IHS competes in Mancos, Bayfield
Winning three of the four solo sprints in which she was entered, plus running a leg on a sprint medley relay which placed second, Ignacio senior Lexy Young really couldn’t have enjoyed a much better weekend as she led the Lady Bobcats at both Mancos’ Blue Jay Invitational Friday, April 1, and the next day’s Bayfield-hosted Pine River Invite.
Pulling off the 100/200 ‘double’ at MHS with times of, respectively, 13.85 and 28.53 seconds, Young then won the 200 meters at BHS in a faster 28.46, but finished second – by 0.13 of a tick – in the 100 despite an improved 13.75. Joining senior Alexis Pontine and sophomores Maci Barnes and Lauren deKay for the 800 medley, Young helped IHS tally second-place points with a collective 2:11.32.
All told, the Lady ’Cats placed sixth out of eight teams in Bayfield, but tallied 43.5 points. With 24 points, IHS’ boys ended up eighth out of eight. Personnel numbers and performance helped Durango take the team titles, with DHS’ boys defeating runners-up Pagosa Springs 262-86, and the Lady Demons bettering PSHS 202-140.
In Mancos, to which 12 squads traveled, Ignacio also finished sixth (50.5 points) in the girls’ standings, helped by Pontine’s winning 101’5” discus throw and deKay’s winning 15:51.48 in the 3,200 meters. Barnes actually tied for third in the 400 meters with a 1:08.14 and earned fourth-place points in the 800 with a 2:50.95.
The Bobcat boys, meanwhile, finished 12th with 16 points, most coming via senior Jeremy Roderick’s fifth-place 40’1.25” in the shot put, sophomore Camron Cooper’s fifth-place 17’11” long jump and freshman Kendrick Nossaman’s fifth-place 35’1” triple jump. Roderick also placed sixth in the discus (95’3”) and Cooper eighth in the 1,600 (5:35.80).
PSHS won the girls’ title 119.5-77 over Blanding, Utah, San Juan, but SJHS earned the boys’ 93.5-89.5 over Pagosa.
Additionally at the PRI, Barnes and deKay scored well for the Lady ’Cats in the pole vault, with the former placing fourth (7’0”) and the latter sixth (6’0”). Pontine’s 86’11” in the discus wasn’t close to her Blue Jay Invite maximum, but still ranked fourth while her 28’5” in the shot was good for sixth.
Roderick finished fourth in the boys’ shot (38’5”) and senior Tyler Barnes was fifth in the 400 (58.93) plus sixth in the pole vault (8’6”). Nossaman placed seventh in the triple jump (29’11”) and Cooper likewise in the 800 (2:28.52), while sophomore Kyle Rima and Roderick went 8-9 in the discus, winging bests of 95’8” and 91’4”.
Top-ten results in Bayfield also came from Riepel in the 100 (eighth, 12.55) and 200 (eighth, 26.37), plus Nossaman in the 400 (eighth, 1:01.93), Cooper in the 1,600 (ninth, with a MHS-identical 5:35.80) and Riepel in the long jump (16’7”). On the girls’ side, deKay was top-ten in the 1,600 (ninth, 7:28.60).
In Mancos, Riepel took tenth in the long jump (16’7.75”) and was 11th in the 200 (25.98). Freshman Ada-Rene Cruz finished just outside the top-ten in Bayfield with her 11th-place 4:32.35 and was also 13th in both the 400 (1:39.70) and long jump (7’0.25”). At MHS, Pontine placed 13th in the shot (24’8”).
Up next, Ignacio will host the 2022 Abel Velasquez Invitational on Saturday, April 9, beginning at 9 a.m.
SIMPLY SHATTERING
The boys’ 1,600-meter run at the Pine River Invitational was one to remember, as Durango seniors Damian Frausto and Land Lambert not only finished 1-2 (DHS actually placed 1-2-3-4-5 in the event), but both came in under former Center senior Daniel Villagomez’s 2005 stadium-record time of 4 minutes, 35.17 seconds.
Frausto clocked a crushing 4:27.59, while Lambert crossed in 4:34.72.
Villagomez would go on to win the 2005 CHSAA Class 2A State Championship in Pueblo with a 4:48.78 inside Dutch Clark Stadium. He’d also win the 800 in 1:59.89, and take second in the 3,200 with a 10:25.46.