The Wolverines definitely didn’t, to swipe some popular slang, want the smoke.
Nobody did, really, as the first official practice day, Aug. 11, of the fast-approaching 2025 cross-country season restricted runners’ exposure to air degraded by forest fires burning throughout southwestern Colorado. It wasn’t cursed, but it also wasn’t how Bayfield head coach Josh Walton probably wanted to get his 13th season started.
“Monday was the first time – this is my 13th year – that I’d ever had to (hold practice) inside because … air quality was not up to par, to where we felt it was safe for the kids to run,” he said. “So we started our season inside, doing some stuff, but the rest of the week we were able to get good practices in as the smoke subsided. Or part of it.”
Fortunately, just patience was needed. By Friday the not-13th (8/15, actually) BHS’ runners were out early and more or less in full effect with the campaign’s first competition stop only about a week away.
“We were up and at it this morning at 7; we wanted to try to avoid the heat, with no school today,” explained Walton, noting he’ll be assisted this fall by Brian Sleevi, Steven Long and Doug Cuddie. “Many of them put in a lot of miles this summer, to where we’ve started the season off and running. Because so many of them were already in shape, it wasn’t like we had to start at square one with them; many of them had ran three, four days a week.”
“We have a great group of kids coming back this year, and some freshmen joining us that ran for us in middle school,” Walton said. “So I’m really excited to have what we have.”
On the boys’ side, senior Porter Sutherlin returns along with Parker Perkerewicz and Blake Ethier, while on the girls’ side, Wolverines Wrenalee Moore, Mila Feely and Kamala Smith all return for their final season.
“Obviously, Porter has some pretty high goals, qualifying for state, hopefully, so we’ll see if he can get there,” said Walton. “Parker, this’ll be his seventh year of running, he started in sixth grade, as well as Wrenalee’s and Kamala’s, so they’ve been doing this a while.”
The junior class will feature gents Cameron Mars and Ryan Kurtz, plus ladies Abigail Robertson and Kamryn Fleener.
“Another good group that’s been running – a lot of them – since sixth grade,” Walton said. “Abigail …. We’re really excited to see what she can do this year; I feel like she could have qualified for State last year, but having a late-season injury kind of prevented that from happening. So we’re hoping that she can stay healthy and gets there this year.”
Sophomores Travis Taylor, Carter Lamb and Tyler Foster are also back, and Walton added four or five freshmen joining the high school team this year.
First up for BHS will be Dolores’ Boggy Draw Bear Chase on Saturday, beginning at roughly 8:30 a.m.
“It’s a great course, usually has good competition and luckily it will be in the morning; they’ve flipped the schedule a little bit, so they’re going to allow high schoolers to go first,” said Walton. “So the girls’ race and the boys’ are first and then they’ll do middle school girls and boys after. With the temperature being a little cooler, we may see a little bit faster times.”
Bayfield will then travel to Leadville to close out August work on the 30th at the Lake County Invitational, then begin September hitting the Adams State University-hosted 32nd Joe I. Vigil Open on the 6th. The 2025 BHS Invitational will then follow on Sept. 13th.
