Cross-country runners representing Pagosa Springs Middle School can count themselves among the best in the state after taking eighth place at the Middle School Boys State Cross Country Championship on Oct. 26 in Morrison, capping a historic season that also delivered the school’s first state champion.
Running for the first time at the state championship level, seven Pirates faced 28 teams from better-established and more robust programs throughout Colorado, according to coach Mat Wolford.
Their overall placement — in addition to results from the girls’ team — was a performance Wolford called a culmination of hard work, good chemistry and community-wide support.
“It got big,” Wolford said. “When we work together, so many special things start to happen. I think everybody was just doing their best and shining. And that’s what it was: Everybody just bringing so much positivity and what they had to offer.”
Sitting with his wife and volunteer coaches at the start of the season, Wolford explained the team designed a 12-week program that would prepare the Pirates to be “poised and ready and fit to be contenders” when it came time for the state championships.
“We’re like, if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right,” he said.
In Morrison, eighth-grader Rylan Ash proved the Pirates could be more than contenders when midway through the boys’ 2A/3A championship race, he overtook the leader to claim the school’s first individual cross-country state title.
“Rylan was going to hang out in the No. 2, No. 3 spot,” Wolford said, describing Ash’s strategy heading into the race.
But, after the first mile, he continued, it was time to “get a little crazy and show everybody who Rylan Ash is.”
Cheering with family and fellow coaches from the sideline, Wolford watched as Ash made his move in the last 400 meters of the season.
“Our rule on the team is you never look back,” Wolford said, “and what Rylan didn’t see is with that bold move, he just broke the spirit of the competition behind him. Everybody slowed down, and his 20-stride lead turned into 40 strides, and by the end of the race he had the entire finishing chute to himself, no one even in sight.”
Racing against a field of 229, Ash completed the 3.5K race in 12 minutes, 18 seconds —clocking a 5:40-mile pace and finishing nearly 10 seconds faster than the second-place runner.
According to the school, it was Ash’s ninth first-place finish in as many races.
“It was incredible. It was insane,” Wolford recalled of Ash’s performance. “He grit his teeth, he turned off his brain, and 12 weeks of training went into that last 400 meters. It was so cool: little Pagosa Springs’ Rylan Ash taking the title from every big school.”
Beyond announcing the school’s arrival on the state scene, Wolford expressed hopes that Ash’s title would send a message to local runners, as well.
“Sometimes … you think those titles are for the big schools,” the coach said. “They’re for all these massive programs. Rylan — he redefined what our kids can do by winning that race. It’s massive and so profound.”
Wolford also highlighted the finish of seventh-grader Olivia Diffey, who took 47th place out of 203 entrants in the girls’ championship race. Diffey was followed by Merci Williams in 120th place, Wynnie Buchner in 149th and Skylar Leiker in 184th.
“At her first ever state race, that’s huge,” Wolford said of Diffey’s run. “She’ll definitely be our female leader next year.”
In other results, Liam McKnight took 43rd in the boys championship, Kieran Kurz placed 96th, Micah Tyler was 102nd, Chauncey Forster finished 103rd, Wells Witting placed 106th and Miles Dempster took 109th.
In the boys’ open-division race, sixth-grader Wyatt Buck claimed 16th place out of 102 runners. Jacob Freemon was 27th, and Davyn Leiker took 68th.
For Wolford, in his first year of coaching the team, the results reflect a collective effort that involved his fellow coaches, parents and the greater Pagosa community.
“It’s been awesome to be in a small town and having people always checking-in on us and encouraging us,” he said. “It’s been wind in our sails … I don’t think our program would have survived without the outpouring of encouragement from everybody.”
Wolford plans to return as coach next season and said the Pirates are “just getting started,” with hopes of adding a female coach to the staff and recruiting more runners to the team.
“Our program is not for the fast,” he said. “If you’ve got tenacity and you’ve got the will and a good attitude, I could care less about your speed and natural ability. We’re trying to build a program that just takes everybody in, and we’ll just grow together.”
garrett@pagosasun.com
