A trio of Pagosa Springs High School Pirate cross-country runners earned all-conference honors at last week’s Zaragoza Invitational/Intermountain League (IML) Meet in Alamosa.
The Lady Pirates had two runners garner conference honors, with one Pirate boy earning conference honors and the Pirate boys’ squad taking second among IML teams at the meet.
“I can’t remember the last time that happened, so that was phenomenal,” coach Josh Kurz said of the Pirates finishing second among IML teams behind Alamosa. “Alamosa’s pretty untouchable.”
Rylan Ash earned second-team all-conference honors, with Kurz pointing out he was two seconds out of finishing in the top five and making the all-conference first team.
“On paper, it didn’t look like any of our girls could individually get into all-conference,” Kurz said before highlighting both Madisen Stretton and Lily DeClark earned second-team all-conference honors. “They raced really well.”
Stretton was the top finisher for the Lady Pirates on the day, taking 10th out of 57 runners with a time of 22 minutes, 41.29 seconds.
Kurz noted Stretton has taken off 3.5 minutes from her time on the same course as a freshman, and dropped 3.5 minutes from the Pirates’ home course, making her the team’s Monster of the Week for dropping the most time from the previous week.
“We talked about bustin’ loose,” Kurz said.
DeClark finished 12th overall in 23:07.67.
DeClark has been battling a knee injury that flared up, putting her in pain during the race, the coach explained.
“That was probably her worst race, but she still was ... second-team all-conference. Overall, she still had a great race, it just wasn’t what she’d quite hoped for.”
Kaiya Lyons finished 18th overall with a time of 23:50.58.
“Kaiya has stayed positive despite battling a stubborn hip injury,” according to the coach.
Lucy Rivera finished in 23rd, logging a time of 24:41.69, with Kurz noting Rivera “definitely contributes” and helps the team be competitive.
“I don’t think she knows how fast she can be,” he said, adding she shows a lot of potential.
Bella Jackson followed in 26th with a time of 25:10.07 despite racing sick, according to the coach.
The Lady Pirates finished fourth out of six teams overall and third out of the IML teams at the meet.
Ash logged a time of 18:04.17 to take sixth overall out of 65 runners on the boys’ side.
Weston Sweet, who finished 16th with a time of 19:54.86, is “really coming on strong,” Kurz highlighted.
Merrick Tudor took 21st with a time of 20:19.25, with Kieran Kurz following in 22nd with a time of 20:22.80.
“It was great to have Merrick and Kieran back, too. They both were big contributors,” the coach notes.
Dylan Dempster finished in 20:36.18 to take 24th.
Dempster was the Monster of the Week for the boys, dropping 2:41 from his race the previous week.
“Dylan wasn’t super happy with his race at Pagosa,” the coach said, explaining he used his disappointment to fuel him to run harder in Alamosa.
Liam McKnight followed in 25th with a time of 20:36.18.
“He had another good race,” the coach said, adding he dropped 2:14 and has had two “really good races in a row.”
Eli Nehring, who was also battling injury, according to the coach, finished 26th with a time of 20:41.18.
Jacen Easling finished 31st with a time of 21:30.24.
Stetson Osborn finished 34th in 21:52.65, and Isaac Hanto finished 37th with a time of 22:11.93.
Josh Kurz noted there’s enough depth on the boys’ squad that when one has a bad race, there are three or four others who can “fill in the gap.”
He added, “They’re definitely working together.”
The boys were second among IML teams and third overall.
“The boys are super proud of themselves,” the coach.
This week, the team will head to Mancos for the Chicken Creek Challenge, which is set to begin at 9 a.m.
The coach explained that, as the season is drawing to a close, the team is doing more speed work, noting Mancos is a fairly fast course and the team’s runners should be closer to the times they logged in at the Joe I. Vigil meet earlier this season.
He added the team is hoping to have several other boys join Ash in running times under 19 minutes and to continue to tighten the pack.
The coach added DeClark would be taking the week off, but will race in Mancos, and he hopes Jackson rebounds from illness.
“I feel like the girls can pack just like the boys,” he said, adding he’s hoping Rivera and Jackson can close the gap.
He added the hope is for Lyons to have a pain-free race.
“I feel like we’re mending,” he said.
randi@pagosasun.com
