RANGELY | For the track and field enthusiast, the third weekend of May is like Christmas morning for 72 straight hours. The top 18 athletes in every event in every classification all gather in one place, the historic Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood, Colorado, to give their all one last time before school wraps up for the year. Every sport season, every training block, every lifting session leads up to the pinnacle of high school sports: the Colorado Track and Field Championships.
The Rangely Panthers, small but mighty, made the trip to the state meet ready to compete. After annual traditions of stopping in Georgetown along the way and sitting down for a big Italian dinner at Cinzetti’s, the crew of nine athletes set off at a blazing pace among their 2A competitors.
Senior Annika Cantrell got the meet started for the Panthers Thursday afternoon in the girls high jump finals. Annika tied her season best with a clearance of 4-10, securing a seventh place medal and spot on the podium. The girls 800m sprint medley relay made up of Kastyn Dembowski, Tylee Fielder, Addison Scott and Ashlynn Ducey stepped onto the track shortly after to race in the prelims, successfully taking a spot in the final running 1:57.01.
The girls’ 4x200m prelims came up shortly after, this time Miah Wren running in Tylee Fielder’s spot as the lady Panthers again grabbed a spot in the finals with a time of 1:50.10. Ashlyn Ducey returned to the track a couple hours later for her third time of the day to race in the girls 400m prelims. Ashlynn got out hard and held on to a finals spot with her time of 1:01.50 to wrap up day one for the Rangely athletes.
The Panthers were up early Friday for the start of day two and wasted no time getting to work. In the first event of the morning, freshman Taya Wren competed in a tough field of distance runners in the girls’ 3200m finals. Taya finished in personal best fashion, claimed a fourth place medal, and a spot on the podium with her time of 11:30.79. As Taya wrapped up her race, Jordan Irwin got his weekend started in the boys’ pole vault finals at 8:30. He worked himself up and over 12-3 and placed seventh in the event, taking home a medal and photo on the podium. Next, at 8:40, James Talbot toed the line for the boys’ 3200m final. James pushed and competed, crossing the line in his fastest time of the year of 9:54.92, good enough for a cool 3rd place bronze and podium finish.
With the morning off to a hot start for the Panthers, three medals in just three events, Miah Wren stepped up next for the girls’ 300m hurdles prelims. Miah, in just her third time ever running the event, raced to a time of 48.53 and secured a spot in the finals. With just a few minutes to catch her breath, Miah teamed up with Kastyn Dembowski to take on the girls’ pole vault finals. Kastyn cleared 7-10 to finish 18th as Miah went up and over 9-4, placing sixth and taking home another medal for the Panthers.
The girls’ 800m sprint medley relay team returned to the track to compete in the finals in the early afternoon of day two. The girls raced to a 7th place finish in 1:57.00. Taya Wren came back for more laps in the girls’ 800m finals, racing hard and finishing 14th in a time of 2:29.16. The girls 4x200m relay finals finished ninth in their return with a time of 1:52.22. Miah Wren, Taya Wren, Kastyn Dembowski, and Ashlynn Ducey all returned to the track for one more event to wrap up the day, each giving their all for one lap in the girls 4x400m relay prelims. The team ran well, but didn’t move on to the finals after earning a disqualification.
After a long day with great performances from every athlete, the Panthers took the rest of their evening to rest and recover, saving up as much energy and focus as they could muster for one final day of state competition.
The Rangely athletes were able to sleep in Saturday, with Ashlynn Ducey competing first for the Panthers in the 400m finals at 11:57. Ashlynn raced hard in a highly competitive field, where only 1.5 seconds separated fifth place from ninth place. Ashlynn finished with a time of 1:01.06 and placed 8th, taking home her third medal of the weekend.
Miah Wren was next for the Panthers, competing in the 300m hurdles now for her fourth time ever. Miah got pushed from the gun, attacking each hurdle and finished in her best time yet of 48.17, claiming fifth place and her own third medal of the weekend.
Taya Wren stepped onto the track one last time to finish up her incredible freshman season for the girls’ 1600m final. In a tight finish, Miah pushed to a fifth place finish in personal best fashion of 5:21.90.
The weekend was closed out by James Talbot in the boys’ 1600m final, and Talbot made sure to put on a show for his teammates and the whole stadium. The group of milers got out quickly, but then settled in during the second lap. Wanting no business being comfortable, James pushed the pace and dared his competitors to come with. With each stride over the next two laps, James inched away from the field en route to claiming his first state title in 4:30.64, the perfect ending for the Panthers at this year’s state championship track and field meet.
“I am so, so impressed and proud of these kids,” said head coach Beth Scoggins. “Every athlete that competed this weekend came home with a medal. It was an amazing weekend and I am sorry to see this season end so quickly. I am really thankful for each of my athletes this year and all the support that we were given from their parents, families, friends, teachers, and staff members at Rangely. I work with such a great coaching staff and am so pleased to see the way that they have helped shape our kids into excellent athletes, great students, and amazing young men and women.”
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