As high school athletes are hard at work improving during the offseason, now is a good time to look back at the five best Bayfield and Ignacio High School spring sports athletes and determine who was the top competitor from Bayfield or Ignacio High School.
Both high schools saw their athletes and teams have successful seasons. The IHS baseball team won its league in dominant fashion, had three Colorado High School Activities Association all-state honorable mentions and was one run away from earning a playoff win. The Bobcat boys track and field team dominated the San Juan Basin League meet and had podium finishes at the state meet.
The Bayfield baseball team took second in the 3A Intermountain League and had a CHSAA all-state team athlete, while girls soccer was also represented on the all-state list. BHS also saw an athlete on the track state podium and sent numerous athletes to the state meet.
Here are the five nominees for top spring sports athlete:
Bayfield baseball: Austin Wilmer
The senior’s efforts as a pitcher and shortstop, plus his versatility on offense and defense, earned him a CHSAA all-state honorable mention and a 3A Intermountain League First Team spot. The Wolverines went 8-13 overall and 4-4 in the IML to finish second.
Wilmer led his team with a 3.02 earned run average, which was third in the IML and 49th in division 3A. He also posted 70 strikeouts, second in the IML. On the other side of the ball, he led his team with 18 runs scored and was second on the team with 17 hits.
The senior star started 10 games on the mound, as many as the rest of the Wolverines’ pitching staff combined. He posted a 3-5 record as a starting pitcher. Wilmer’s strongest game of this season came against Ignacio, a team that would finish the season 15-6 and win the 2A San Juan Basin League.
Against the Bobcats, Wilmer pitched a complete game, striking out 13 batters and allowing just four hits in a 6-2 win at Bayfield High School. It was his only complete game of the season and a win that the Wolverines needed, having gone 1-4 in their previous five games.
Wilmer will be continuing his pursuits as a student-athlete at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, as a scholarship football player and a walk-on baseball player.
Bayfield track and field: Ayden Casillas
The junior sprinter had an incredible season for Bayfield, breaking the BHS school records in the 100 meters and the 200 and qualifying for the state meet in both events, along with the 4x100 relay.
Casillas’s best meet of the season was May 9’s Monte Vista Last Chance Qualifier. He began by setting a new school record in the 100, running 11.16 seconds to beat the 17-year-old record by 0.01 seconds. He wasn’t done, running 22.36 in the 200 to claim the 12-year-old 200 record by 0.2 seconds.
Only six days later, at the CHSAA State Track and Field Championships, Casillas bettered his own school record in the 100, running 11.10 seconds to place 14th out of 18 athletes. He also ran the 200, placing 12th with a 22.72. The 4x100 team ran 44.89 to place 16th out of 18 teams.
At the Pine River Invitational, also known as the 3A Intermountain League Championships, Casillas earned Bayfield a healthy amount of points. His 4x100 and 4x200 teams placed second and third, while he placed fourth in the 100 and 200.
Casillas will look to improve upon his strong junior season and possibly break his own school records as a senior.
Bayfield girls soccer: Sydney Rey
In her senior season, Rey was awarded for her efforts on a 2-12 team with a CHSAA 3A All-State honorable mention. As one of three seniors on a 22-strong roster, Rey was in a leadership position from the beginning. She was credited with two of Bayfield’s three recorded goals on the season.
Battling an injury that limited her capabilities, Rey still added to her packed trophy cabinet. Her CHSAA honorable mention was the third of her career, to go with her Second Team selection in 2023. Rey was also named to the All-IML First Team for the fourth time as she earned the Bayfield team golden boot (most goals), forward of the year, leadership and MVP awards.
Rey’s strength on and off the field caught the attention of Southeastern Colorado’s Trinidad State College. After being recruited by instate and out-of-state schools, Rey announced her commitment to study and continue to play soccer at TSC in early December.
Ignacio track and field: Lincoln deKay
As just a junior, the Ignacio hurdle specialist made two podiums at the state track meet, taking third in the 110-meter hurdles and seventh in the 300 hurdles. He was also a major contributor to Ignacio’s boys team dominating the San Juan Basin League Track and Field Championships, earning league titles in both hurdle events.
The SJBL Championships saw deKay easily win both of his races, taking the 110 hurdles by 1.44 seconds (a huge margin in such a short race) and the 300 hurdles by two seconds, a similarly large margin of victory in a short event.
However, it was deKay’s performance at the state meet that saw him cement two Ignacio school records. He ran 15.83 seconds in the 110 hurdles finals to break his own record that had been set earlier in the season and followed it with a 40.81 in the prelims of the 300 hurdles, cementing himself at the top of the IHS leaderboard.
deKay is also a two-sport athlete, coming into track after a wrestling season that saw him finish second in class 2A in the 146-pound weight class at the state championships.
Entering his senior year, deKay will look to improve on the high bar he set with his stellar junior seasons on the mats and on the track.
Ignacio baseball: Gabe Archuleta
The Bobcat baseball team had high expectations after last year’s league champion, playoff win-earning campaign. With two of their strongest players graduating, junior outfielder/catcher Gabe Archuleta was one of the athletes who stepped up to help power Ignacio to another strong season.
Archuleta’s efforts earned him (and two of his teammates) a CHSAA 2A baseball honorable mention. He was perhaps the best two-way threat in the entire San Juan Basin League. Archuleta was second in the SJBL in runs and first in stolen bases on the offensive side, also finishing second in batters struck out and second in fielding percentage on defense.
One of Archuleta’s best moments came in a crucial game against Dove Creek on April 14. With Ignacio facing deficits of 1-0 after one inning and 3-1 after two innings, the Bobcats needed a jolt of momentum to attempt a comeback. Archuleta hit a clutch double, getting in scoring position for Cole Wagner’s home run moments later.
Ignacio ended up taking the game 14-10 off the rally that began with Archuleta’s double, also taking the second game of the doubleheader 10-8. The doubleheader sweep put Ignacio in first in the SJBL title race, which it would win dominantly, taking a fourth straight league title and going 10-1 in league play. The Bobcats’ season ended with a heartbreaking 12-11 playoff loss in which a miracle rally fell short.
ajbonanno@durangoherald.com
