The Ignacio High School volleyball team got its season off to a resounding start, after the Bobcats won their home San Juan Basin League triangular on Saturday and it swept Monte Vista 3-0 (25-12, 25-12 and 25-17), and took down Del Norte 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-23).
In Game 1 against the Pirates (0-2, 0-2 2A/1A SJBL) the Bobcats were led by Makayla Howell, who had eight kills, while Alexis Pontine and Grace Gonzales had seven. Marisa Carmenoros had 17 assists, while Charlize Valdez had six service aces.
In Game 2, Ignacio (2-0, 2-0 SJBL) rallied from a first-set defeat, and after a back-and-forth early second set, IHS took the lead for good at 13-12 after Gonzales recorded another kill. The Tigers (1-3, 1-1 SJBL) staved off three set points before they committed a net violation, and fell 25-20. Late in the third set, Ignacio went on a 4-1 run to make it 22-21, and went on to win 25-23. In the fourth set, deadlocked at 23, Shelcie Gosney scored a block, and Howell ended the match with a clean kill. Howell and Gonzales had 12 kills a piece, while Carmenoros recorded 28 assists while Howell and Ebonee Gomez each had 10 digs.
“The girls came in just a little, I would maybe say gun-shy because their serving wasn’t as formidable as against Monte (Vista),” said IHS head coach Thad Cano. “This team is definitely like a slow choo-choo train; it takes them a little bit to get going, but once they get going, we have to work on our hitting consistency, and once we get that our team’s going to be really, really formidable.”
IHS will travel to Ridgway (0-3) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Ridgway High School.
Boys Tennis
Boys TennisElias Fiddler earned his first win of the season at the No. 1 singles position for the Durango High School boys tennis team on Saturday against Trigg Hayward of Fruita Monument High School, as he won in three sets, 6-2, 2-6 and 10-2 in the third-set tiebreaker. While the Demons lost the match 6-1, head coach Durango Todd Jolley learned a lot about his team over the course of the weekend.
“These guys really want to win and put in fantastic effort today,” Jolley said. “Our doubles teams have improved their formation and poise, while our singles players have been in really competitive matches, and I’m pumped for Elias getting that win. They’re starting to look at their opponents in a different way, trying to play chess, not checkers, and really start to think two steps ahead.”
The Demons will face Steamboat Springs at 3 p.m. Thursday at Canyon View City Park in Grand Junction before kicking off the Western Slope Open Friday and Saturday at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction.
Cross-Country
Cross-CountryThe Bayfield High School boys cross-country team placed third overall at the Lake County Invitational on Saturday in Leadville, as the Wolverines picked up 78 points, and they had three runners in the top 10.
Elco Garcia paced the Wolverines, as he finished in third-place with a time of 18 minutes, 49.2 seconds. Zeb Shields was right behind Garcia with a fourth-place finish in 19:10.7, while Jonas Nanaeto rounded out the top three for BHS with a sixth-place finish in 19:39.7. Graham Tuohy-Gaydos of Green Mountain won the race in 17:32.5. Green Mountain also won the team title with 56 points. The girls team finished in eighth-place, but did not register a team score. Abria Thayer was the highest finisher for BHS, and finished in 49th with a time of 31:05.4.
“It was a really good result for us today,” said BHS head coach Josh Walton. “The fact that the boys came in that fast as our first three was really promising. It was a very competitive meet, and we were the highest finishing school in 3A. The kids were a bit hesitant going up against those bigger schools, but after it got rolling, they enjoyed the course and ran really well.”
The Wolverines will compete at the Joe Vigil Open on Saturday in Alamosa.
Boys Soccer
Boys SoccerDurango High School dropped its second match in a row on Saturday, after it lost 4-1 to Battle Mountain. The Huskies (2-0), ranked No. 7 in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s preseason coaches poll, scored once in the first half and led at halftime 1-0. In the second, Battle Mountain put three past the Demons’ defense, while DHS responded with a goal of its own. Statistics were not made available.
DHS, ranked No. 8 heading into the season, lost its second game to a Class 4A top-10 opponent after it lost 2-1 to No. 7 Glenwood Springs on Friday. The Demons will have its home opener against Piedra Vista 6 p.m. Tuesday at Durango High School.
The Durango High School softball team took third-place in Division II at the Sheridan High School Labor Day Softball Tournament, after it went 3-1 over the course of the weekend.
The Demons (5-3, 0-2 5A/4A Southwestern League) beat Eagle Valley on Friday 15-0, behind the pitching of Tor Raybourn, who struck out five in four innings of work and gave up two walks. At the plate, Lily Longan went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Emma Candelaria went 1-for-3 with three RBIs and stole three bases. Mia Baguskas went 1-for-2 and drove in two runs in the win.
The Demons went 2-1 on Saturday, but lost the morning game to Standley Lake 11-9. DHS got off to an early lead with eight runs in the first, but could not hold on, as the Gators clawed back and put up six runs in the third inning, which was enough to hold on. Candelaria went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs, while Alaysia Kremer went 2-for-2 at the plate.
In Game 3, Durango topped Peak to Peak, 18-11 in a full seven-inning game. Teagan Kehm pitched all seven innings and struck out 12 in the win. It was a back-and-forth game until the Demons’ defense held on, after Kehm pitched out of jams in the fifth and sixth innings with the bases loaded. Raybourn went 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI, while Bela Torres went 2-for-5 with a triple, and Sydney Flores was 2-for-2 with two doubles and three RBIs.
In the third-place game, the Demons were able to bring home hardware after a 9-6 win over Northfield. Macey Moore, a junior varsity pitcher who was called up for the tournament, pitched all four innings and struck out one, and had stellar defense behind her. Sydney Flores had a key triple with two RBIs, while another junior varsity player, Carly Piccoli, recorded a clutch double and two RBIs.
Durango will face off against Montezuma-Cortez High School (3-0, 2-0 3A Intermountain League) at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Montezuma-Cortez.
bploen@durangoherald.com
