It’s that time of year again, when nearly every local spring sport is in its championship season. That includes high school track and field.
Durango High School will take 29 individual athletes to JeffCo Stadium in Lakewood for the 2026 Colorado High School Activities Association State Track Championships.
The Demons have 20 entries spread across relays, distance, sprints and field events on Thursday through Saturday. Here are all the DHS entries with their seed time/mark and seed number out of the 18 qualifiers in each event:
Boys:
Senior George Preston, 400-meter dash (49.71 seconds, No. 10 seed) AND long jump (21 feet, 7 inches, No. 17 seed)
Junior Rashad Reece, 110-meter hurdles (15.48, No. 13 seed)
Senior Grant Gordon, pole vault (13-8, No. 9 seed)
Junior Khrystian Cordova, pole vault (12-7, tied for No. 17 seed)
Junior Grayson Farnsworth, pole vault (12-7, tied for No. 17 seed)
Senior Owen Cheatham, discus (153-8, No. 10 seed)
Boys 4x100 meter relay: (42.86, No. 15 seed): Preston, Gordon, sophomore Hanson Long, senior Seb Tripp
Boys 4x400 (3:25.17, No. 11 seed): Tripp, Preston, freshman Tolman Farnsworth, sophomore Josiah Garcia-Ward
Boys 4X800 (8:12.55, No. 13 seed): junior Jackson Fisher, junior Rocco Enea, junior Benjamin Lively, senior Miles Snow
Girls:
Freshman Zia Fadil, 3200 (11:03.56, No. 8 seed)
Senior Evie Morris, 100 hurdles (15.77, No. 10 seed) AND 300 hurdles (45.02, No. 5 seed)
Senior Aileen McManus, triple jump (35-7 1/4, No. 8 seed)
Senior Oshi Reider, shot put (35-0, No. 12 seed) AND discus (116-2, No. 9 seed)
Girls 4x100 (49.58, No. 10 seed): senior Juliana McKown, freshman Ava McKown, freshman Lydia Orlowski, sophomore Hailey Tripp
Girls 4x200 (1:44.39, No. 10 seed): Juliana McKown, Hailey Tripp, freshman Karleigh Kinn, sophomore Teagan Kroeger
Girls 4x400 (4:04.85, No. 10 seed): Kroeger, Morris, senior Molly Bertrand, sophomore Maeve Daley
Girls 4x800 (9:51.97, No. 16 seed): Morris, Daley, Fadil, junior Lacy Ruggiero
According to Durango head track and field coach Johnny Bertrand, this was the most difficult year to make it into state since he started keeping track in 2014. Bertrand said 14 out of the 18 events on the boys side had the best state qualifying mark since 2014, with 11 out of 18 for the girls.
“It’s real competitive here,” Bertrand said. “The fact that we have the largest number of kids going to state that I've seen in a long, long time, on such a competitive year … that’s awesome.”
The Demons’ highest-seeded athlete is Morris in the 300 hurdles at No. 5. She did not qualify for state last year in the 300 or 100 hurdles.
“Evie's tough, so if it comes down to having to catch somebody, or run with somebody in the last 150 meters, she's going to be right there with them,” Bertrand said. “I don't know how many other 300 hurdle girls are also on the 4x800 team, so she's got a good endurance base … she gets out fast and she's going to be able to hold it.”
Bertrand said that Morris is one of several Durango athletes who have a chance at breaking a school record at state.
The girls 4x100 broke the school record earlier this season with a 50.15 and have improved on it multiple times since (they currently sit with a 49.58). The girls 4x200 was five hundredths of a second away from breaking the school record the week before state and Bertrand said they have a very good shot at it. He also said Fadil has a chance at the girls 3200 school record if she can get out fast and hang on late in the race.
The Demons have a plethora of chances to earn podium finishes this year. At state, the top nine finishers in each event earn podiums and score points for their team. Durango has five entries that are seeded in the top nine already. It has another six entries that are seeded at No. 10, needing to move up only one spot to secure a podium finish. Durango had 19 entries last year, with six podium finishes.
“Neither (Cheatham) or (Reider) have gotten to throw very much this year, so they're coming in fresh,” Bertrand said about which athletes he has his eye on to move up. “They're both seniors. They both threw at state last year. They know what it's about. So they can definitely move up from where they’re ranked and make the podium.”
The state championship meet begins Thursday at 8 a.m. and can be streamed via https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/chsaa/track-and-field
ajbonanno@durangoherald.com
