The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate track and field team opened its season on March 19 at the Bayfield Invite 1, with Pirates logging several results that put them in the top 10 in Colorado 3A track and field.
“The Bayfield invitational was rescheduled during what seems like everyone else’s spring break,” coach Connie O’Donnell wrote in an email to The SUN. “Many of the other teams were not running with all of their athletes because of this. Pagosa had the most entries by far.”
But, O’Donnell indicates, the day was successful.
“It was so nice to finally get a competition in after about 4 weeks of practice,” she wrote. “The meet was a bit chilly, but the wind stayed down for the most part and we were able to get some good times and distances that ranked many of our athletes in the top ten so far for 3A track and field.”
Seven Lady Pirates raced in the 100-meter dash at the invitational, with Rylie Carr finishing first overall with a time of 13.29 seconds. Sienna Rose took third overall with a time of 13.47 seconds, and Lexi Campbell followed in fifth with a time of 13.93 seconds. Amber Snarr finished 13th in 15.03 seconds, Nevaeh Evans took 16th in 15.28 seconds, Darria Fiorenza finished 21st in 15.80 seconds, and Italia Pereyra finished 28th in 19.51 seconds.
Carr also finished first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.60 seconds, with Rose following in second with a time of 27.97 seconds. Campbell ran a time of 28.80 seconds to finish fourth. Molly Washburn finished eighth with a time of 30.27 seconds, with Snarr running a time of 31.53 to follow in ninth. Fiorenza took 14th with a time of 33.10 seconds. Pereyra finished in 42.19 seconds to take 24th.
Rose took first in the 400-meter dash, running a time of 1 minute, 5.26 seconds. Washburn ran a time of 1:19.07 to finish fourth.
Honestye Sweet notched second in the 800-meter run with a time of 3:06.80.
“Honestye Sweet ran a significantly faster time in the 800 than at this time last year,” O’Donnell wrote. “She is on pace to see some personal records this season in all of her races. Honestye is a great teammate and is very positive. She is looked up to by the underclassmen as a leader. We are thankful to have her leadership.”
Mila Miller ran a time of 3:24.42 in the 800 to finish fifth.
In the 1,600-meter run, Madisen Stretton finished first in 15:03.99, followed by Miller in second with a time of 16:29.85.
Eden Connor finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 21.14 seconds and third in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 59.12 seconds.
The 4x100-meter relay team of Carr, Rose, Washburn and Marlowe Hedgecock took first with a time of 54.60 seconds.
The 4x200-meter relay team of Evans, Fiorenza, Hedgecock and Washburn took first with a time of 2:03.87.
Hedgecock placed fifth in the long jump with a distance of 12 feet, 10 inches. Evans followed with a distance of 11-8.50, and Jayslynn Perea took 10th with a distance of 11-1.00.
Campbell finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 32-5.25, which O’Donnell notes is 2 inches farther than where she was at the same time last year.
“She is currently ranked 7th in class 3A,” the coach highlights.
Carr tied for first in the high jump with a height of 4-6.00.
“Rylie Carr, who has been dominating our sprints during her high school career, decided to try high jump for the first time,” O’Donnell explains. “We are really glad that she added it to her events because she is already making gains. It will be fun to watch where this takes her.”
Dawson Iverson took 6th in the high jump with a height of 4 feet.
Four Lady Pirates took part in the shot put and discus.
In the shot put, Abigail Nehring finished fourth with a throw of 30-10.25. Malorie Morton followed in sixth with a distance of 25-7.50. Liana Vega threw a distance of 22-11.75 to finish seventh, and Makaela Denton took ninth with a distance of 19-7.25.
Nehring took first in the discus with a distance of 131-4.00, with the day’s second-place throw sitting at a distance of 105-6.00.
Nehring’s result, O’Donnell highlights, bests her second-place finish at state last season, when she threw a 121-11.
“She is sitting in 1st place in the rankings by over 10 feet,” O’Donnell wrote. “Abi has been working very hard throughout the year to make these gains. There is a good chance that she will own our school record before the season is finished.”
That record, according to O’Donnell, is 134-7.00.
Morton finished fourth in the discus with a distance of 90-5.00. Denton threw an 84-1.00 to take sixth, and Vega claimed eighth with a throw of 71-3.00.
On the boys’ side, O’Donnell indicates Colton Lucero opened the season with a bang.
“Colton Lucero ran a smoking season opener in the 100 with a time of 11.16,” she wrote. “That is just off his personal best that he had at the end of the season last year. He is chasing a school record in this event and is determined to break 11 seconds this year. His time ranks him at 2nd in the state in class 3A. Colton also ran a fast 200 time that is significantly better than this time last year.”
Lucero’s time of 11.16 seconds landed him in first in the 100.
Gavin Carter followed in seventh with a time of 12.06 seconds, which O’Donnell notes also shows improvement.
“Gavin Carter is coming into his own in sprints,” O’Donnell wrote. “He ran a 12.28 last year in the 100 at this time. In Bayfield, he ran a 12.06.”
Tommy Nigro finished ninth in the 100 with a time of 12.08 seconds, and Alex Pacheco finished 11th with a time of 12.12 seconds. Xavior Haynie finished 16th in 12.42 seconds, followed by Jeremiah Dean in 17th with a time of 12.50 seconds. Jonathan Baker took 20th in 12.77 seconds. Jonathan Rodriguez finished 25th in 13.16 seconds. Jerry Su notched 30th with a time of 13.25 seconds.
Lucero took second in the 200, logging a time of 23.31 seconds. Carter took sixth with a time of 24.98 seconds. Pacheco finished ninth with a time of 25.31 seconds, with Haynie following in 10th in 25.34 seconds. Dean finished 15th in 25.96 seconds, with Gage Sams notching 16th with a time of 26.02. Baker finished 20th in 26.36 seconds. Rodriguez tied for 24th with a time of 27.09 seconds, with Trevor Faber finishing in 26th with a time of 27.28 seconds. Su took 28th in 27.56 seconds, and Connor Kirkham finished 35th with a time of 30.36 seconds.
Nigro ran the 400 in 59.15 seconds to finish third, with Faber taking fifth with a time of 1:01.31.
Merrick Tudor finished fourth in the 800 in 2:38.45. Weston Sweet finished seventh in 2:43.65, and Eli Nehring followed in eighth in 2:50.23.
Connor Thomas earned second in the 1,600 with a time of 5:22.28, with Hawkin Kofke following in third in 5:31.23. Weston Sweet finished sixth, logging a time of 5:53.80. Oliver Samu took 10th with a time of 6:44.07.
All four competitors in the 3,200 were Pirates, with Thomas taking first in 11:57.26, Eli Nehring taking second in 13:05.84, Tudor finishing third in 13:06.17 and Samu finishing fourth in 13:11.05.
“Connor Thomas ran great opening times in the 1600 and 3200,” O’Donnell wrote. “He improved so much during the season last year that it is exciting to see him starting off so well.”
Jeremiah Jones took first in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 18.12 seconds and first in the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.70, with O’Donnell noting Jones is “improving on his hurdle times and is starting off much faster than last year.”
Tristan Frame finished fourth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 55.26 seconds.
The 4x100 relay team of Carter, Lucero, Creede Dozier and Pacheco finished first with a time of 44.67.
Dozier took first in the long jump with a distance of 20-11.00. Lucero followed in second with a jump of 19-6.00, and Dean finished third with a distance of 18-3.25. Haynie followed in fifth with a distance of 17 feet, and Kirkham finished 15th with a jump of 14-5.50.
Dozier also took first in the triple jump, logging a distance of 42-4.25. Jones took second with a distance of 36-4.25.
Dozier tied for first with one other in the high jump with a height of 6-4.00.
“Creede Dozier is taller and stronger this year as a junior. His early season ranking is 2nd in class 3A in all three jumps,” O’Donnell wrote, adding that perhaps the most exciting thing is that Dozier earned a spot on the podium at last year’s state meet with a height of 6-3.00, but debuted this season with a higher jump. “We are so excited to see where this takes him this year. If you have ever seen him play basketball, you know the kid [has] hops.”
Jones followed in third with a height of 6-2.00, with O’Donnell noting he set a personal record of 5-11.00 at the state meet last year and “casually” jumped a 6-2.00 to start this season.
Sams finished fifth with a height of 5-4.00.
Aiden Vega led the Pirates in shot put, finishing second overall with a distance of 31-7.50. Emile Schneider followed in third with a distance of 31-3.50. Lincoln Butler took sixth with a throw of 28-5.00, with Davian Coss following in seventh with a distance of 27-11.00.
Schneider took second in the discus with a throw of 108-4.00 — well above his mark of 75 feet last year.
“Emile Schneider is making a strong showing in the throws,” O’Donnell wrote, adding, “We really feel like there is so much more for him to gain in the throwing events.”
Vega took sixth with a throw of 90-8.00. Coss finished eighth with a distance of 78-10.00. Butler threw a distance of 72-3.00 to finish 11th, and James Beaudry finished 15th with a throw of 59-1.00.
“While there is a lot of track left in the season, it is encouraging to see some great marks so early,” O’Donnell wrote.
The Pirate squads will be back in action in Bayfield on Saturday, March 29, for the Bayfield Invite 2, which is slated to begin at 9 a.m.
randi@pagosasun.com
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