It’s turning out to be a memorable last hurrah for Durango High School track star David Moenning.
One day after running a scorching final leg that led the 4x800-meter relay team to a state title, Moenning found himself at the top of the podium again after winning Friday’s 800-meter run.
Moenning’s time of 1 minute, 52.26 seconds was a half-second better than Cheyenne Mountain’s Thomas Staines, who stayed step-for-step with the Demons runner until the last few meters. The winning time is third-best all time in Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 4A and seventh in state history over all classifications.
“I think the result from (Friday’s) race really began four years ago,” Durango head coach David McMillan said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We put a lot of time into researching the runners in this race, came up with a game plan and it went perfectly.”
Though beaming with confidence after Thursday’s win, Moenning was uncharacteristically nervous before Friday’s 800-meter run. An upset stomach prevented him from eating, but the senior had set the goal a long time ago to win this race. He renewed the pact three weeks ago and wrote the time “1:52” on his arm after a disappointing showing at the Pueblo Twilight.
When he got to the line, in his comfort zone, the nausea vanished.
As he and McMillan planned, Moenning was a few steps back of the leaders after a 56-second first lap. The second lap was a clinic in timing and intuition.
“I was right there where we wanted to be,” said Moenning, son of Amy and Joshua Moenning. “I was feeling strong at that point, but I didn’t want to make any moves until the back stretch. I just had to pick the right time.”
Moenning watched as Pueblo Centennial’s Michael Duran put on the quick, aggressive burst of speed he used to pull ahead the last time the two raced. Moenning also watched Montrose’s Ian Meek make a move, but neither could get away from the pesky Demon.
When he saw the opportunity, Moenning finally made his move. While the others were running out of gas, Moenning and Staines exchanged the lead before the determined Durango senior pulled away.
“I was somehow able to keep my form down the stretch, and (Staines) wasn’t able to do that,” Moenning said.
Elsewhere for the Demons, Durango’s Benjamin Lachelt finished 10th (10:00.95) in the 3,200-meter run, and Nicholas Turco came in 17th with a time of 10:26.57. Meek won the 3,200-meter run in 9:32.90.
In the girls 800-meter run, Demons sophomore Abby Scott crossed in 2:21.30 for 11th place, while Air Academy’s Katie Rainsberger added another title to an already packed trophy case. Rainsberger won her fifth state title in the 3,200-meter run earlier in the day before making it six with 2:09.97 in the 800. She is the No. 1 track recruit in the country and is committed to University of Oregon.
The Durango girls 4x400 relay team (Kathleen Duft, Teagan Garand, Bekah Moenning and Scott) came up just short of qualifying in Friday’s preliminaries.
After two days and two state titles, Moenning isn’t done. He and the Demons will have more chances to add to their already impressive legacy Saturday.
Moenning will try to go three-for-three as he, Cristian Gonzales, Seamus Millett and Joaquin Valdez will give it a go in the 4x400 relay. The team qualified for Saturday’s final with a second-place finish in Friday’s preliminaries.
Junior pole vaulter Camden Garland will get his chance Saturday, as well. William Chandler will compete in the 1,600-meter run, and Breann Hawman will throw in the girls discus finals. Hawman took seventh in the shot put Thursday.
jfries@durangoherald.com
