The Pagosa Springs High School (PSHS) Pirate track and field team traveled to Durango on Saturday, April 18, for the Ron Keller Invitational.
“The Durango meet is always big and with so many entries in each event, it takes a long time,” wrote coach Connie O’Donnell in an email to The SUN. “However, the meet is well run and we seem to continue to perform well there.”
While there were plenty of personal records at the meet, O’Donnell noted that a strong head wind definitely deterred many athletes from achieving their personal bests, especially in the 100-meter races.
After not competing for a month, Creede Dozier was back in action in Durango. He placed fourth in the 100-meter dash and first in both horizontal jumps.
“It’s a relief to see that his lack of competition did not really have any negative effects on his performance,” wrote O’Donnell.
It was a great day for the distance runners as well, notes assistant coach Tim Taylor.
“Both the younger and older distance runners are literally rewriting the lists for the top 10 performances in PSHS history,” wrote Taylor in an email to the SUN. “They understand the importance of effort put into the daily workouts, which clearly is benefiting their race times during the meets—particularly the last two weekends.”
Freshman Lily DeClark and sophomore Weston Sweet continue to impress, notes Taylor.
The hurdling squad led by Jeremiah Jones and Zyan Souza on the boys’ side and Annaliese Hinger on the girls’ side had a great meet as well, notes assistant coach Nik Paniagua.
“The hurdling squad delivered a weekend full of promise, highlighted by resilience, steady progress, and a breakout performance from the program’s youngest talent,” wrote Paniagua in an email to the SUN.
Dozier placed fourth in the boys’ 100 with a time of 11:58 seconds. Truman Vasek placed 11th with a time of 11:79 seconds, Johnny Baker placed 17th with a time of 12.09 seconds, Alex Pacheco placed 19th with a time of 12.17 seconds, Jacob Castaneda placed 28th with a time of 12.37 seconds, Jammer Grigsby placed 29th with a time of 12.46 seconds, Garrett Mote placed 35th with a time of 12.58 seconds, Xavier Sanchez placed 36th with a time of 12.59 seconds, Jerry Su placed 45th with a time of 12.84 seconds, Vincent Fish placed 48th with a time of 12.91 seconds, Connor Kirkham placed 72nd with a time of 14.25 seconds and South Dozier placed 80th with a time of 14.75 seconds.
Pacheco placed seventh in the boys’ 200-meter dash with a time of 25.07 seconds, Vasek placed eighth with a time of 25.29 seconds, Koen Pitcher placed 15th with a time of 25.80, Sanchez placed 17th with a time of 25.96, Gage Sams placed 20th with a time of 26.34 seconds and Kirkham placed 45th with a time of 29.26 seconds.
Xander Forster placed 40th in the boys’ 400-meter dash with a time of one minute, 9.35 seconds.
Rylan Ash placed fifth in the boys’ 800-meter run with a time of 2:07.15, Sweet placed 11th with a time of 2:16.10, Connor Thomas placed 13th with a time of 2:18.14, Kieran Kurz placed 30th with a time of 2:34.56, Isaac Hanto placed 34th with a time of 2:39.96, Eli Nehring placed 38th with a time of 2:48.92 and Forster placed 42nd with a time of 3:05.84.
Ash won the boys’ 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:05.14, Thomas placed 12th with a time of 11:02.27, Sweet placed 12th with a personal-best time of 11:06.00, Kurz placed 16th with a personal-best time of 11:49.79, and Hanto placed 23rd with a time of 12:36.08.
Jones placed third in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.15 seconds, Souza placed 11th with a personal-best time of 20.35 seconds, and Fish placed 12th with a time of 20.96 seconds.
Jones placed sixth in the boys’ 300-meter hurdles with a time of 46.07 seconds and Souza placed 13th with a personal-best time of 48.79 seconds.
“Jones faced adversity in both of his events but still showed why he remains a consistent force,” wrote Paniagua. “In the 110-meter hurdles, Jones clipped a hurdle late in the race, costing him valuable momentum. Later, in the 300-meter hurdles, he suffered a fall coming out of the turn. Even so, his times continue to hold steady, and his form suggests personal records are well within reach as the season progresses.”
The boys’ 4x100-meter relay team placed second with a time of 44.03 seconds.
The boys’ 4x400-meter relay team placed third with a time of 3:42.71.
Sams placed fourth in the boys’ high jump with a jump of 6 feet, 1 inch. Pitcher placed sixth with a jump of 5-9, Vasek placed ninth with a jump of 5-9 and Milo Deitemeyer placed 11th with a jump of 5-7.
Creede Dozier won the boys’ long jump with a jump of 21-2, Jeremiah Dean placed third with a jump of 20-4, Mazur placed seventh with a jump of 19-0.75, Baker placed 11th with a jump of 17-7.5, Sanchez placed 16th with a jump of 16-11.75, Chatwin Pickering placed 17th with a jump of 16-10.25, Pacheco placed 19th with a jump of 16-6.5, Fish placed 20th with a jump of 16-2.5 and Forster placed 35th with a jump of 13-1.
Creede Dozier won the boys’ triple jump, as well, logging a total distance of 42 feet. Jones placed second with a distance of 39-11 and Deitemeyer placed fourth with a distance of 27-2.5.
Emile Schneider placed second in the boys’ discuss with a throw of 134-2, Aidan Vega placed sixth with a throw of 121-5, James Beaudry placed 39th with a throw of 69-5, Quintin Cheykaychi placed 40th with a throw of 68-2 and South Dozier placed 43rd with a throw of 66-6.
Vega placed fourth in the boys’ shot put with a throw of 36-10.5, Schneider placed eighth with a throw of 35-4.5, South Dozier placed 35th with a throw of 25-8, Cheykaychi placed 36th with a throw of 25-7 and Beaudry placed 44th with a throw of 22-2.5.
On the girls’ side, Lexi Campbell placed fifth in the girls’ 100 with a time of 13.57 seconds. Abigail Foss placed 17th with a time of 14.08 seconds, Molly Washburn placed 19th with a time of 14.22 seconds, Ahrianna Martinez placed 20th with a time of 14.34 seconds, Amber Snarr placed 26th with a time of 14.54 seconds, Bentley Briscoe placed 35th with a time of 15.08 seconds, Brynn Looper placed 37th with a time of 15.14 seconds, Katie Baker placed 38th with a time of 15.18 seconds, Darria Fiorenza placed 39th with a time of 15.19 seconds, Nevaeh Evans placed 48th with a time of 15.55 seconds, Hannah Stretton placed 53rd with a time of 15.73 seconds, Mikaila Anderson placed 68th with a time of 16.86 seconds, Kylie Coleman placed 69th with a time of 16.90 seconds, Italia Pereyra placed 75th with a time of 17.97 seconds and Samantha Abraham placed 77th with a time of 19.11 seconds.
Nina Wood placed fifth in the girls’ 200 with a time of 28.23 seconds, Foss placed eighth with a time of 29.03 seconds, Washburn placed 10th with a time of 29.31 seconds, Martinez placed 13th with a time of 29.61 seconds, Snarr placed 20th with a time of 30.37 seconds, Katie Baker placed 25th with a time of 30.99 seconds, Looper placed 36th with a time of 31.14 seconds, Fiorenza placed 31st with a time of 31.73 seconds, Quinn Howard placed 39th with a time of 32.91 seconds, Coleman placed 44th with a time of 34.18 seconds, Anderson placed 53rd with a time of 35.73 seconds, Pereyra placed 56th with a time of 36.74 seconds and Abraham placed 58th with a time of 42.88 seconds.
Lucia Rivera placed 17th in the girls’ 800 with a time of 2:59.28, and Dawson Iverson placed 33rd with a time of 3:46.71.
Madi Stretton placed eighth in the girls’ 1,600-meter run with a time of 6:00.49, DeClark placed ninth with a time of 6:04.56 and Clara Kurz placed 16th with a time of 6:26.30.
Stretton placed seventh in the girls’ 3,200 with a time of 12:44.06, DeClark placed 10th with a personal-best time of 12:59.27 and Rivera placed 12th with a time of 14:31.64.
“Lily, even as a freshman, has already demonstrated her racing prowess,” wrote Taylor. “Lily has exceptional focus and desire for success.”
Hinger placed 16th in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles with a time of 20.88 seconds.
Hinger placed 14th in the girls’ 300 hurdles with a personal-best time of 56.48 seconds.
The girls’ 4x100 team placed third with a time of 52.92 seconds.
The girls’ 4x200-meter relay team placed second with a time of 1:51.77.
The girls’ 4x400 team placed fourth with a time of 4:38.16.
Veda Deitemeyer placed third in the girls’ high jump with a jump of 4-9 and Iverson placed 11th with a jump of 4-3.
Wood won the girls’ long jump with a jump of 15-8.75, Avery Book took seventh with a jump of 14-4.25, Katie Baker placed ninth with a jump of 13-8.5, Looper placed 16th with a jump of 12-7.5, Howard placed 18th with a jump of 12-4, Hannah Stretton placed 20th with a jump of 11-4.5 and Evans placed 26th with a jump of 9-7.75.
Campbell placed second in the girls’ triple jump with a distance of 32-11.75, Madi Stretton placed 11th with a distance of 28-2 and Corinna Galabota placed 13th with a distance of 27-8.
Liana Vega placed third in the girls’ discus with a throw of 98-1, Makaela Denton placed seventh with a throw of 80-3, Paisley Lister placed 16th with a throw of 71-6, Raleigh Iverson placed 20th with a throw of 69-2.5 and Charlie Barraza-Haymaker placed 28th with a throw of 64-2.5.
Liana Vega placed fourth in the girls’ shot put with a throw of 29-9, Raleigh Iverson placed 16th with a throw of 23-4, Barraza-Haymaker placed 23rd with a throw of 20-10, Lister placed 26th with a throw of 19-11 and Denton placed 35th with a throw of 18-4.25.
O’Donnell noted that she is still switching around relay teams in order to find the perfect combinations for success.
This weekend, the athletes will head to Alamosa for the Intermountain League meet on Friday, April 24.
“Alamosa is notoriously windy, but we are hoping for a warm day to be able to compete,” wrote O’Donnell. “Hopefully, we will continue to improve our marks.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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