Ten members of the Pagosa Springs High School track and field team earned Intermountain League honors with their performances at Saturday’s Pine River Invitational in Bayfield.
Fourteen teams competed at the meet, which also served as the conference meet for IML teams, with IML athletes who won their event earning all-conference honors.
Earning all-conference honors on the girls’ side, according to coach Connie O’Donnell, were Abigail Nehring in the shot put and discus; Lexi Campbell in the triple jump; and the 4x100-meter relay team of Sienna Rose, Molly Washburn, Campbell and Rylie Carr.
Earning all-conference honors on the boys’ side were Colton Lucero in the 100- and 200-meter dashes; Creede Dozier in the long jump and high jump; Emile Schneider in the discus; and the 4x100 team of Lucero, Tommy Nigro, Alex Pacheco and Dozier.
O’Donnell notes in an email to The SUN that while Pagosa didn’t win the meet on either side, the team had “a really good day” with a number of personal records (PRs) set.
“There were many PRs and we made more advances in who might qualify for the state meet,” O’Donnell wrote.
Lucero, O’Donnell wrote, “had another stellar day.”
Lucero won the 100 with a time of 10.88 seconds and the 200 with a time of 22.12 seconds.
“He is ranked 1st in the 100 in 3A and 2nd in the 200 in 3A,” O’Donnell wrote, adding, “He broke the Bayfield stadium record in the 100.”
She also notes the 4x100 relay was close to breaking the school record with its 43.80-second first-place finish and is ranked in the top 10 in 3A.
She adds, “Colton runs the opening leg of our 4x1 because he has a locked in start. He is so fast out of blocks and it is fun to watch him make up the stagger in the race on one corner before he hands off to Tommy. He’s successful because he works hard and has confidence.”
Also running the 100 for the Pirates were Nigro, who finished ninth in 11.92 seconds; Pacheco, who finished 10th with a time of 11.97 seconds; Gavin Carter, who finished 14th in 12.12 seconds; and Jonathan Baker, who took 17th with a time of 12.23 seconds.
Also running in the 200 were Baker, who finished seventh with a time of 24.58 seconds, and Jeremiah Dean, who took 12th with a time of 24.90 seconds.
Nigro took eighth in the 400-meter dash, running a time of 55.48 seconds. Jacob Castaneda followed in 12th with a time of 58.52 seconds.
Eli Nehring finished 14th in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:39.25 sixth in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 12:34.96.
Jeremiah Jones finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.43. Xavior Haynie took 14th with a time of 20.54 seconds.
Jones took eighth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 45.57 seconds. Jaxten Schiel followed in 10th with a time of 46.01 seconds, and Haynie finished 12th in 46.54 seconds.
Jones also took third in the high jump with a height of 6 feet, 1 inch. Gage Sams tied for 11th with a height of 5-5. Milo Deitemeyer and Koen Pitcher tied for 18th with heights of 5-1.
O’Donnell also highlights Dozier’s jumps on the day, with the Pirates winning the long jump and triple jump.
Dozier won the long jump with a jump of 21-8.5 and the triple jump with a distance of 42-8.5.
“Creede Dozier also had a great day,” O’Donnell wrote. “He jumped a PR in the triple jump on Saturday. He continues to be ranked 2nd in both long and triple jump in the state and 4th in high jump. Creede takes his training very seriously. I think it’s his attention to detail that makes him perform so well at meets.”
Schiel followed Dozier in the long jump, taking second with a distance of 20-4.5.
“Jaxten Schiel finally broke through the 20 foot barrier in the long jump,” the coach highlights. “His jump on Saturday puts him in the top 18 in the state, but we know that he has more in him.”
Also competing in the long jump was Dean, who finished fifth with a jump of 20 feet.
Jones finished behind Dozier in the triple jump, taking second with a distance of 40-3, with the coach explaining, “Jeremiah Jones bettered his triple jump enough to make him a possible contender in the event at state as well.”
Schiel followed in third in the triple jump with a result of 39-9, and Castaneda took 11th with a result of 35-8.
Schneider won the discus with a throw of 124-4, with Aidan Vega following in sixth with a distance of 112-0 and Davian Coss taking 14th with a throw of 91-9.
Vega led the Pirates in the shot put, finishing 11th with a throw of 33-6.5. Coss took 15th with a distance of 32-6.5. Schneider followed in 17th with a throw of 31-10. Lincoln Butler took 23rd with a distance of 29-11.5.
On the girls’ side, O’Donnell highlights the work of Abigail Nehring in the throwing events.
Abigail Nehring took first in the discus with a throw of 129-0 and first in the shot put with a throw of 34-8.25.
“Abigail Nehring had a great day in the throwing events,” O’Donnell wrote. “She threw for a PR in the shot. She is currently ranked 1st in 3A in the discus and 7th in the shot. Her work ethic, positive attitude and leadership have been key to not only her performance, but the performance of the entire throwing crew.”
Malorie Morton took second in the discus with a distance of 105-5 and sixth in the shot put with a throw of 27-10.5.
In the 100, Rose took third with a time of 12.99 seconds, Carr followed in fourth in 13.12 seconds, Campbell took fifth with a time of 13.42 seconds, Washburn finished in 12th with a time of 14.18 seconds, and Amber Snarr finished 22nd in 14.74 seconds.
Snarr took 14th in the 200 with a time of 31.17 seconds.
Rose garnered third in the 400 with a result of 1:01.79.
Madisen Stretton finished 13th in the 800-meter run with a time of 3:02.68 and seventh in the 1,600 with a time of 6:28.24.
Honestye Sweet followed in eighth in the 1600 with a time of 6:30.19.
Eden Connor finished 11th in both the 100-meter hurdles and the 300 hurdles with times of 20.80 seconds and 1:00.47, respectively.
The Lady Pirate relay team won the 4x100 with a time of 1:49.33 and finished second in the 4x200 with a time of 54.41 seconds.
“While the girl’s 4x2 won with ease, it was a battle for the 4x1,” the coach wrote. “It came down to the wire and a photo finish with Rylie and the Alamosa team. I was so impressed by Rylie’s determination to compete in the last leg of the relay. She and the Alamosa girl really pushed each other to the end. Even though our team got second, they improved their time for state qualifying.”
Carr finished 11th in the high jump with a height of 4-5, with Dawson Iverson taking 16th with a height of 4-1.
Campbell won the triple jump with a distance of 31-2.5, with Stretton following in ninth with a distance of 27-10.
O’Donnell also points out Pirate track and field has a “bright future and it’s exciting,” highlighting that Pagosa Springs Middle School’s Rylan Ash won the mile at the day’s middle school meet with a time that would have put him winning the same event at the high school meet.
This week, the Pirates will host the Terry Alley Invitational.
The Saturday meet will be a small meet, according to O’Donnell, and is slated to include Dove Creek, Monte Vista, Sanford and Moffat in addition to the Pirates.
“If you come to watch, you will see many Pagosa athletes excelling on the track and the field,” the coach wrote.
Field events will start at 9 a.m., with the running events beginning at 11 a.m.
On Tuesday, May 6, the Pirates are scheduled to go to the Centauri Invite in La Jara, with action beginning at 3 p.m.
randi@pagosasun.com
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