Seven local middle school athletes competed in the Colorado Middle School State Cross-country meet Oct. 22 at Fehringer Ranch Park in Denver.
In the blue varsity race, for athletes from 4A and 5A schools, Caden Voss finished seventh overall out of 173 runners and was the second seventh grader to finish. Voss completed the 3,500-meter race in 12 minutes, 49 seconds to lead the Durango contingent. Voss also won every race during the regular season. Jack Purcell also competed in the blue varsity race and placed 19th out of 173 runners in 13:13. Art Dillman finished 58th.
In the blue varsity girls race Lacey Ruggiero finished ninth out of 157 runners in 14:24, and Zia Fadil placed 14th in 14:39. Adaira Nachtrieb crossed 95th.
Bekah Quayle also ran in the blue JV race and finished 10th.
Football players from Miller Middle school also had strong seasons this fall. Miller’s A and B football teams went undefeated in the regular season and then blew out their opponents in the championship games. The A team won its championship game by over 50 points while the B team scored a 42-0 victory in its title clash.
For the third year in a row, the Rio Rapids Durango Soccer Club hosted the Colorado Soccer Association Cup on Oct. 21-22. More than 90 games of soccer were played on various fields throughout the city, including the Smith and Riverview Sports Complexes, Santa Rita Park and Fort Lewis College. Despite stormy, frigid weather on Sunday, the tournament saw over 90 soccer games with athletes ranging in age from 8 to 19 years old. Teams came from Crested Butte, Delta County, Grand Junction, Montrose, Pagosa Springs, Farmington and the Roaring Fork Valley for the tournament.
RRDSC teams were highly successful, notching six first-place titles and five runner-up finishes.
The first-place winning teams include the U9/U10 girls Hurricanes, U11 girls Storm, U11 boys Blaze, U14/U15 girls Diablos, U14/U15 boys Durango and the U19 girls.
RRDSC teams that finished second after reaching the CSA Cup finals include: U9/U10 boys Fusion, U12 girls Thunder, U13 girls Lightning, U13 boys Select and the U15/U16 girls.
