On a night made for glow-stick illumination, the Bayfield harriers hit the links of Hillcrest Golf Course in Durango last Friday night for the 3rd annual Southwest Sunset XC Classic.
Unfortunately, so did most of the region's best.
Sophomore Elco Garcia, Jr., was the Wolverines' top finisher, taking 33rd in 17:40. Still not yet up to full speed due to injury, senior Sloan Mazur crossed next in 61st (18:20), with Jonas Nanaeto close behind in 64th (18:22). Senior Nathan Carlson placed 120th in 19:53, sophomore Rylan Ross was 154th in 20:35, and Nakai Lovato rounded out BHS' scoring quintet with his 164th-place 20:48.
Freshman Ethan Cook was a non-scoring 167th (20:56), and freshman Xander Hovenstine was 182nd (21:39) out of 209 total finishers - paced by 4A Widefield senior Cole Munoz (15:56), 4A Montrose senior Evan Graff (15:58) and 5A Grand Junction Central junior Tyman Smart (16:03).
4A Durango's top five all placed inside the top 12 - easily earning the Demons the team title, even though final points listings for all squads were unavailable by press time.
Junior Olivia Keitz's first long-distance season continued with another BHS-best finish in the girls' race, as she took 87th (out of 166) in 24:17. Junior Sarah Ruybal placed 142nd in 27:18, and junior Mylee Sanders ended up 152nd in 30:01.
4A Durango dominated the race with sophomore Kiara Hamlin (19:33), freshman Ruth Holcomb (19:34) and senior Abby Scott (19:34) crossing the finish line almost simultaneously for a 1-2-3 sweep. Representing the 3A Intermountain well, Alamosa's sister duo of sophomore Lily and freshman Emily Lavier took sixth and seventh, respectively, in 19:54 and 20:02.
