RANGELY | As the school year starts winding down, the track and field season begins to heat up with more competition, faster times, bigger jumps and further throws. In preparation for the upcoming championship meets, the Rangely Panthers track and field team doubled up on track meets this past weekend, competing in Olathe at the Olathe Invitational on April 25 before turning around and competing in Craig at the Clint Wells Invitational April 26.
In Olathe, the lady Panthers were led by several top-10 marks. Taya Wren secured a victory in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:33.18 as teammate Addison Scott took top honors in the long jump with 15 feet 6 inches. Annika Cantrell finished second in the high jump in 4-8 and Ashlynn Ducey also claimed second in the 400-meter dash in 1:02.10. The ladies’ 4x200m relay and 4x400m each placed third in 1:52.14 and 4:20.40, respectively.
Miah Wren finished fourth in the girls’ 200m dash in 28.02 with Kaelyn Geer jumping 30-5.75 in the triple jump for sixth. Emma Smith’s triple jump of 29-2.25 finished eighth and the girls’ 4x100m relay also finished eighth.
Annika Cantrell threw the discus 88-4 as Miley Francis threw 72-7 in the same event. Emma Smith raced to a 15.78 in the 100m dash and Rachel Elder completed both the 200m dash and 400m dash in 30.04 and 1:13.26, respectively.
The boys’ team was led by their third place 4x800m relay and Jordan Irwin’s fourth place triple jump mark of 37-7.75. Landon Bollinger grabbed sixth place in the high jump after a clearance of 5-2 and then finished eighth after a jump of 18-2.5 in the long jump. Davon Lucero’s 5-0 mark in the high jump was good enough for ninth place and Lincoln Harris finished 10th in the 800m in 2:20.70.
Izaiah Moody raced to a time of 13.56 in the 100m dash as Logan Peterson jumped 17-6.5 in the long jump alongside teammates Robert Murray’s 15-11 and Davon Lucero’s 15-10. Jordan Irwin ran 25.10 in the 200m dash along with Kacey Allred in 27.65 and Izaiah Moody in 28.20. The boys put together a 4x100m relay that ran 48.89 with Davon Lucero and Izaiah Moody running the 400m dash in 1:04.02 and 1:06.43, respectively.
Dylan Moran doubled up on the 800m and 1600m runs, finishing the two-lap race in 2:32.91 and the four-lap race in 5:48.39. Gage Nielsen ran the 800m run in 2:57.27 and Matthew Morgan completed the 1600m in 7:01.75.
After a rain delay, a medical delay late, and a long bus ride home, the Rangely track and field team made it back into town just after midnight. This gave the athletes, coaches, and crew a couple of hours to get some sleep in their own beds before loading up bright and early to do it all again.
The Panthers showed no signs of weariness or lethargy as they competed in Craig. Taya Wren eclipsed the 12-minute two-mile as she won the girls’ 3200m in an impressive 11:59.56. Gage Nielsen and Matthew Morgan ran the 3200m in 13:40.60 and 13:49.81, respectively.
James Talbot finished second in the boys’ 800m run in 2:03.44. Justin Allred finished eighth in 2:19.07, Clay Allred ran 2:22.69, and Aren Robertson 2:49.62. In the girls’ 800m, Rachel Elder finished ninth in 3:03.59, Courtney Casto was 10th in 3:04.81, and Macy Morgan ran 4:24.70. Ashlynn Ducey finished fifth in the girls’ 200m dash in 28.01. Davon Lucero raced to a 26.49 in the boys’ 200m and Izaiah Moody ran 28.12. Izaiah Moody also ran 13.36 in the boys’ 100m dash.
Annika Cantrell’s throw of 100-1 in the girls’ discus placed her sixth as Miley Francis threw 58-9 and Amber Castillo threw 49-3. In the boys’ discus, Chase Cochrane threw 110-2, Jaren Blankenship 64-11, and Logan Benson 48-11. Miah Wren ran the girls 400m in 1:03.76 for fifth and Tylee Fielder finished 10th in 1:09.13. Joseph Valdez ran the boys 400m in 58.39, Kacey Allred in 1:01.21, and Aren Robertson in 1:06.04.
Annika Cantrell placed third in the high jump and Kastyn Dembowski finished fifth as they both cleared 4-7. Davon Lucero and Kacey Allred shared 16th in the boys’ high jump with a clearance of 4-11.Macy Morgan ran the girls’ 1600m in 9:43.69 and Kellen LeFevre ran the boys’ 1600m in 5:49.09.
Chase Cochrane threw 35-10.75 in the boys’ shot put with teammates Jaren Blankenship 29-6.5 and Logan Benson 20-0.75. Miley Francis and Amber Castillo threw the girls’ shot put 21-3.25 and 13-5.5, respectively. Kaelyn Geer triple jumped 30-6.5 for 5th place, Addison Scott 30-1.75 for 7th, and Emma Smith 28-9 for 10th. Jordan Irwin jumped 37-0.75 for 7th place in the boys triple jump and Robert Murray jumped 30-5.
Jordan Irwin finished 10th in the boys’ long jump with a distance of 17-6. Logan Peterson jumped 17-2.5, Robert Murray 15-3, and Davon Lucero 14-0. Emma Smith jumped 12-2.5 in the girls’ long jump. The girls 800 SMR won in 1:57.96 and their 4x100m relay ran 56.13 and finished seventh. The boys 4x400m placed 3rd in 3:49.14, 4x200m was fourth in 1:38.89, and the 4x100m ran 51.07.
“The whole team did really, really well for competing in back-to-back meets like that,” said head coach Beth Scoggins. “Everyone showed up and competed hard two days in a row and really pushed themselves. We saw a lot of really good things and are getting very excited for the league meet coming up next weekend.”
Special to the Herald Times
