Meeker girls open season with new coach in Shootout

MEEKER | The lady Cowboys’ basketball team will open the new season with a new coach today at home in the annual White River Electric Cowboy Shootout. Meeker will host the Aspen Skiers tonight at 7:30 p.m.
“We are all really excited to see what we can do,” said Jamie Rogers, who will start her first season as head coach of the Meeker girls’ team, replacing Greg Chintala.
Coach Rogers, who has been a high school assistant and Barone Middle School coach, said 29 girls are out for the team and everyone is “working hard.”
“Things have changed and they are changing too,” coach Rogers said of the new system and new coaching staff, which includes her mother Lori Chintala and Hallie Blunt.
“We have good leaders and they make it a lot of fun,” coach Rogers said of seniors Anna Walsh, Madi Russell, Maggie Phelan, Peyton Burke, Halle Ahrens, Brooke Ford and Reese Pertile.
Meeker will play Aspen in the first round and Moffat County and Nucla are also on the same side of the eight-team bracket, which also includes Rangely, Cedaredge, Soroco (South Routt County) and Mesa Ridge’s JV team.
“The Shootout is full this year and has some really good teams coming in,” coach Rogers said. “We are anxious to come out and see where the girls will fit in and, find out what we need to work on and see where we stand.