Durango High School’s track and field teams turned in dominant performances at the 5A/4A Southwestern League Championship meet in Grand Junction.
Durango’s boys won the league title with 127 points. Grand Junction was second with 82 points, and Fruita Monument was third with 58. The Durango girls placed third with 108 points. Montrose won with 112 points, and Fruita was second with 110 points in a highly-competitive meet that came down to the 4x400 relay.
The team of Ben Bates, Aidan Fitzgerald, Alex Hise and Paxton Scott won the 4x400 for DHS in 3:30.84. Durango’s girls, needing a win in the 4x400 to take second place, came up a little short despite an epic leg from Abby Scott. The team of Cassandra Blau, Lilah Hwang, Bekah Moenning and Scott took second in 4:18.20. Montrose won in 4:11.20.
Blau and Hise turned in strong showings for the Demons in the 100-meter dash events. Blau won the girls race in 13.02 seconds, while Fruita Monument’s Bailey Rigsby was second in 13.25 seconds. Hise won his race in 11.06 seconds, as Fruita Monument’s Cason Gisner was second in 11.31 seconds. Dylan Baken of DHS was fourth in 11.61 seconds. Hise also went on to win the boys 200 in 23.10 seconds. Gisner was second in 23.31 seconds. Ben Bates of Durango was fourth in 23.95 seconds.
Hise wasn’t done, as he won the boys long jump with a leap of 21-07.50. Montrose’s Reed Barney was second at 20-10.50, and Durango’s Martin Cuntz was fourth in 20-04.
Abby Scott won the girls 800-meter run in 2:16.86, and Durango also took second in the event as Emma Fitzgerald finished in 2:27.62. DHS actually scored 15 points in the girls 800 alone, as Anna Smagacz placed fifth in 2:38.05 to add one point.
Durango’s Madeleine Burns won the girls 3,200-meter run in 11:35.50, and she torched the field to win the league title. Ivory Espinzoa of Grand Junction Central was seconds in 12:26.17. Durango’s Kiara Hamlin placed fourth to earn two points, as she finished in 13:00.34.
Burns was a winner again in the girls 1,600, as she finished in 5:23.23 to again destroy the rest of the field. Megan Motley of Montrose was second in 5:35.47.
Noah Bodewes won the boys 1,600 for DHS, as he finished in 4:27.19 to narrowly edge Montrose’s Even Graff, who was only 0.04 behind Bodwes.
Durango’s Luke Tichi was second in the boys 3,200, as he finished in 10:03.12. Montrose’s Sean Graff was first in 9:56.92. Durango’s Paul Knight placed fifth in 10:26.30.
In the boys 800, Durango’s Aidan Fitzgerald was second in 1:57.33. Grand Junction Central’s David Cardenas won the race in 1:56.41. Durango’s Marcus Flint placed fifth in 2:03.04.
Durango’s Ben Bates was second in the boys 400, as he finished in 51.90 seconds. Dylan Martinez of Grand Junction won in 51.63 seconds.
Garand placed second for DHS in the girls 200, as she crossed the line in 26.78 seconds. Jade Replogle of Montrose was first in 26.69, and Blau took fourth in 27.10.
Anna Pylar of Durango was second in the girls 100-meter hurdles in 17.59 seconds, and Hwang was third in 18.49. Katie Sherwood of Montrose won in 16.77. Pylar also took third int he 300 hurdles in 52.56 seconds. Calista Rodriguez of Fruita Monument won that race in 50.42 seconds.
Cole Waddell took second in the boys 110-meter hurdles for DHS in 16.45 seconds, as Colin Morrison of Grand Junction won in 15.97 seconds. Morrison and Waddell also went 1-2 again in the 300 hurdles, as Morrison won in 40.27 seconds and Waddell was second in 41.79 seconds. Kaleb McMunn of DHS was third in 43.81 seconds.
Alyssa McConnell won the girls high jump for DHS, as she cleared 5-02.75. Kenley Kohls of Fruita was second, whiel Durango’s Taylor Wold was fourth at 4-08.75.
Martin Cuntz won the boys triple jump with a leap of 41-feet, 0.25-inches. Montrose’s Barney was second at 40-06.50.
Durango’s boys were strong in throwing. Braden Evans won the discus with a throw of 150-10, and Evans was second in the shot put with a throw of 42-01.50, while Brian Elvidge Jr. placed third with a throw of 41-04.75. Grand Junction Central’s Corben Miller won shot put with a throw of 43-09.
In the girls discus, Durango’s Azalea Santillan finished fourth with a throw of 110-09. Montrose’s Keli Drye won with a distance of 129-11. Santillan then took third in the girls shot put at 35-03. Drye won that event at 37-00.
Nick Dudley placed fifth for DHS in the boys high jump, as he cleared 5-07.75. Fruita Monument’s Caden Olson won with a height of 6-06.
Mary Fenberg of Durango was the only SWL girls pole vaulter, and she cleared 7-10. Baken was the only boys pole vaulter in the SWL to record a height, as he cleared 12-10.
Durango’s girls won the 4x800 relay. Burns, Stevi Cameron, Emma Fitzgerlad and Anna Smagacz finished in 10:26.98. Montrose was second in 10:42.14.
The Durango girls 800 sprint medley team of Stevi Cameron, Ana Cuntz, Hwang and Taylor Wolf was fourth in 2:07.58. Montrose won with a time of 1:53.32. Blau, Garand, Moenning and Pylar teamed up to take second in the girls 4x200-meter relay in 1:47.13. Montrose won in 1:47.74. Durango’s Ana Cuntz, Mary Fenberg, Alyssa McConnell and Taylor Wold were fourth in the girls 4x100 relay with a time of 56.09. Fruita won in 51.31 seconds.
Durango’s 4x200 boys relay of Evan Bastin, Martin Cuntz, David Lee and Maxton Warman finished fourth in 1:37.26. Grand Junction won in 1:33.33. Bastin, Sully Gabel, Kilian Gwinn and Breyton Jackson were third in the boys 4x100 relay in 46.08 seconds. Grand Junction won in 44.47 seconds.
A day after competing in Cañon City, the Bayfield High School track and field team traveled north to Colorado Springs for the Doherty Spartan Invitational on Saturday. Several big schools from around the Front Range were in attendance.
Carl Heide reset both of Bayfield’s hurdle records for boys, as he was third in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.49 seconds and second in the 300 hurdles in 38.07 seconds. Heide’s 300 hurdles time is the best in Colorado Class 3A history. He has the second fastest time in the state this year. Jason Farrell of Fountain-Fort Carson won the race with the best time of 37.84 seconds.
Bayfield’s 4x400 relay team was third in 3:29.90. Dax Snooks was third in the high jump, as he cleared 6-feet. Ryan Phelps was third int he discus, as he threw 149-05.
Dawson Heide was fifth in the boys 400-meter dash in 50.83 seconds. Dawson French was fourth in the boys pole vault, as he cleared 12-07. Dave Hawkins was fourth in the shot put with a throw of 49-04.
On the girls side, Jordan Lanning placed second in the 100 hurdles in 15.29 seconds, and she was only 0.02 back of Grandview’s Kameryn Brown. Lanning went on to win the 300 hurdles in 46.12 seconds to break the Bayfield record. Lanning also placed second in the high jump at 5-06, and she was third in the long jump at 17-02.50.
In the girls discus, Tiarra Christensen placed third with a throw of 113-07.
The Ignacio boys track and field team earned a fourth-place finish at the Terry Allen Invitational on Saturday in Pagosa Springs. The Bobcats girls finished sixth.
Host Pagosa Springs won the boys title with 127 points. Mancos was second with 82 points and Monte Vista was third with 78 points. Ignacio finished with 64 points.
On the girls side, the Pirates won the title with 102 points, Monte Vista was second with 56 points and Dolores was third with 56. Ignacio finished with 45 points.
The boys team came away with four first-place finishes.
Elco Garcia won the 1,600 meters in a time of 4 minutes, 52.3 seconds, and took first in the 3,200 in 11:14.34.
Jason Foutz won the pole vault after he cleared 8 feet, 6 inches, and Natoni Cundiff won the discus with a throw of 135-11. Cundiff also placed third in the shot put at 39-10.75.
Jonas Nanaeto finished on the podium in two events, as he placed second in the 400 with a time of 54.34 and third in the 1,600 in 5:08.07.
For the Ignacio girls, Aliyana White won the shot put with a toss of 36-03. She also was third in the discus with a throw of 96-0.5.
The Bobcats also had a third-place finish from Charlize Valdez in the 1,600 with a time of 6:22.24.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
