MEEKER | Last week, the Meeker High School boys basketball team began their week by hosting the Rangely Panthers in a weekday matchup. The last meeting between the teams came on Jan. 14, 2025, when the Cowboys traveled to Rangely and won 62‑61.
This time, Rangely traveled to Meeker looking for revenge, but the Cowboys defended their home court with a 62‑43 victory.
“We jumped on them early and got a lead and then we did a good job of not letting them make a big run,” Meeker head coach Klark Kindler said. “We stress defense in our program and I thought our ball pressure was good. We missed a couple shots in close and then missed some free throws, and it kept us from putting the game away.”
Junior Andy Mondragon led Meeker with 17 points on 8‑of‑12 shooting. Junior Trent Sanders added 18 points and seven rebounds, while senior Sam Conrado contributed eight points and a team‑high nine rebounds. The Cowboys outrebounded Rangely 38‑33, and junior Cade Mills recorded six assists, five rebounds, and five steals. Junior Said Rodriguez added four assists and six steals, helping Meeker disrupt Rangely’s rhythm.
“It does always feel good to beat Rangely, but we as a team — and especially me — weren’t able to shoot the ball well,” Sanders said. “Being able to impact the game by getting rebounds and playing defense was important and helped our success. Our focus was to do the same thing as we continue to play fast and put pressure on their guards. I know for sure our team thrives off defense leading to our offense, so when we are playing hard with a high intensity, we are able to fire up offensively as well. Some adjustments we made were putting the ball inside the paint to get good looks when we were missing outside shots. This win definitely gave us confidence and momentum for the games ahead.”
The Cowboys turned their attention to a road game against Olathe. The teams last met on Feb. 21, 2025, when the Cowboys won 78‑52 at home. This time, it was at Olathe and they protected their home court, handing Meeker a 71‑68 loss, dropping the Cowboys’ record to 5‑4.
The following day, Meeker traveled to Gunnison to face another set of Cowboys. The last meeting, Feb. 7, 2025, ended with a 56‑52 double-overtime victory for Meeker. Gunnison looked to get revenge on their home court, but Meeker held firm, winning 55‑43. “We were tired against Gunnison, but I was proud that we gutted out a win when we were not at our best,” Kindler said.
The victory improved Meeker’s record to 6‑4 overall, 3‑1 in league play, and the team now sits in second place. “We are getting better. We did not shoot the ball very well last week, so hopefully that comes around,” Kindler added. “We will not practice much this week with three more games; it will mostly be walking through some stuff and shooting.”
Stats from the Olathe and Gunnison games were not available at press time.
As of Jan. 20, 2026, the CHSAA Selection and Seeding Index has Meeker ranked 25th. If the season ended today, the Cowboys would qualify for the playoffs, as 32 teams advance.
This week, Meeker will host Vail Mountain on Tuesday, Jan. 20, travel to Little Snake on Friday, and return home on Jan. 24 at 4 p.m. to close out the weekend against Roaring Fork.
Senior Sam Conrado watched his shot go in during Meeker’s 62-43 victory over Rangely, helping the Cowboys control the boards and maintain their lead throughout the game. GABRIEL N. CARDILE PHOTO