Ramping up their intensity prior to hosting the 2023 Abel Velasquez Invitational, Ignacio Track & Field resumed competition, post-Spring Break, on Saturday, April 1, at the Pine River Invitational in Bayfield.
With three top-five individual results, plus one top-five relay, Ignacio’s girls totaled 30 points and placed eighth. Durango racked up a winning 191, with Pagosa Springs (159.5) finishing second and the hosting Lady Wolverines (69) third.
Junior Maci Barnes took third in the 400-meter dash, recording a time of 1:07.42, and placed fifth in the long jump with a best leap of 14 feet, 2 inches. By comparison, PSHS sophomore Sienna Rose won the 400 in 1:05.12; recording the only mark beyond 16 feet, Bayfield senior Nykole Meshew won the long jump with a 16’9.5” best.
Junior Kacey Brown winged the discus a fifth-place 70 feet, 5 inches – trailing Alamosa senior Brooke Gonzales’ winning 97’2” maximum – and the quartet of freshman Juliann Avila, junior Lauren deKay, freshman Samantha Riddell and Barnes clocked a third-place 2:10.32 (Pagosa Springs was first in 2:03.18) in the 800m sprint medley relay.
Additionally, Brown posted a sixth-place time of 3:02.75 in the 800m run, and Avila a sixth-place, 4’6” high jump. Barnes finished seventh in the 200, clocking 29.88 seconds, Brown was seventh in the 1,600 with her 7:01.60, and deKay came in ninth in the 800 with her 3:09.84.
Riddell earned the Lady Bobcats’ other top-ten by taking tenth in the high jump with a 4’0” best, while deKay missed another as she clocked an 11th-place 7:17.70 in the 1,600, and Avila still another via her 13’1.5” best in the long jump.
On the boys’ side, IHS totaled 48.5 points and earned seventh place. Durango blew away Alamosa in the first-place chase, 200 to 102, with Montezuma-Cortez (82.5) settling for third.
Leading the Bobcats was junior Kyle Rima, whose best discus throw flew 106 feet, 11.5 inches and ended up ranking behind only Bayfield senior Deegan Barnes’ 121’10” winner. BHS junior Gabe Archuleta placed third at 103’10”, AHS sophomore Zane Zook (102’5.5”) followed in fourth, and IHS freshman Trace Crane (91’8”) fifth.
Sophomore Kendrick Nossaman came in third in the 400m, recording a time of 56.43 seconds, and freshman Lincoln deKay logged a fourth-place 20.10 in the 110-meter hurdles. Rima also scored fourth-place team points via his 34’5” max in the shot put, the 4×400 relay (3:58.23) also placed fourth, and freshman James Martin was fifth in the 1,600 with a time of 5:30.69.
Crane took sixth in the 800, clocking 2:33.66, the 4×2 relay (2:00.10) also placed sixth, and freshman Dillon Brann placed seventh in the 110 hurdles with his 21.01. Martin ended up top-ten in the 800 (10th, 2:36.62) and deKay ditto in the 300m hurdles (50.41). Junior Corey Gomez earned 11th in the 1,600 (5:43.78) and senior John Riepel was 11th in the long jump (16’11”).
The aforementioned Abel Velasquez Invite is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 8. IHS is also scheduled to compete at the previous day’s Blue Jay Invitational in Mancos.