The Durango High School volleyball team was unable to keep up its three-game home winning streak, as the Demons fell in three sets to Fruita Monument Friday night at Durango High School.
The Demons (5-2, 1-1 5A/4A Southwestern League) kept pace with Fruita but were swept, 25-20, 25-22 and 25-22.
Paige Ammerman paced Durango with six kills, while both Kyle Rowland and Millie O’Ketter recorded 18 digs. O’Ketter had six kills, while Sydney Summers had five.
The Wildcats (6-5, 1-1 SWL) got off to a fast start in every set, as they controlled much of the match, before Durango would make sizable runs in all three sets to keep it competitive.
Head coach Colleen Vogt said she was impressed with her team’s ability to fight back into the match, despite the loss.
“Fruita brought it tonight and they played very well,” Vogt said. “They exploited our weaknesses and were tall, so they were able to block us. We just had a hard time of getting our offense tonight. We gritted it out, were down big in all the sets and came back to make it close. At the end, we just missed some key serves. We played well, but credit to Fruita.”
DHS will face Grand Junction Central (3-6, 0-2 SWL) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Durango High School.
Cross-country
Cross-countryThe Bayfield High School boys cross-country team dominated the competition in Friday’s Delta-Sweitzer Lake Invitational in Delta, as the Wolverines went 1-3 at the finish line and won the event handily.
Bayfield won the meet and finished with six points, Olathe was second with 23 points, while Delta finished third with 44 points.
Elco Garcia won the race in 16 minutes, 35.99 seconds, which was nearly 30 seconds faster than his previous personal record. Zeb Shields took second in 16:54, which was his best by 20 seconds, and Jonas Naneto finished in third in 17:10. Rylan Ross finished in the top 10, as he took eighth with a time of 18:16, while Royce Hinojosa rounded out BHS’ scorers, as he finished in 11th in 19:15.
“They just keep on building,” said BHS head coach Josh Walton. “The boys ran really well today, and Elco, Jeb and Jonas were really excited.”
Eli Ion led the girls cross-country team with a 17th-place finish in 26:11, and Abria Thayer finished in 23rd in 27:28.
The Wolverines will next compete at the Eric Wolff Invitational Oct. 11 in Monte Vista.
The Durango High School cross-country team had a good showing Friday at the Warrior Lincoln Park Classic, as the girls finished in third with 140 points, while the boys finished in 12th with 346 points. Durango’s top seven runners on both boys and girls teams were in Arizona for the Nike Desert Twilight Festival, which gave others a chance to shine.
On the girls side, Marissa Campano was the highest finisher for the Demons in 20 minutes, 7.32 seconds, which was 23rd overall. Maddy Persing finished in 26th in 20:27. Nina Quayle was third for DHS in 30th.
Grace Johnson of Battle Mountain won the race in 18:02.
Assistant head coach Katarina Marks was impressed despite not having a full roster.
“With the top seven girls and guys in Arizona, it gave the others a chance to step up it up and see what they could do,” Marks said. “To come away with a third-place finish for the girls, and second for (junior varsity), it shows the depth and talent on the girls side.”
On the boys side, Jack Whistler was the highest finisher for Durango, as he finished 52nd in 18:14. Michael Bennett finished in 18:51, which was 72nd, and Jack Lootens was right behind Bennett, as he took 74th in 18:59.
Nike Desert Twilight Festival results were not available at press time.
The Demons will compete at Pantherfest Oct. 7 in Delta.
bploen@durangoherald.com
