The 50th anniversary of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic highlighted Durango’s sports calendar in 2022, but lots of individuals and teams from the county had a phenomenal year. A couple of athletes won world titles, several cyclists won national titles, and lots of high school teams made long playoff runs. Below are some of the highlights from 2022.
The return of classic races and the addition of new events highlighted the 50th anniversary of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in 2022.
Durango legends and its new class of stars provided the action, and the community was there to watch it all go down. In addition to the traditional road race from Durango to Silverton and the cross-country mountain biking races at Durango Mesa to determine the king and queen of the mountain, there was a race from Ouray to Silverton, a gravel grinder, a head-to-head dual slalom downhill competition and the revival of the roostmaster in 2022.
The crowd for the roostmaster race at Chapman Hill was huge. The event utilized the dual slalom course in a beefed-up short-track competition, allowing spectators the chance to see the riders race lap after lap anywhere they could find a spot to stand.
The women’s winner, Savilia Blunk, compared the roostmaster’s atmosphere to the rowdy World Cup in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic.
The Coca-Cola road race, meanwhile, brought WorldTour rider Quinn Simmons and younger brother Colby Simmons back to Durango to race with their dad, Scott. Ned Overend was in the field again this year, flying down Coal Bank Pass without any fingers on his brakes for 38th or 39th year.
Quinn won the race for his first time, bettering his eighth-place finish as a 16-year-old while Kira Payer won the women’s road race in her fifth attempt since moving to Durango.
Quinn later rode in his first Tour de France with his team, Trek Segafredo. Sepp Kuss also returned the Tour de France this year and helped Team Jumbo-Visma win the sport’s pinnacle race with Jonas Vingegaard capturing the general classification’s yellow jersey with the best overall time.
Kuss and Quinn Simmons weren’t the only cyclists from Durango to compete on the world stage.
Durangoan Ainsley Haggart had a strong season racing enduro on her mountain bike and scored a world championship rainbow jersey. In October, she joined forces with Lauren Bingham and Erin Bixler at the Trophy of Nations in Italy. Together they captured the U21 world championship for Team USA, beating France by just five seconds after four tough stages of racing.
Christopher Blevins lined up for Team USA in Les Gets, France, to defend the world title he won in 2021 in short-track. Blevins was in podium position on the last lap, but went for the win and crashed hard trying to pass Sam Gaze just before the finish.
“The BMX kid in me knew I had to go for the win in the last corner, even if it meant risking the race,” Blevins posted.
Blunk finished 13th in her first elite cross-country Olympic world championships. Riley Amos, who broke his collar bone earlier in the season, finished eighth at the U23 world championship while Ruth Holcomb placed 42nd in the women’s U23 field.
The collegiate mountain bike national championship returned to Purgatory Resort for the second year in a row, and there was no snow this year to wreak havoc. Downhill racer Fiona Dougherty of Fort Lewis College finished her collegiate career by winning dual slalom gold in front of the home crowd. Durangoan Lauren Aggeler also won a pair of national titles in the club division for Northern Arizona, winning the cross-country and short-track cross country races.
Colorado Mesa, including Durangoan Ivan Sippy, won the varsity team omnium title by eight points, but FLC Cycling beat the Mavericks in the team relay to finish the championships strong. Toby Hassett, Natalie Quinn, Michaela Thompson and Carson Beard combined forces to win the title.
Quinn also reached the podium in three other disciplines for FLC in 2022. Quinn won a national title on the track, was part of the silver medal women’s time trial team at road nationals, placed in both the short-track and cross-country mountain bike races at nationals and concluded her season with a podium finish at the cyclocross championships.
Lots of other local cyclists also won national titles this year, including Blevins (elite short-track cross-country), Blunk (elite women’s cross-country Olympic), Trish Thomas (45-49 marathon mountain bike and XCO Cat 1/2 45-49), Anna Morozowich (11-12 cyclocross and 11-12 cross-country), Amy Haggart (50-59 enduro) Asa Vermette (13-14 men’s downhill), Bailey Cioppa (17-18 short-track cross-country), Aggeler (17-18 XCO). DEVO also defended its national title in the team relay at the mountain bike national championships in Winter Park, and other local cyclists also reached the podium at national events.
Cyclists from Durango weren’t the only athletes to do well on the world stage. Competing at the International Federation of Armwrestling world championships in Dieppe, France, LiErin Wilson won world titles with her left and right hands at 63 kilograms in the senior open division, the most competitive division.
“It was emotional. That was my sole goal in life,” Wilson said. “I wanted those medals so bad.”
Durango High School had several teams do well at the state level in 2022.
The Durango High School mountain bike team won the Division II state team championship in the Colorado High School Mountain Bike League, led by sophomore Riley Huston’s second-place finish in the varsity girls championship and Betty Holcomb’s freshman girls title.
The Durango hockey team also won the Rio Grande Hockey League title in 2021/2022, before moving to the Colorado High School Activities Association for the 2022/2023 season. DHS also added esports to its offerings in 2022.
Junior Toby Scarpella led the DHS alpine skiing team by winning a state title in the giant slalom.
Scarpella had the fastest first run of the championships at Winter Park, 59.97 seconds, which gave him a 1.26-second lead. Scarpella then posted the fastest run of the second round to lock up the state title with a combined time of 2:02.20.
“He was super-aggressive and fast,” said DHS head coach Jill Carithers. “He’s that kid; he’s probably the fastest kid out there.”
Scarpella also finished second in the state slalom championships.
On the football field, DHS joined the 3A League 3 and won a league title for the second year in a row. The Demons earned the No. 2 seed for the state playoffs and reached the semifinals with playoff victories over George Washington and Harrison. The Demons finished 11-2 overall. Lineman Josh Bates was named an All-American football player for the Demons. Bates was also the league’s lineman of the year while Zach Haber was the defensive player of the year.
The DHS girls soccer team also made a run to the Class 4A state semifinals, where it lost to the eventual champion, Northfield, 1-0, in overtime. DHS went 16-3 on the year and had five players named all-state, including first-team selection Mason Rowland. Rowland scored a team-high 17 goals and assisted six more.
Rowland was also the leading scorer for the Durango girls basketball team, and all of Class 4A, averaging 20.3 points per game during the 2021/2022 season to help DHS reach the sweet-16 round of the 4A playoffs and finish 17-8 overall. The DHS girls also finished 2022 strong and will take an eight-game winning streak into 2023.
When Rowland was injured at the beginning of the volleyball season this fall, it briefly knocked the wind out of her team. The Demons and all-state selection Leah Wolf however, rallied and won their league, scored the No. 19 seed heading into regionals and then knocked off the No. 31 and No. 6 teams to advance to the state tournament for the first time in 10 years.
The DHS boys soccer team went undefeated during its regular season to earn the No. 1 seed for the Class 4A state championships, but got upset by Coronado 1-0 in the first round. Nik Korte was named the league’s player of the year and first-team all-state.
The DHS boys basketball team also hosted a state playoff game for the first time since 2016 and beat Glenwood Springs 59-54 to advance.
The Durango girls cross-country team won most of the races it ran this season and placed third as a team at the 4A state championships. The DHS boys placed seventh at state.
The Durango girls lacrosse team made the 4A playoffs for just the second time in program history, led by the 4A Mountain West player of the year, Annabel Carithers.
Bayfield’s Wolverines had several teams go far in 2022.
The hard-hitting BHS baseball team won the 3A Region 6 title in Hotchkiss by beating Peak to Peak and North Fork. The victories helped BHS earn one of the eight spots in the Class 3A state tournament. The Wolverines then went 1-2 at state in Greeley, beating Manitou Springs 11-4 to finish in the top-six in the state. Pitcher/shortstop Isaac Ross was later named the 3A Southwest League player of the year and first-team all state for BHS.
The Bayfield boys soccer team also reached the state tournament as the No. 28 seed after going 9-3-2 during the regular season. The team was led by another SWL player of the year and all-state selection: freshman Ayden Casillas.
On the wrestling mat, several wrestlers from La Plata County reached the blood round at the state tournament, but only Kobe Prior of Bayfield managed to place. Prior finished his high school career with a first-period pin to finish fifth in Class 3A at 170 pounds.
The Bayfield volleyball team scored the No. 19 seed for the Class 3A playoffs and competed in the Class 3A Region VI championships. BHS beat Rifle at regionals, but was eliminated by the defending champs from University.
Champion coach Gary Heide, meanwhile, handed the Bayfield football reins over to Glenn Wallace in 2022. Heide retired as the all-time wins leader for Bayfield with 74 wins in 10 years.
Ignacio’s Bobcats also had several qualify for the state playoffs after strong seasons in 2022.
On the basketball court, Ignacio’s boys and girls both made it to the state tournament.
Ignacio’s boys finished 16-7 overall and reached the round of 32 in the playoffs. Gabe Tucson led the Bobcats in most stats, nearly averaging a double-double with 18.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
The Ignacio girls finished 11-11 on the year, losing to Peyton in the playoffs.
Both basketball teams bumped back up to Class 3A for the 2022-2023 season; the IHS girls are 5-2 overall and ranked eighth in the state.
On the baseball diamond, the Bobcats went 15-8 overall in 2022, won the 2A/1A San Juan Basin League title with a 4-2 mark and reached the 2A state tournament’s sweet 16.
Ignacio volleyball scored the No. 31 seed for the 2A playoffs. IHS upset No. 19 Lake County at regionals, but came up short against No. 6 Vail Christian and finished 14-11 overall.
The Ignacio football team also posted its second winning record in a row but wasn’t selected for the state playoffs. IHS finished 5-3 overall.
Fort Lewis cross-country runner Katie Fankhouser brought home first-team All-American honors to Durango.
The junior became the Skyhawks' first All-American in any sport since 2017 after running her way to a 26th-place finish at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships this fall in Denver.
Basketball player Riley Farris, meanwhile, ended his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,071 points after averaging 19.1 points per game last season.
Akuel Kot also broke an FLC scoring record at the start of the current 2022-2023 season. Playing Texas Permian Basin, Kot scored a program-record 45 points in a single game, besting the 43 points Jon Cremers scored in 1994. Kot also helped the Skyhawks win their first 10 games this season, the program’s best start ever.
