The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate track and field team was back in action on Saturday, March 28, at the Pine River Invitational in Bayfield.
Because spring break wasn’t officially over, the entire team wasn’t able to make the meet, but the athletes who did make the trip to Bayfield let their performance speak for themselves, noted assistant coach Curtis Nehring.
The team had 17 top five finishes across both the girls and the boys, including seven individual champions, at the meet.
“We had a lot of families that made track a priority and came back a little bit early so their kids could come to the meet, which is a big deal,” said Nehring. “[It] just goes to show you the support that the kids have beyond just their own desire to get in and compete.”
Xavier Sanchez kicked off the meet for the Pirate boys with a 14th-place finish in the boys’ 100-meter dash with a time of 12.59 seconds.
Sanchez placed ninth in the boys’ 200-meter dash with a time of 25.51 seconds and Gage Sams finished 11th with a time of 26.05 seconds.
Rylan Ash placed third in the boys’ 400-meter dash with a time of 56.20 seconds.
Ash won the boys’ 800-meter run with a time of two minutes, 11.05 seconds, and Eli Nehring placed 16th with a time of 2:35.25.
Eli Nehring placed seventh in the boys’ 3,200-meter run with a time of 13:13.67.
Jeremiah Jones won the boys’ 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.96 seconds. Jaiden Jones placed sixth with a time of 20.72 seconds, Jaycub Carter placed seventh with a time of 20.75 seconds, Zyan Souza placed eighth with a time of 21.47 and Vincent Fish placed ninth with a time of 21.88 seconds.
Jeremiah Jones won the boys’ 300-meter hurdles, as well, logging a time of 43.14 seconds. Carter placed fourth with a time of 51.13 seconds, Souza placed fifth with a time of 51.72 seconds and Jaiden Jones placed sixth with a time of 52.13 seconds.
Jeremiah Jones won the boys’ high jump with a jump of 6 feet, 5 inches, for his third individual championship of the meet. Sams placed fourth in the event with a jump of 5-9 and Milo Deitemeyer placed sixth with a jump of 5-7.
Fish placed sixth in the boys’ long jump with a jump of 17-1.5, Sanchez placed eighth with a jump of 16-7.75 and Carter placed 11th with a jump of 16-1.75.
Jeremiah Jones placed second in the boys’ triple jump with a total distance of 39-11.25, and Deitemeyer placed seventh with a total distance of 35-11.50.
Emile Schneider took first overall in the boys’ discus with a throw of 127-3. Aidan Vega placed third with a throw of 115-2 and Lincoln Butler placed ninth with a throw of 91-8.
Schneider also took first in the boys’ shot put with a throw of 39-8. Butler took sixth with a throw of 36-6 and Vega placed ninth with a throw of 34-9.5.
On the girls’ side, Abigail Foss placed seventh in the girls’ 100 with a time of 14 seconds. Bentley Briscoe placed 19th with a time of 14.96 seconds and Kylie Coleman placed 31st with a time of 16.28 seconds.
Foss also placed fifth in the girls’ 200 with a time of 29.26 seconds. Coleman placed 23rd with a time of 34.62 seconds.
Dawson Iverson placed 15th in the girls’ 1,600-meter run with a time of 9:57.15.
Annaliese Hinger placed sixth in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles with a time of 23.71 seconds.
Veda Deitemeyer placed 12th in the girls’ high jump with a jump of 4-7, and Iverson placed 17th with a jump of 4-1.
Hannah Stretton placed 17th in the girls’ long jump with a jump of 11-7.75.
Malorie Morton won the girls’ discus with a throw of 106-9. Liana Vega placed third with a throw of 91 feet, and Raleigh Iverson placed 21st with a throw of 58-5.
Liana Vega placed second in the girls’ shot put with a throw of 29-9, Morton placed third with a throw of 29-3.25 and Raleigh Iverson placed 21st with a throw of 19-8.5.
The Pirates will be heading to Ignacio on Saturday, April 4, for the Abel Velasquez Invitational, which is set to begin at 9 a.m.
The Pirates will be limited to five athletes per event, noted Nehring, but the team will be ready.
Apart from a couple of students who will be attending a Future Business Leaders of America event on Saturday, the team will have a majority of its athletes back for the meet, Nehring explained.
“It’ll still be an excellent meet for us,” said Nehring. “I think the kids just worked their butt off. I can’t really express that enough. They work so hard, [and] it’s hard not to achieve when you’re working that hard.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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