Pagosa Springs Middle School is making waves in cross-country this year, with the bigger-than-normal team finding success on and off the course.
According to coach Mat Wolford, the team has “18 middle-schoolers that have chosen to run instead of playing volleyball, football, soccer ... it’s unique. That in itself is quite an accomplishment.”
Wolford indicated teams may typically have 12 or fewer athletes.
“Something’s been happening here in town,” he said, adding it may be a focus on endurance sports in the community with things like the mountain biking team.
Wolford said he and his wife, who are both part of the district and have coached a variety of things, focus on fun and character development first in coaching, with very little focus given to the accolade aspect.
“We don’t even really talk much about winning,” he said. “It just about ... doing your best, and I think that resonates with a certain type of kid.”
Wolford added he’s encouraged by the numbers of athletes the program is seeing.
The coach noted the cross-country program isn’t a “legacy” program with athletes who are returning each year, but has had to build up as it goes.
Wolford noted the program is overcoming a lack of experience in the young runners with high-mileage weeks that are made more interesting and fun by varying trails and runs, as well as doing activities like a poker run.
“We’ve been able to build mileage very, very quick,” he said.
The program has also received a lot of support, both from the athletes’ parents and the community, Wolford explained, with community members helping the team learn about recovery and parent volunteers showing up to run with the team.
One parent shows up every Wednesday to host a turnaround aid station with water and oranges during practice runs, Wolford added.
The coach also divulged another secret to the program’s success — the area.
“The area is so inspiring,” he said. “Like, our area is so incredibly beautiful that I think, you know, once the students put some effort in and they get that run in and then, towards the end, they just kind of take a look around. They realize ... how fortunate we are to have this natural beauty to explore.”
He added running is one of the “coolest ways” to showcase the beauty of the area.
And it appears to be working, with PSMS Principal Chris Hinger highlighting in an email to The SUN that the Pirate boys’ squad has won two meets so far this season, in Ignacio and Dolores.
“Last year we participated and we ran, but this year we’re winning meets,” he said.
He added the boys placed fifth at the Joe I. Vigil XC Invitational, which is a large meet.
“That’s huge,” he said, adding, “That’s a massive accomplishment for these runners.”
Wolford also highlighted that the win in Dolores came down to a tiebreaker between Pagosa and Bayfield, with Pagosa’s Wells Witting being the tiebreaker and serving as the symbol of not quitting.
Wolford added he’s proud that the team is going from a club that may not have been recognized as a serious running club to being a contender at every meet it attends.
“With the few numbers we have, we’re just doing so much,” he said.
The boys’ squad’s lead runner, Rylan Ash, an eighth-grader, has also seen a lot of success on the season.
Hinger highlights Ash has won every meet he’s competed in this year, including the Joe Vigil meet, which included 132 runners.
“Not only did Rylan win this race but he got the second-fastest time ever recorded on this course, in 31 years,” Hinger wrote. “He’s probably the most successful [middle school] runner that I’ve ever seen in my time here.”
Winning that meet, according to Wolford, put Ash as the one of the top runners in the state.
Wolford added the kids on the team chase Ash down and he’s taken on an important role as a leader on the team.
“He just works so hard,” the coach said, adding Ash is focused and driven, and his successes come from raw effort and grit.
Wolford also highlighted the performances of Analise Hinger for the girls’ squad, as well as the fact that some of the program’s lead runners are in sixth grade.
“We have a lot of upcoming talent,” he said.
But not all of the successes have confined to running, Wolford indicated.
“We put a lot of thought into the ethos of our program,” he said, explaining they incorporate a framework for happiness that includes enjoyment (the people), purpose (the why) and satisfaction (the byproduct of the hard work).
The coach highlighted that a few students on the team struggled academically and with behaviors last year, but, since joining the team, have remained eligible academically this year and not had any trips to the office due to behavior.
He added they’re seeing students be “completely transformed” through being a part of something positive.
He’s also seeing student-athletes lift each other up, he noted, and the students’ academic results have been very high.
“These kids are embodying the student-athlete with student being first mentality,” Wolford said.
The team’s effort has also been noticed by others.
Emrys Tyler, a parent, told The SUN in an email, “I appreciate seeing a diverse group of athletes come together as a team. Though XC functions in ways like an individual sport, the team members have many opportunities to support and encourage each other. And they are learning to do that well.
“Coach Wolford balances very well the skills of pressing athletes to do tough things and of keeping his own tone positive and encouraging. And he intentionally frames XC training as a way both to become a better athlete on the course and a better person for the rest of life. He is a superior coach.”
Pagosa Springs High School coach Rachael Christiansen notes in an email to The SUN that it “has been very exciting” to watch the middle school race.
“We have been traveling with them to almost every race and have had the opportunity to watch them improve throughout the season. Rylan Ash has been dominating the competition and his team has been following his lead, pushing each other in every race. It is also exciting to have Coach Wolford leading that team,” she wrote.
Christiansen adds that the middle school team has had four different head coaches in four years.
“That lack of consistency is hard for recruitment and athletic growth,” she wrote. “This year, Coach Wolford has done a fantastic job recruiting and pushing the team. We are very hopeful he will be a part of Pagosa XC for many years to come!”
Wolford added it has been a ton of fun and encouraged any middle schoolers interested to come out for the team next year, adding he has zero expectations about speed, only that students do their personal best.
Both the middle school boys’ and girls’ squads will take part in the McGinn Memorial Cross Country Challenge on Reservoir Hill Saturday, Oct. 5.
The middle schools girls will race at 9 a.m., followed by the middle school boys at 9:30 a.m.
randi@pagosasun.com
