The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate cross-country teams raced for the first time at Durango Mesa Park last week and, despite the technical course, late-summer heat and having fewer runners, had multiple harriers set personal records (PRs).
“This was the first year Durango has hosted a meet at Durango Mesa Park. Overall, the course proved to be a challenging course with some steep climbs with some technical terrain,” coach Rachael Christiansen wrote in the team’s newsletter. “That, and then with the added heat of the late morning, it ended up being a slower race for most of our runners.”
She noted the heat was a good challenge for the team, adding, “we do need the heat training for regionals, as it can get very warm even in late October, so it was good to challenge ourselves out there.”
The Pirate boys’ team finished fifth out of five scoring teams at the event.
“As a team the boys finished 5th out of 5 full teams, but we were racing against some larger 5A teams and were missing a few of our boys who were out of town this weekend,” the coach explains.
Jesse Beck was the first Pirate finisher to cross the line, running a time of 21 minutes, 15.73 seconds to finish 17th overall.
Connor Thomas finished close behind with a time of 21:16.79 to finish 18th.
Dylan Dempster took 39th with a time of 23:20.50.
“Dylan Dempster had a strong showing, finishing in the exact same time as the previous week and 39th overall,” Christiansen wrote.
Eli Nehring finished about six seconds later to take 40th with a time of 23:26.80.
Jacen Easling ran a 24:23.12 to finish 44th, with the coach highlighting he took 49 seconds off from the previous week and set a new PR.
“As he gains more experience we expect we’ll continue to see that time drop,” Christiansen wrote.
Isaac Hanto finished 47th in 25:43.50.
Only four Lady Pirates raced on the day due to injury and runners being out of town, leaving the team without enough runners to be a scoring team.
Among those out due to injury, the coach wrote, were Sienna Rose and Madisen Stretton.
“We are looking forward to them coming back as well as our missing girls who were out of town,” she wrote.
Kaiya Lyons was the top Lady Pirate finisher on the day, taking 18th with a time of 25:17.09.
Mila Miller finished 44th with a time of 32:42.03.
Running her first race for the Lady Pirates despite being under the weather was Bella Jackson, who finished 45th with a time of 34:03.30.
In addition to noting Jackson was not feeling well during the race, Christiansen adds, “she was able to push through and finish the race, and set a PR for herself.”
Gwendolyn Tyler also set a PR, the coach highlights, taking 22 seconds off her time from the previous week. She finished 46th with a time of 35:53.59.
In an email to The SUN, Christiansen indicated that this week’s return to school could also help the team, noting “this will provide a lot more structure and consistency for everyone. With running, consistency is the most important thing to see results and success, so we are looking forward to that!”
On Saturday, Sept. 7, the teams will take part in the Joe I. Vigil XC Invitational in Alamosa.
“This is a fun, flat, and fast course at the Cattails Golf course. We are excited to have everyone running this race and seeing what we are capable of on a fast course,” Christiansen wrote in the newsletter, adding the goal is to see quite a few personal records.
In the email, Christiansen notes the race will be the first time the team will have all 21 harriers running.
“This race will give us a good understanding of where everyone lies in terms of fitness and how close together our runners are,” she wrote. “The plan is that we will see a solid pack on the boys’ side with 3-7 and then hoping to see the girls 1-5 be about 3 minutes apart.”
The Lady Pirates will race at 9:40 a.m., with the Pirates following at 10:15 a.m., she notes.
randi@pagosasun.com
