The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate cross-country teams competed in Durango on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Intermountain League XC Meet, and both the boys’ and girls’ teams placed second.
The race was held at Hillcrest Golf Course and, while golf courses typically produce fast race courses, coach Josh Kurz noted that the course ran a little slower than expected, likely due to soggy grass.
Teams such as Alamosa, Del Norte and Bayfield competed against the Pirates, but Centauri, one of the top teams in the league, didn’t race, which lowered the level of competition, noted Kurz.
Rylan Ash led the way for the Pirates at the meet, finishing second overall with a time of 17 minutes, 5.00 seconds. Weston Sweet followed Ash with a fourth-placed finish and a time of 17:46.00. Miles Dempster placed seventh with a time of 17:59.00. Jacen Easling placed 10th with a time of 18:48.00, and Hawkin Kofke placed 19th with a time of 19:58.00 to round out the top five scoring Pirates in Durango.
Kieran Kurz placed 21st with a time of 20:13.00, Liam McKnight placed 22nd with a time of 20:24.00, Wells Witting placed 25th with a time of 20:39.00, Stetson Osborn placed 26th with a time of 20:49.00, Isaac Hanto placed 30th with a time of 21:58.00, Jacob Freeman placed 31st with a time of 22:32.00, Davyn Leiker placed 34th with a time of 23:51.00, and Matthew Mars placed 35th with a time of 25:15.00.
The Pirates placed second out of the four scoring teams with 40 points, just five points behind first-place Alamosa.
Ash and Sweet both received first team all-conference honors with their top-five finishes, and Dempster and Easling each received second team all-conference honors with their top-10 finishes.
“Rylan’s been super consistent all year,” said Josh Kurz. “You know, that’s sometimes a lot of pressure to put together a top-three, top-five finish all year round, and so I’m really proud of him for just racing so consistently. And same with Weston and Myles.”
Dempster ran a personal best race in Durango, breaking the 18-minute barrier for the first time. Easling and Kofke also had personal records at the meet, according to the coach.
Kofke came back from an ankle injury in Durango, competing in just his second race of the year, according to the coach, and immediately slotted in a top-five scoring position.
Madi Stretton was the top Lady Pirate finisher at the meet, placing sixth overall with a time of 22:09.00. Right behind her was Lucy Rivera, who placed ninth with a time of 23:08.00. Bella Jackson placed 13th with a time of 23:45.00. Lily DeClark placed 15th with a time of 24:07.00, and Elsy Wood placed 18th with a time of 24:40.00 to round out the top five scoring Lady Pirates in Durango.
Adelaide Oelking placed 25th with a time of 26:50.00, Isabelle Ratcliff placed 26th with a time of 27:00.00, and Skylar Leiker placed 31st with a time of 31:09.00.
The Lady Pirates placed second out of the four scoring teams at the meet with 53 points, just three points behind first-place Alamosa.
Stretton earned first team all-conference honors and Rivera and Jackson each earned second team all-conference honors.
“Maddie’s been running really consistent as our top runner, and that’s very impressive, and I’m really proud of her,” said Josh Kurz. “And Bella’s been coming along. She’s been dropping time, and Lucy’s been consistently dropping time throughout the year, too.”
The Lady Pirates were not yet at full strength in Durango and still are just three points behind Alamosa. Kurz emphasized that there is still ground to be made up, but suggested the girls are on an upward trend.
Unfortunately, according to the coach, DeClark suffered an injury and is unlikely to race next week. In her absence, the Lady Pirates will get Vivy DavRem and Olivia Diffey back ahead of Monte Vista this coming week.
The team will head to Monte Vista on Friday, Oct. 16, for their final race of the regular season, the Eric Wolff Invitational.
“I’m gonna tell them, definitely save something for regionals, but the way I train them is each race is a hard workout, so it’s basically the last hard workout before the regionals,” said Josh Kurz.
The Colorado 3A Region 2 meet is being hosted by the Pirates this year. It will take place in Pagosa Springs on Thursday, Oct. 22. The top four teams in the region will earn themselves a chance to compete at the state meet.
It is a big honor to be able to host the regional meet, according to the coach, who emphasized that he wants the event to go as smoothly as possible.
He added he would appreciate fan support and volunteers to make sure the race goes off without any hiccups.
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
>