The Pagosa Springs High School track and field teams kicked off the 2026 season on Saturday, March 7, when they competed in the Durango Dust Off.
The boys placed third and the girls placed fifth at the event.
Coach Connie O’Donnell noted that the meet was very long because the other coaches took advantage of the unlimited entries per event, but that, despite the length, the meet gave the Pirates a great opportunity to continue to get better and prepare.
“The weather was great and, of course, not typical of early March,” wrote O’Donnell in an email to the SUN. “The nice weather has also allowed us to prepare better for our first meet since we have actually been on a track.”
Nina Wood finished 10th in the girls’ 100-meter dash with a time of 14.25 seconds. Molly Washburn finished 11th with a time of 14.30 seconds. Avery Book finished 17th with a time of 14.66 seconds. Abigail Foss finished 24th with a time of 15.29 seconds. Brynn Looper finished 27th with a time of 15.34 seconds. Annaliese Hinger finished 30th with a time of 15.48 seconds. Nevaeh Evans finished 34th with a time of 15.88 seconds. Hannah Stretton finished 35th with a time of 15.88 seconds. Katie Baker finished 38th with a time of 16.20 seconds. Veda Deitemeyer finished 39th with a time of 16.25 seconds. Kylie Coleman finished 40th with a time of 16.38 seconds. Italia Pereyra finished 47th with a time of 18.67 seconds.
Wood finished sixth in the girls’ 200-meter dash with a time of 28.65 seconds. Washburn finished 13th with a time of 30.30 seconds. Foss finished 15th with a time of 30.77 seconds. Bentley Briscoe finished 25th with a time of 32.14 seconds. Stretton finished 31st with a time of 33.62 seconds. Quinn Howard finished 34th with a time of 33.97 seconds. Hinger finished 35th with a time of 34.03 seconds. Baker finished 37th with a time of 34.28 seconds. Coleman finished 38th with a time of 34.52 seconds. Pereyra finished 46th with a time of 41.82 seconds.
Clara Kurz finished eighth in the girls’ 400-meter dash with a time of 1:10.54. Book finished 10th with a time of 1:10.89. Foss finished 13th with a time of 1:15.25. Hinger finished 14th with a time of 1:16.91.
Kurz finished 10th in the girls’ 800-meter run with a time of 3:04.20. She was the only Lady Pirate to complete.
Madison Stretton finished seventh in the girls’ 1,600-meter run with a time of 6:07.00. Lily DeClark finished eighth with a time of 6:15.63. Mila Miller finished 16th with a time of 7:19.08.
Madison Stretton finished fifth in the girls’ 3,200-meter run with a time of 13:04.81. DeClark finished sixth with a time of 14:00.68.
“Madison Stretton showed us just how hard she worked all year in cross country and wrestling,” wrote O’Donnell. “Her first track events of the year were much faster than even her best times last year. It’s fun to have a starting point for the season that is so much ahead of last year. You can really see the potential for growth with her.”
No Lady Pirates competed in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles or relays.
Deitemeyer placed fifth in the girls’ high jump with a height of 4 feet, 8 inches.
Wood placed third in the girls’ long jump with a jump of 14-8. Book finished fifth with a jump of 14-1.75. Baker finished 11th with a jump of 12-3.25. Howard finished 12th with a jump of 12-3. Looper finished 13th with a jump of 11-5.5. Evans finished 14th with a jump of 10-9.75.
“Nina Wood was a nice surprise as a freshman in the 100, 200 and long jump,” wrote O’Donnell. “She has the potential to be a great competitor who contributes to our team.”
Madison Stretton placed third in the girls’ triple jump with a distance of 29-7.25.
Makaela Denton placed sixth in the girls’ discus with a distance of 68-9. Charlie Barraza-Haymaker placed 17th with a result of 47-3. Paisley Lister placed 22nd with a distance of 36-1.5.
Lister placed eighth in the girls’ shot put with a throw of 22-6.5. Denton placed 13th with a distance of 18-6.5. Barraza-Haymaker placed 18th with a distance of 15-1.5.
Eight boys competed in the 100 on the boys’ side. Garrett Mote placed 18th with a time of 12.46 seconds. Xavier Sanchez placed 23rd with a time of 12.64 seconds. Jerry Su placed 29th with a time of 12.79 seconds. Milo Deitemeyer placed 30th with a time of 12.85 seconds. Cash O’Neal placed 31st with a time of 12.93 seconds. Evan Duncan placed 39th with a time of 13.12 seconds. Daniel Kinsley placed 49th with a time of 13.78 seconds. Truman Vasek placed 51st with a time of 13.87 seconds.
Sanchez was the fastest Pirate in the boys’ 200, placing 16th with a time of 25.80 seconds. Gage Sams placed 25th with a time of 26.58 seconds. Mote placed 27th with a time of 26.77 seconds. Jaycub Carter placed 30th with a time of 27.01 seconds. Trevor Faber placed 41st with a time of 27.63 seconds. Kinsley placed 45th with a time of 28.52 seconds. Eathon Dang placed 48th with a time of 28.92 seconds. Zyan Souza placed 52nd with a time of 30.29 seconds.
Elijah Julian finished 12th in the boys’ 400 with a time of 1:00.92. Faber finished 16th with a time of 1:02.90. Xander Forster finished 25th with a time of 1:08.10. Tyrell Anderson finished 28th with a time of 1:17.23.
Rylan Ash finished third in the boys’ 800 with a time of 2:10.99. Julian finished ninth with a time of 2:25.10. Forster finished 26th with a time of 3:06.32.
Ash finished third in the boys’ 1,600 with a time of 4:48.66. Weston Sweet finished 10th with a time of 5:19.08. Eli Nehring finished 18th with a time of 5:56.48. Kieran Kurz finished 19th with a time of 5:57.02.
“Rylan Ash was a standout runner for the team,” wrote O’Donnell. “He was able to run with some of Durango’s top runners and be one of only two freshmen that placed in the 1600 and the only freshman to place in the 800.”
Sweet finished sixth in the boys’ 3,200 with a time of 11:57.88. Nehring finished ninth with a time of 13:04.63.
Souza placed eighth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 22.39 seconds.
Carter finished third in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 49.98 seconds. Souza finished fourth with a time of 52.82 seconds. Dang finished sixth with a time of 1:01.26.
“I’m really proud of Zyan Souza for taking on the 110 hurdles,” wrote O’Donnell. “The 110’s are really high and we don’t get many freshmen who are willing to try. He was one of only two freshmen in the event.”
No Pirates were entered into any of the relays.
Sams won the boys’ high jump with a jump of 5-11. Milo Deitemeyer placed fourth with a jump of 5-8. Vasek finished eighth with a jump of 5-4.
Carter placed fifth in the boys’ long jump with a jump of 16-7.75. Sanchez took 14th with a jump of 14-11.75. Dang took 16th with a jump of 14-6.25. Kinsley took 17th with a jump of 14-1.
“Jaycub Carter was also a pleasant surprise as a freshman in the long jump and 300 hurdles,” wrote O’Donnell. “He placed in both and has the potential to be very good at both of those events.”
Milo Deitemeyer took third in the boys’ triple jump with a distance of 36-3.
Emile Schneider won the Pirates’ second event of the day when he took first in the boys’ discus with a distance of 129-3. Aiden Vega placed seventh with a distance of 102-5. South Dozier placed 21st with a result of 69-5. James Beaudry finished 25th with a distance of 62-11. Peyton Vanatta placed 26th with a distance of 62-1.5.
Schneider placed 11th in the boys’ shot put with a distance of 33-6.25. Vega placed 15th with a distance of 30-11. Vanatta placed 25th with a distance of 26-6. Beaudry placed 28th with a distance of 22-11.25. Dozier placed 29th with a distance of 22-3.
The team’s next meet will be the Bayfield Invite 1 on Friday, March 13, beginning at 9 a.m.
“We were missing our basketball players that were in the playoffs last weekend,” wrote O’Donnell. “We should be at full strength on Friday in Bayfield. I really just wanted to get accurate times on everyone for their first meet. We will be running relays in Bayfield.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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