Madeleine Burns opened her Durango High School cross-country senior campaign with a second-place finish at the Anna Banana Memorial Wildcat Invitational on Friday at Fruita Monument, and six Demon runners ran in less than 21 minutes to claim the team title with 40 points.
Fruita Monument was second with 66 points, while Glenwood Springs was third with 66 points, as well.
“The girls ran really well, and it was a strong team performance,” said DHS head coach Ken Flint. “It was great pack running from us today, and the guys had another good performance, as well.”
Sierra Bower of Basalt won the girls race in 18:33. Burns finished second in 18:45, while DHS freshman Willow Lott was not far behind in 19:38 to take fifth. Ashley Forrest was third for DHS in 20:32, which was 10th overall.
The Demons also claimed the top-nine spots in the girls junior varsity race. Freshman Marissa Campano won in 21:26.9.
Luke Tichi and Paul Knight had a one-two finish for the Demons in the boys race, as Tichi took home the individual title in 16:27.7, while Paul Knight was second in 16:34.5.
The DHS boys finished in second with 52 points, while Zuni High School of New Mexico won with 42 points. Fruita Monument was third with 69 points, and Motnrose was fourth with 104 points.
Land Lambert was eighth in 17:39.7, while Durango’s Aiden Quayle took 15th overall in 18:05. Gavin Hamlin rounded out DHS’ top five, as he crossed the finish line in 19:06.
The Demons will compete at the Desert Twilight Festival in Arizona next week.
Soccer
SoccerThe Durango High School boys soccer team picked up a 4-1 win over Grand Junction on Friday night at DHS.
Moritz Rosik opened the scoring in the third minute to go up 1-0. DHS (5-2, 2-0 5A/4A Southweestern League) scored again in the 18th minute when Leland Heinicke slotted a shot home after he received a pass from Rosik.
The Tigers (1-7-1, 1-2 5A/4A Southwestern League) responded just a few minutes later when Josiah Koger found the back of the net to make it 2-1. That was the score heading into halftime.
In the second half, Braden Lyons scored near the 50-minute mark to give DHS a two-goal cushion again. Durango’s defense did a better job of containing Koger, who caused some issues for Durango’s back line in the first half. Durango freshman Cedar Newman scored his first-career high school goal with a screamer from 35 yards out to wrap up the win.
“I thought we played much better in the second half,” said DHS head coach Aaron Champenoy. “We made a few defensive adjustments, and credit to AJ Carlson and Andrew Saddler for keeping the back line in check. We played with a bit more composure in the midfield and were able to take control of the game a bit more.”
Durango will travel to Montrose (3-4, 2-0 SWL) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Softball
SoftballThe Durango High School softball team made plenty of contact against Palisade on Friday afternoon at DHS but was unable to bring home the runs in a 14-0 loss.
“It seemed like everything found their gloves as opposed to some dirt and grass,” DHS head coach John Bernazzani said. “I have my fingers crossed that tomorrow against Montrose that good contact will turn into hits and, hopefully, more runs.”
Sylvia Reyes went 1-for-2, Emma Candelaria was 1-for-2 with a double and Teagan Kehm was 1-for-1 with a single and drew a walk for the Demons.
Durango (8-5, 2-2 5A/4A Southwestern League) will take on Montrose at noon and 2 p.m. on Saturday at DHS.
bploen@durangoherald.com
