The Pagosa Springs High School Pirates cross-country teams competed at the 33rd Joe I. Vigil Open in Alamosa on Saturday, Sept. 12.
“We’re so proud of our athletes for giving their all yesterday at the Joe Vigil Meet,” wrote coach Josh Kurz in an email to The SUN. “The meet had record attendance, and many larger schools from the Front Range, New Mexico, and even Texas attended.”
The boys’ team placed 22nd out of 37 teams competing, and the girls’ team placed 23rd out of 30 teams. There were 436 total boys racing and 354 total girls racing.
Rylan Ash led the way for the Pirates with a 25th-place finish and a new personal record of 16 mintes, 43.20 seconds.
Weston Sweet placed 74th with a time of 17:42.60, Miles Dempster placed 118th with a time of 18:23.50, Jacen Easling placed 174th with a time of 19:09.50, and Silas Yost placed 198th with a time of 19:38.41.
Liam McKnight placed 214th with a time of 19:51.70, Kieran Kurz placed 238th with a time of 20:13.00, Wells Witting placed 281st with a time of 21:02.50, Matthew Mars placed 292nd with a time of 21:14.70, and Stetson Osborn placed 295th with a time of 21:16.20.
Breland Bridges placed 332nd with a time of 22:15.70, Isaac Hanto placed 333rd with a time of 22:15.90, Jacob Freeman placed 356th with a time of 23:04.70, Davyn Leiker placed 402nd with a time of 24:59.90, and Eli Hanto placed 421st with a time of 26:14.60.
Along with Ash’s personal record, Sweet, Easling and McKnight all ran personal best races in Alamosa, according to the coach. Along with his new personal best time, McKnight dropped 6:05 from his previous race time at Bayfield. Leiker and Bridges dropped 4:09 and 4:18, respectively, from their last race in Bayfield.
“At this point in the season, we’re focused on the teams in our region, and all of the top teams were in attendance except Lamar,” wrote Josh Kurz. “The boys were fourth out of the teams in our region, finishing behind Salida (2nd in state last year), Gunnison, and Alamosa (4th in state last year).”
On the girls’ side, Lily DeClark led the team with a time of 22:14.90 and a 103rd-place finish. Madi Stretton was right behind her, placing 104th with a time of 22:15.00.
Bella Jackson placed 166th with a time of 23:41.20, Elsy Wood placed 192nd with a time of 24:32.90, Olivia Diffey placed 193rd with a time of 24:33.00, and Vivy DavRem placed 198th with a time of 24:38.20.
Lucy Rivera placed 218th with a time of 25:20.80, Adelaide Oelking placed 248th with a time of 26:23.50, Isabelle Ratcliff placed 252nd with a time of 26:31.00, and Skylar Leiker placed 328th with a time of 31:13.50.
“The girls placed 6th out of the teams in our region,” wrote Josh Kurz. “Woodland Park, (4th in state last year), didn’t run enough girls to score as a team, but I think they will later in the season, and Lamar, which wasn’t in attendance, also looks tough.”
Ratcliff was the monster of the week, notes Josh Kurz, dropping 6:17 from her Bayfield time, and Oelking was right behind her, dropping 5:54 from Bayfield.
He adds each freshman girl on the team shaved more than three minutes off their time from Bayfield, and DavRem earned a new personal record.
“I think our veterans Lily, Madi, Lucy, and Bella can form a tight pack, and we have a pool of 7 other talented girls to bridge the gap to become our 5th-place scorer,” wrote Kurz. “I think the girls will get stronger every week, and Mila, who had hip surgery in May, is almost cleared to race.”
Up next, the team will race at the Coronado Cougar Classic on Saturday, Sept. 19 in Colorado Springs, with action kicking off at 9 a.m.
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
>