For the third year in a row, Lady Pirate Sienna Rose will represent the Pagosa Springs High School Pirate cross-country team at the 3A state championship.
Rose will run in the state meet on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.
The 3A girls will race at 9:40 a.m.
Rose earned her way to state at last week’s regional meet in Colorado Springs.
“In typical fashion, it was a warm and sunny day in Colorado Springs,” coach Rachael Christiansen wrote in the team’s newsletter. “But luckily, we had a slight break in temperature in comparison to the past years. We did see a few PRs [personal records], but not as many as we were hoping for. Monte Vista last week was a very great day and for most, they just weren’t able to top it.”
The Lady Pirates finished eighth as a team on the day, led by Rose’s 14th-placed finish.
Rose ran a time of 20 minutes, 56.03 seconds to earn her way to the season’s final meet and beat her PR by one second.
“She came into the meet ranked 22nd, and was able to move up 8 spots,” Christiansen highlights. “For the past 3 years Sienna has been ranked well outside the top 15 (25th in both previous years) and has been able to execute a perfect race 3 times in a row. That speaks a ton to her mental fortitude and patience with racing. We are all so proud of her and so excited to see her race one more time in Colorado Springs.”
Adison Johnson finished 36th with a time of 22:22.64, with the coach noting she beat her PR by 24 seconds.
“She has really begun to figure out racing and we are so excited to see what she will bring to the table next year as a senior,” the coach wrote.
Kaiya Lyons was the third Lady Pirate across the line, finishing 38th with a time of 22:27.66.
Christian notes that, while Lyons did not have her best day, she ran her second-fastest 5k yet and improved her time from last year by 43 seconds.
“We know that next year she will be back stronger than ever and will be leading our team,” the coach adds.
Madisen Stretton finished 42nd overall with a time of 22:44.18, with Christiansen noting Stretton earned a new PR, broke the 23-minute mark for the first time and broke her previous time at regionals by 44 seconds.
“It was really exciting to see her race so well out there as she has been so consistent and committed all season,” the coach wrote.
Bella Jackson was the team’s fifth runner, finishing 59th overall with a time of 24:39.75.
She has been running extremely well as a freshman, and even if she didn’t get the PR she wanted, she still ran well and has the next few years to dial in her racing strategy,” Christiansen wrote.
Hailey Sams followed in 63rd with a time of 25:33.71, with Christiansen indicating Sams capped off her high school running career by beating her time from last year by 22 seconds.
She adds, “Hailey has been a huge part of our team for the last 3 years and will be greatly missed.”
Vivy DavRem finished 74th overall with a time of 27:49.86, with the coach writing, “Vivy is another freshman who we are excited to see grow over the next few years.”
Christiansen further explains Mila Miller attempted the race, but was pulled at about 1.8 miles due to hip pain.
“We are proud of her, and all the girls, for coming out and competing. They each pushed themselves and their team to be better,” the coach wrote.
The Pirate boys’ squad also finished eighth as a team at the even, with Christiansen noting, “The boys had a lot of 2nd fastest races, but unfortunately no PRs.”
Connor Thomas was the first Pirate runner to cross the finish line, logging a time of 18:34.18 to earn 29th.
Christiansen notes Thomas ran his second best time ever and took off almost two minutes from the previous year.
Jesse Beck followed in 32nd with a time of 18:58.44 — 32 seconds faster than his time from last year.
“This was his last race with PSHS XC and just like with the other seniors, it doesn’t seem real and he will be missed incredibly,” Christiansen wrote.
Merrick Tudor logged his second best 5k, according to the coach, and finished 55th with a time of 20:36.33.
“As a freshman, he had a standout year and we look forward to seeing what he can do next year,” Christiansen wrote.
Dylan Dempster finished 57th overall with a time of 20:40.41.
“This race went ok for Dylan in comparison to other races this season, but looking back and comparing it to last year he has grown so much,” the coach wrote. “He improved by 37 seconds from last year and still has a lot of potential moving forward.”
Weston Sweet followed in 58th with a time of 20:49.04, with the coach noting, “He has had a few ups and downs this season, but the past 2 weeks he has been strong. He was only 10 seconds off his PR from last week in Monte Vista.”
Peyton Jackson ran a time of 21:06.89 to finish 61st overall in his final high school race.
“Peyton’s season was held back due to an injury from last season, but he excelled considering the adjustments made,” Christiansen wrote. “He ran well out there and ended up with [his] 2nd fast 5k of the season.”
Eli Nehring finished 65th overall with a time of 21:19.21, with the coach acknowledging it was not Nehring’s best race and he had issues during the race that set him back.
“However, we know he is resilient and will bounce back and return next season even stronger,” Christiansen wrote.
Isaac Hanto followed in 66th with a time of 21:19.68 — his second-fastest 5k.
“He is strong and getting faster with time,” Christiansen highlights.
She adds, “We are also very proud of the effort these boys put into the race. They worked incredibly hard and hope to see many of them back, improving next year as well.”
randi@pagosasun.com
