The Pagosa Springs High School track and field team is making its return this weekend for the 2026 season, and the athletes have their sights set on representing the Pirates at the state championship meet.
This season the team is starting with a record number of athletes, according to coach Connie O’Donnell, as 90 athletes came out for track and field at the beginning of the season.
One of the strengths of the team is its senior leadership, noted O’Donnell. This year there are 17 seniors and 16 juniors.
The seniors this year are Johnny Baker, Lexi Campbell, Jerry Dean, Charity Domingo, Colton Lucero and Amber Snarr in sprints; Lincoln Butler and Aidan Vega in throws; Campbell, Dean, Milo Deitemeyer, Creede Dozier, Jeremiah Jones and Truman Vasek in jumps; Eden Conner and Jones in hurdles; and Eli Nehring in distance races.
In total, there are 36 returning athletes for the team, 13 of which are girls and 23 of which are boys.
Of the 36 returners, 10 are returning state qualifiers and one is a returning state champion.
Dozier is very capable of defending his 3A state title in the long jump, notes O’Donnell in an email to The SUN.
Dozier is also a school record holder in the long jump. Lucero is a school record holder in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
There are 41 freshmen on this year’s team, as well, according to the coach. Additionally, after only four freshman girls went out last year, several more have joined the team in their sophomore year.
“We potentially have the ability to have state qualifiers in almost every event and that is very exciting to think about,” O’Donnell wrote. “We have strengths in most events but I would say especially in the short sprints, jumps and relays for boys since those are our returning state qualifiers. The girls have strengths in the same events with the addition of a female thrower who qualified for state last year.”
O’Donnell emphasized that she has high hopes for the freshmen as well as the other new athletes and feels that more school records will be broken this year.
There is always room for improvement, though, she notes.
“Every weekend you are not only racing and competing against others, you always have your personal time or mark to beat,” wrote O’Donnell. “I do think that we will be able to score more points in the distance races and hopefully be able to field a [4x400-meter relay] and [4x800-meter relay] that we didn’t have last year.”
The team’s assistant coaches are also a huge part of the reason the team has so many athletes that continue to have success. Tim Taylor is the distance coach, Sabra Miller is the jumps coach, Nik Paniagua is the hurdles and sprints coach, and Chris Nehring is the throwing coach.
“Our athletes have created a positive culture where people feel welcome and part of the team,” wrote O’Donnell. “I’m very proud of that.”
The Pirates will open their season at the Durango Dust Off meet on Saturday, March 7, at 9 a.m.
Schedule
The following schedule was accurate as of press time, but is subject to change.
All meets will start at 9 a.m. unless otherwise stated.
After their meet in Durango, the Pirates will travel to Bayfield for the Bayfield Invite 1 on Friday, March 13.
They will then be back at Bayfield for the Bayfield Invite 2 on March 28.
The next meet will be at Ignacio High School. The Abel Velasquez meet will be on April 4.
They’ll then travel to Cortez for the Bob Archibeque meet on April 10 and the Thunder Storm Invite at Pueblo West High School the following day.
The Pirates will be back in Durango for the Ron Keller Invitational on April 18, with a start time of 10 a.m.
Next, the Pirates will travel to Alamosa for the Alamosa Intermountain League Meet on April 24, and then the following day they’ll compete in the Mancos Blue Jay Invitational at Mancos High School.
The Pirates will host their first and only meet of the year, the Terry Alley Invitational, on May 2.
Their final meet before the state championship meet will be the Friday Night Lights at Pueblo West on May 8, with a start time of 1 p.m.
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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