The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate cross-country teams opened the season last weekend in Silverton.
The meet, coach Rachael Christiansen previously explained, was “low key,” with the coaches responsible for timing their own athletes and all runners competing at the same time.
“We ran our first race of the season in Silverton this past week,” Christiansen wrote in a recap of the race. “This was our first time going to this meet, and while it was a small and low-key event, we enjoyed getting the opportunity to race and saw some big successes and learned a few things we need to work on.”
On the girls’ side, Christiansen highlights, Adi Johnson ran her first official high school cross-country 5k and came in first place for the girls.
“Kaiya Lyons was right behind her, taking 2nd overall,” Christiansen wrote. “This was a great race for both of these girls and we’re excited to see the 3 of them race together once we have Sienna Rose back from her trip overseas.”
Christiansen notes Madi Stretton was the team’s third runner and raced a minute faster than her season-opener last season.
Hailey Sams, the coach relayed, finished “a fraction of a second behind her.”
Vivy DavRem, one of the team’s new freshman runners, according to the coach, finished as the team’s fifth runner, with Mila Miller 20 seconds behind her.
“As 2 new freshman runners, these girls showed a lot of heart and promise for future races,” Christiansen wrote.
The coach notes it was also the first high school cross-country 5 k for Gwen Tyler and Kate Cernosek, adding that five of the team’s eight runners ran their first official cross-country 5k in Silverton.
Christiansen notes the Lady Pirates have a lot to learn from the experience, “but with that learning will come growth and speed!”
She notes that no awards were given out at the meet, but the Lady Pirates would have finished first out of the four teams present.
The coach indicates the boys’ squad also logged a number of highlights at the opening meet.
“On the boys’ side we saw Jesse Beck win his first race,” she wrote. “He ran a time of 20:24, which was over a minute faster than his season opener last year, on a harder course at elevation.”
Connor Thomas was the Pirates’ second finisher, coming in third overall 30 seconds behind Beck.
Next for the Pirates was Eli Nehring, who finished ninth overall in his 5k debut, the coach indicates.
“Right behind him was Dylan Dempster and only 1 second behind Dylan was our new freshman runner Merrick Tudor,” Christiansen relays. “Stetson Osborn, running his first year with us, was just 4 seconds behind Merrick, giving us a great 3-5 pack! This is very exciting moving forward as these boys are going to be able to challenge each other during practices and then work together as a team during races.”
Following about a minute later, according to the coach, was Isaac Hanto and freshman Jacen Easling.
Christian notes the race was the first official high school cross-country 5k for four of the eight Pirates, as well.
She adds that “while there are a few areas we need to work on, overall everyone performed well! The score was not officially recorded, however we did some quick math and saw the boys would have finished 2nd out of the 4 teams, only behind Bayfield. As we progress this season, we will be looking to close that gap with Bayfield since they are some of our biggest competitors looking towards State at the end of the season.”
This week, the teams will take on another new course, this time in Durango at Durango Mesa Park.
“This is the first year Durango has put on this race and we are excited to go and test out a new course,” Christiansen wrote.
The Pirate boys will race at 9:15 a.m., while the Lady Pirates will follow at 9:45 a.m.
