On Friday, Durango High School’s varsity track and field athletes dominated the Phil Wertman Invitational in Grand Junction, earning 22 podium finishes while competing against nearly all of their rivals in the Southwestern League.
“I’m really proud of all our assistant coaches and the job they’re doing with all their individual areas,” said Durango assistant head coach Steve Thyfault. “We’re also really proud of the way the kids focused on their events, came together in the relays and took a lot of pride in all the new personal records they got.”
Durango’s boys team scored 150 points, 71 more than the second-place Grand Junction High School boys’ 79. The DHS girls also dominated, taking first with 103.5 points; Fruita Monument was second with 75.
The DHS team brought home six gold medals. On the girls side, the 4x400 meter relay team of seniors Ainsley Sampson and Sofia Voss and juniors Evie Morris and Molly Bertrand ran in four minutes and 13.67 seconds.
For the boys, senior Seb Tripp won the 100 with an 11.30. Senior Luke Swenk won the 3,200 with a 9:47.86. Junior Owen Cheatham won the discus with a throw of 151 feet, 5 inches and fellow junior Will Zahradnik won the triple jump with a leap of 41-9.5. The boys 4x200 team of Tripp, fellow senior Malakai Baier, junior Gus Halls and sophomore Mason Miller ran 1:30.21 to take first.
This meet also saw several Demons claim a spot in the top 10 in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s state rankings, meaning they’re in excellent position to qualify for the state meet (the top 18 performances earn a spot). Cheatham’s discus throw has him second in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s class 4A.
Durango’s boys 4x200 is in fourth. Senior Xavier Sutherlin ran 14.81 seconds in the 110 hurdles, also ranked fourth in 4A (he finished second in Grand Junction). The boys 4x800 team of junior Slader Schweitz, senior AJ Bonanno, sophomore Ben Lively and Swenk ran 8:20.65, good for eighth in 4A and second at the Phil Wertman. McManus’ second-place triple jump of 34-11.5 is ranked seventh in 4A. Junior Oshi Reider’s third-place shot put throw of 34-8.5 has her ranked eighth on the CHSAA leaderboard.
The Demons will be staying close to home this weekend, hosting their annual Ron Keller Invitational at DHS on Saturday. This meet will be special, as it will see the DHS track being officially renamed to the Ron Keller Track in honor of the legendary DHS track and cross country coach. The meet begins with field events and the 3,200 at 9 a.m., with the rest of the running events beginning at 10 a.m.
