacio, Bayfield, Montezuma-Cortez and Pagosa Springs.
No visiting schools could match the Demons’ athleticism and technique as the Durango boys and girls track teams both won. The Demons boys finished first with 213 points. Alamosa finished second with 109 points and Pagosa Springs was third with 77.5 points. Bayfield High School was fifth with 52 points and Ignacio was sixth with 39 points.
On the girls’ side, Durango was first with 177 points and Pagosa Springs was second with 143.5 points. Alamosa was third with 95 points. Ignacio was fifth with 49 points and Bayfield was eighth with 31 points.
“It takes a lot of work to put on a successful track meet,” Durango head coach Johnny Bertrand said. “This year’s Ron Keller track invitational ran as smoothly as it could have. Our dedicated coaches and parent volunteers helped make this a great track meet. We had lots of PRs from our athletes and athletes from other schools.”
In the girls 800-meter race, Durango freshman Lacy Ruggiero finished first with a time of 2 minutes and 23.84 seconds. Ignacio’s Maci Barnes finished second with a time of 2:32.86.
Demons junior Sofia Voss was dominant in the girls 1600. She got out to an early lead and easily won with a time of 5:47.86 which was over seven seconds faster than second place.
Although Voss won easily, she was frustrated she couldn’t bring her mile time down more. She had major calf surgery in November and only began running again in January by slowly increasing her mileage.
She also said leading by a lot early didn’t help her time.
“I have no sense of where I am so I went out way too fast,” Voss said. “Then I can just gradually feel myself falling off because I don’t have anyone on my hip to push me. It's a lot more difficult because I don't have that competitive edge racing against myself.”
Voss was happy to be home and to hear friends and family cheering her on the final straight. She’s looking to qualify for state in the 800.
In the girls 3200, Durango sophomore Mira Quayle finished third with a time of 13:16.48. Demons sophomore Aileen McManus finished second in the girls 100 hurdles with a time of 18.39. Durango sophomore Evie Morris won the girls 300 hurdles with a time of 50.34.
The Demons finished second in the girls 4x100 relay with a time of 52.95. Durango sophomore Julianna McKown, sophomore Joey Rohde, junior Ainsley Sampson and junior Jeanne Campbell were apart of that second-place relay team and also finished second in the 4x200 with a time of 1:50.99.
Also in second place was the Demons’ girls 4x800 team. Junior Bryn Aggeler, junior Dewa Ilg, Quayle and Ruggiero came in second with a time of 4:27.12
Durango sophomore Sonya Tocco soared above all her competitors Saturday afternoon. Tocco won the girls pole vault with a PR jump of 8-3, which was a foot higher than second place. Ignacio’s Lauren deKay finished third with a jump of 6-9.
“I was having issues with like certain parts of my vault and it was really helpful to just come out and do it and lose the stress of it,” Tocco said.
Tocco said her plant in the past had been bad but she worked on it today and that helped her. She hopes to qualify for state in pole vault.
Campbell finished first in girls long jump for Durango with a jump of 16 feet. Bayfield’s Vivien Clance finished third with a jump of 14-7.
Ignacio’s Barnes finished third in the girls triple jump with a jump of 31-9.
Durango junior Megan Hutchins finished first in girls shot put with a throw of 32-8.75. Durango junior Violet Mazenko finished third with a throw of 31-2.
Mazenko finished second in girls discus throw with a throw of 105 feet. Durango sophomore Oshi Reider was third with a 96-foot throw.
In the boys 100, Demons sophomore Seb Tripp won with a time of 11.44. Bayfield’s Ayden Casillas finished second in the boys 200 with a time of 22.62.
Durango senior Jaxon Fancher finished second in the 400 with a time of 51.71. His teammate junior Malakai Baier was right behind him in third after running a 53.06.
In the boys 800, Durango senior Charlie Dillman took victory with a time of 2:02.65. Fellow Demon sophomore Miles Snow was in second with a time of 2:07.98.
Dillman took care of business once again in the boys 1600 with an easy win with a time of 4:35.03. Snow was in third with a time of 4:48.65.
“I ran it in my Vaporflys, which is a cushion shoe because my foot had problems last year,” Dillman said about the 1600. “So hopefully when I get some spikes, I'll be able to go faster. But overall, it was good. I was really happy with the guys team. A lot of guys had PRs.”
Dillman fractured his foot last track season which is why he was racing in Vaporflys. Dillman said his strongest race at the moment is the 3200. He wants to qualify for state in the 3200, 1600 and the 4x800.
Durango junior Xander Sutherlin took care of business by winning the boys 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Sutherlin won the 110 with a 15.71. Ignacio’s Lincoln deKay finished third with a 17.50. In the 300 hurdles, Sutherlin won with a time of 43.30. Durango senior Ethan Flores was second with a 43.31.
“I could have given more,” Sutherlin said about his 110 performance. “Last week, I took that fall and that put my knee in a little bit of a bad place, just because I hit it really hard. It's a little sore still, but no excuses.”
Last weekend at the Pomona Invitational, Sutherlin had his PR to make it to the 110 finals. Unfortunately in the finals, Sutherlin fell and finished last.
He enjoyed the competition level at Pomona and hopes to go sub-15 seconds this year in the 110 hurdles.
In the boys 4x100 relay, the Demons finished second and third. The second-place team of Tripp, sophomore Gus Halls, sophomore Grant Gordon and sophomore Oliver Clark ran a 44.44. The third-place team with Flores, Fancher, Baier and senior Mason Palmer ran a 44.61.
The Demons boys finished third in the 4x200 relay with the team of Clark, sophomore Mason Phillips, freshman Presley English and freshman Alan Ramos ran a time of 1:42.29.
In the boys 4x400 relay, Durango finished second with the relay of Fancher, Flores, Palmer and senior Brodie Dorko running a time of 3:38.76.
Bayfield’s Tanner Neeley finished second in the boys high jump with a jump of 5-11. Durango freshman Donovan Whitehead finished third with a jump of 5-11.
Whitehead won the long jump with a jump of 20-6.50 and triple jump with a jump of 40-6.75. His teammate junior Cole Medenwaldt finished second in triple jump with a 36-5.
“Throughout the season your body is going to get torn down, that just comes with it,” Whitehead said. “You're going to tear your muscles down but you're going to build them back up. So that's kind of what I'm dealing with. At the end of the day, I won so that's the most important part.”
Whitehead wants to set records, make it to state and make a name for himself in the process.
Bayfield’s Gabriel Archuleta won both the boys shot put and boys discus throw. Archuleta won shot put with a throw of 41-6.50. Durango junior Bryce Hughes finished third with a throw of 39-2.50.
In discus, Archuleta won with a throw of 145-9. Durango sophomore Owen Cheatham finished second with a throw of 117-5 and Clark finished third for the Demons with a throw of 107-5.
Next weekend, Durango is competing at the Liberty Bell Invitational at Liberty High School in Colorado Springs.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
