As the offseason continues and Bayfield High School athletes are hard at work preparing for their fall sports, now is a good time to look back on the entire school year and decide which BHS team had the best season. Here are the three nominees for best Bayfield High School sports team:
Boys basketball:
Bayfield’s 2024-25 season was drastically different from its 23-24 season in the best way possible. After posting a 3-17 overall record and a 1-9 league record, finishing sixth out of six teams in 2023-2024, the Wolverines had nowhere to go but up. They did exactly that in 24-25, finishing 16-9 overall and 8-4 in 3A/4A Intermountain League play, good for third in a seven-team league.
The BHS boys basketball team was also one of the best-performing Bayfield teams on the state level. It earned a 51-48 upset win as the 21st seed over 12th-seeded Peyton in the 3A state tournament, but fell 61-32 in the second round to fifth-seeded Centauri.
When the Colorado High School Activities Association released its 3A all-state basketball teams, two BHS players were among the honorable mentions: senior guards Cooper Roderick and Lincoln Williams. Williams also posted some very strong statistics, including a staggering 4.5 steals per game. This had him ranked second in class 3A and 11th in the entire state of Colorado, regardless of classification.
One of Bayfield’s best games besides its playoff win came on Feb. 28 against Montezuma-Cortez. M-CHS was second in the IML and 17-5 coming into the matchup, including 8-1 in their last nine games. They had also beaten Bayfield on Feb. 1. Bayfield clearly remembered the defeat, earning a huge 49-44 upset league win. Sophomore Hayes Malone tripled his season scoring average, posting 12 points to go with Williams’ 13 and five steals.
Boys track and field:
The Bayfield boys track and field team broke not one, not two, but three school records this season, along with taking a silver medal at the state championships.
Sophomore jumper Tanner Neeley had the strongest season of any BHS track and field athlete, peaking at the state meet. His leap of six feet, seven inches was good for second place in the 3A high jump, earning him a medal and a spot on the All-State first team.
Junior sprinter Ayden Casillas also had an exceptional season, taking down the BHS school records in the 100 meters and the 200. He broke both records in one meet, the Monte Vista Last Chance Qualifier on May 9. Casillas first ran 11.16 seconds in the 100, beating the 17-year-old record by one hundredth of a second. Later in the day, he ran a 22.36 in the 200, improving the BHS record for the first time since 2013.
Only six days later at the state meet, Casillas shattered his own record in the 100 by 0.06 seconds, running an 11.10 and placing 14th out of 18. Both Neeley and Casillas consistently earned podiums at meets throughout the season, with Neeley often winning multiple jumping events and Casillas regularly taking both the 100 and 200.
Bayfield also competed in two other events at state, the pole vault and 4x100 relay. Junior Zachary Hufnagel vaulted 11-6 to tie for 15th, while the 4x100 ran 44.89 to place 16th (both out of 18).
Girls Volleyball
After going 6-17 overall (3-5 in league play) and missing the state playoffs last year, the Bayfield girls volleyball team was looking to improve this season. The Wolverines did so, finishing 16-11 overall and 5-3 in league play. They took second in their league and qualified for the 3A state tournament.
Senior setter Tanna Owens earned a well-deserved CHSAA 3A volleyball honorable mention for her efforts during the season. She was an offensive coordinator for the Wolverines, posting 482 assists, a figure that ranked No. 15 in 3A. In the state tournament, Bayfield lost its first match 3-1 and lost a close five-set match in the second-chance bracket.
Bayfield’s best stretch of the season came between Sept. 17 and Oct. 22, when it went 9-1 over a 10-match stretch and earned five league wins. The streak began when BHS broke a three-match losing streak by beating Pagosa Springs 3-0. Over the following four matches, the Wolverines dropped only one set.
After a 3-1 loss to Alamosa, three more wins followed with only one dropped set. The streak culminated with Bayfield beating Durango 3-2 at home, avenging a 3-0 early-season road loss to DHS. The dominant stretch also saw Owens have two of her best games of the season, posting 37 and 38 assists in BHS’ final two wins (well over her average of about 17 per game).
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ajbonanno@durangoherald.com
