The Pagosa Springs High School (PSHS) Lady Pirate track and field team took first at the Bob Archibeque Invitational on April 12 in Cortez, with their Pirate counterparts taking second on the boys’ side.
“We had a great day in Cortez,” coach Connie O’Donnell states in an email to The SUN. “It was windy, but beautiful. Such a difference from just a week ago.”
That wind, she indicates, affected the sprint events on the day, with the Lady Pirates not improving times.
However, it didn’t stop PSHS athletes from logging several top finishes.
Rylie Carr took first in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
In the 100, she finished with a time of 13.23 seconds. She was followed by Annabelle Parker, who took second with a time of 14.06 seconds. Lexi Campbell finished third with a time of 14.32 seconds. Aspen Pitcher finished fifth in 14.44 seconds.
In the 200, Carr finished in 27.54 seconds. Pitcher finished fourth in 29.61 seconds. Annie O’Donnell took eighth with a time of 30.13 seconds. Adelyn Hittle took 16th in 31.28 seconds.
Annie O’Donnell took first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1 minute, 1.36 seconds — a personal best time and her first time running the event this season, according to Connie O’Donnell.
Annie O’Donnell is now ranked 10th in 3A in the state for the event, the coach indicates.
Carr also ran the event for the first time this season and finished second with a time of 1:04.37. Hittle finished fifth with a time of 1:09.96.
Honestye Sweet took 12th in the 800-meter run with a time of 3:13.66. She was followed by Charlotte Duranton in 13th in 3:13.97, Marie Smith in 14th in 3:19.02 and Gwendolyn Tyler in 18th in 3:45.72.
Sweet finished seventh in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 6:53.44. Madisen Stretton finished ninth in 7:01.29, and Tyler finished 13th in 8:45.57.
In the 3,200-meter run, Duranton finished third with a time of 14:38.77. Smith took sixth with a time of 14:54.09. Stretton finished eighth in 15:27.25.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Elissa Mars finished fifth in 19.46 seconds, Kylie Ketchum took seventh with a time of 19.72 seconds, and Eden Connor finished 10th in 21.97 seconds.
Mars took eighth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.89, and Conner followed in ninth in 1:01.15.
The 4x100-meter relay team of Campbell, Pitcher, Parker and Carr took first with a time of 52.01 seconds, which Connie O’Donnell notes is an improved time.
The team of Parker, Campbell, Pitcher and Mars finished first in the 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:54.61.
In the4x400-meter relay, the team of Annie O’Donnell, Hittle, Ketchum and Hadley Phillips won with a time of 4:37.99.
“We finally ran a competitive 4x4 and now have a place to start on our pursuit to qualifying for state there as well,” the coach notes. “We will be looking at loading our medley relay soon as well.”
All three Lady Pirate high jumpers logged jumps of 4 feet, 8 inches, with the results showing Jordan Lindstrom in second, Ketchum in third and Annie O’Donnell in fifth.
“Our girls high jump is going great,” according to the coach. “Jordan didn’t improve this weekend, but she is the leader of the group. The one thing that you can always count on is Jordan building up both boys and girls in the high jump. All of our high jumpers are jumping higher earlier than last year.”
Mars finished fourth in the long jump with a distance of 14-5.25, Hittle followed in sixth with a jump of 14-1.25 and Nevaeh Evans finished 14th with a distance of 12-6.
Campbell took first in the triple jump with a distance of 32-9.5. She was followed by Lindstrom, who took second with a distance of 30-9. Dawson Iverson finished fifth with a distance of 25-0.5.
“Both Lexi Campbell and Jordan Lindstrom got their best triple jumps of the year so far,” Connie O’Donnell highlights. “Lexi had a huge personal record and is now ranked 13th in the state.”
Abigail Nehring won the discus with a throw of 108-10. Makaela Denton took 19th with a throw of 48-1, and Laykyn Baxstrom finished 22nd with a throw of 46-8.
“Abi Nehring is continuing to dominate in discus. She got another personal record in Cortez,” Connie O’Donnell wrote, adding, “She is also regularly placing in shot so she helps our team score every week.”
Nehring finished third in the shot put with a throw of 29-3. Baxstrom took 11th with a throw of 23-2.5. Malorie Morton followed in 13th with a throw of 21-4. Denton finished 17th with a distance of 18-1.
The coach also comments on the Lady Pirates’ support of their teammates, writing, “The girls are also super supportive of each other. I love that they stand along the track and yell for their teammates.”
The Pirate boys’ squad also logged a number of top finishes on the day.
Colton Lucero finished first in the 100 with a time of 11.53 seconds, with Blake Laner following in second with a time of 11.81 seconds. Harley Armijo took fifth with a time of 12.16, and Gavin Carter followed in sixth with a time of 12.18 seconds.
Carter took second in the 200, finishing in 24.41 seconds. Armijo finished in fourth with a time of 24.70 seconds.
“The 100 and 200 were slower because of a head wind, but Gavin Carter was able to improve his 100 and 200 times,” the coach wrote. “He is really making a statement to get on our sprint relays. We are going to have to have a runoff this week and Gavin has a good chance of earning a spot on those relays. Harley Armijo also improved his time in the 200.”
Jesse Beck finished seventh in the 400 with a time of 58.25 seconds. Jacob Castaneda followed in ninth in 58.60 seconds. Milo Dietemeyer finished in 13th with a time of 1:11.84.
In the 800, Jackson Chaney finished ninth with a time of 2:33.69. Trevor Faber took 11th in 2:34.89, Eli Nehring finished 14th in 2:52.16 and Stetson Osborn finished 16th with a time of 2:58.65.
Two Pirates ran the 1,600, with Beck finishing 11th in 5:41.17 and Faber taking 13th in 6:02.88.
Two Pirates also competed in the 3,200, with Eli Nehring finishing seventh in 14:25.31 and Osborn finishing ninth in 14:37.51.
In the 110-meter hurdles, Cole Harper finished 10th in 19.89 seconds and Tristan Frame finished 13th in 22.41 seconds.
Harper took sixth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.46 seconds. Nathaniel Kinsley took 12th in 48.28 seconds, and Frame followed in 14th with a time of 54.71 seconds.
The 4x100 team of Lucero, Armijo, Creede Dozier and Laner took first with a time of 44.31 seconds.
The 4x200 team of Lucero, Kinsley, Armijo and Laner won with a time of 1:36.09.
“Both boys sprint relays improved,” Connie O’Donnell highlights. “They had great handoffs and I expect them to just keep getting faster.”
The 4x400 team of Jeremiah Jones, Castaneda, Aidan Vega and Beck finished third with a time of 4:02.68.
“The high jump was also a fun event for Pagosa in Cortez,” O’Donnell notes. “The event wrapped up with a jump off for Creede and Jaxten for 1st place. Both got personal records in the event. Jeremiah Jones is right there too.”
Dozier took first with a height of 6 feet, with Jaxten Schiel following in second and Jones taking third with jumps of 5-10. Milo Dietemeyer finished seventh with a height of 5-4.
Lucero and Dozier tied for second in the long jump with distances of 20-10. Schiel finished fifth with a jump of 19-0, and Dietemeyer followed in sixth with a jump of 18-11.
“Creede Dozier and Colton Lucero both had outstanding jumps in the long jump with personal bests,” the coach wrote. “Both are top 10 in the state in 3A right now. Jaxten Schiel is also in the mix in the long jump. He has the potential to be right there with them in the next week.”
The Pirates also fared well in the triple jump, with Dozier taking first with a distance of 40-2, Schiel taking second with a distance of 36-11.75 and Frame finishing ninth with a distance of 30-5.
“We are just jumping really well,” the coach adds. “It’s such a good feel on our team right now. They are all rooting for each other and feeding off of each other’s success. I really couldn’t ask for anything more. This team is just a dream come true as far as how much they love and support each other.”
Vega finished ninth in the discus with a throw of 83-6, with Emile Schneider taking 13th with a throw of 79-11.
The same pair competed in shot put, with Vega taking 13th with a distance of 29-3 and Schneider finishing 18th with a distance of 25-5.
“Overall, I’m just so impressed with our athletes,” Connie O’Donnell wrote. “They are all about their teammates and push each other at practice and at meets. Comradery is at a high and I love getting to spend time with them everyday.”
The Pirates also competed on Wednesday, April 17, in Bayfield, though results were not available by press time and will be reported in the April 25 issue of The SUN.
Next up, the Pirate teams will head to Durango on Saturday, April 20, for a 9 a.m. meet.
randi@pagosasun.com
