The Durango High School boys cross country runners are the defending Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A state champions, and one of the teams closest to them clearly took note of what went into their success.
The Demons opened the season at the Widefield XC in Colorado Springs on Saturday, and it was the Durango girls team that turned heads after a dominant performance. DHS had four of the top-six finishers on the girls side en route to a landslide victory.
Abby Scott led the way with a second-place run in 21 minutes, 8 seconds. Bekah Moenning finished fourth (21:47), Madeline Burns came in fifth (21:49) and Anna Smagacz crossed in 21:52 for sixth. Maggie Wigton rounded out the impressive Demons debut finishing in 17th.
“This is our new regional course, so we wanted to get a nice preview of it,” Durango head coach David McMillan said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We wanted to run a nice and controlled first mile, and the girls stayed in the middle of the pack. All of sudden, they just exploded. It was a great start for them.”
The Demons’ boys team finished in fourth place behind Widefield, Rampart and Mesa Ridge. Senior Harry Steinberg’s time of 17:33 gave him a sixth-place finish. Sam Dippold (18:45) came in 14th, Colten Gallegos (19:21) was 20th, Marcus Flint was 22nd in 19:07, Pablo Smagacz (19:48) placed 38th and Aiden Fitzgerald (19:48) was 39th.
“The guys need to work a bit harder, and we’ve got a pretty young team on that side,” McMillan said. “Our girls saw greatness last year up close, and they know our system works.”
The Demons will be in Alamosa next Saturday for the Joe Vigil XC Invitational at Cattails Golf Course.
Boys TennisThe Durango tennis team and new head coach Alan Batiste are settling into the new season, but it’s a familiar name that has carried the Demons early this season.
Bayfield High School’s Fred Edwards hasn’t lost a game yet this year after making his third consecutive trip to the state tournament last fall. Edwards steamrolled Fruita Monument’s No. 1 singles player Jon Blair 6-0, 6-0 Friday, but Durango lost to the Wildcats 5-2.
“Freddie is one of the most amazing kids I’ve ever been around,” Batiste said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “He’s obviously so talented, but it’s the way he goes about his business that’s so impressive. He humbly destroys people and always respects his opponent.”
Demons No. 3 singles player Micah Hwang’s 10-7 win in the third set tiebreaker gave the Demons their second match of the day. They nearly swept the singles matches, but Nick Cheney-Roberts came up just short in the No. 2 slot losing 3-6, 6-4, 4-6.
It’s been an interesting offseason for Durango which said goodbye to longtime head coach Dave Weisfeldt. Not only did the Demons add Batiste, but they welcomed the former players from Montezuma-Cortez after the school was forced to nix its program.
“We’ve got 27 kids competing for 12 spots,” Batiste said. “That type of turnout creates great competition for time on the court. The team has welcomed the new guys, and we’ve got a good thing going on here.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
