RANGELY | The Rangely Panthers got their first taste of championship competition this past weekend as they competed at the Western Slope League Championships in Grand Junction at Stocker Stadium. The meet took place over two days and gave the Panthers a sense of what it’s like to compete in prelims and finals, compete head on against the league’s best, and where they stand in state rankings heading into the final weeks of the track season.
The WSL Championships got kicked off by the pole vault. Miah Wren led the lady Panthers with her clearance of 7-06 and a fourth place finish. Tylee Fielder was eighth in the event with a height of 6-06. Clay Allred cleared 8-06 on the boys’ side of the event, finishing sixth.
In Friday’s prelims, Aubrianna Tapia, Kaelyn Geer and Ryann Mergelman competed in the 100-meter with times of 14.32, 14.51 and 14.67, respectively. Ashlynn Ducey ran the 200-meter in a time of 28.01, Addison Scott ran 29.29 and Emma Smith 30.39.
Ashlynn Ducey returned to the track to PR in the 400-meter prelims with a time of 1:00.97. Paytin Kendall ran 1:12.01 for 400-meter and Aubrey Kenney ran 1:16.08. In the 800-meter finals, MacKenzie Manchester clocked in at 3:29.29 and Macy Morgan 3:43.03. MacKenzie Manchester also competed in the 100H prelims, running a time of 21.25,
Emma Smith and Kaelyn Geer secured eighth and ninth place in the triple jump, finishing within just a half inch of each other. Emma Smith leapt 28-10 and Kaelyn Geer 28-09.5. Kyrah Phelps excelled in the discus with her throw of 113-03, a PR, to place third. MacKenzie Manchester took eighth with a distance of 96-09 and Rylee Allred threw 87-05.
Over on the boys’ side, Aydan Christian, Logan Peterson and Robert Murray competed in the prelims for the 100-meter, running 12.57, 12.57 and 12.99, respectively. Logan Peterson and Robert Murray each ran the 200 as well with their respective times of 26.89 and 27.86. Andrew Dorris ran the 400 prelims in 52.57 and Justin Allred finished in 59.47.
In the 800-meter finals, Andrew Dorris and James Talbot pushed each other to new PRs and first and second places. Andrew Dorris finished in 2:00.92 to take home the WSL 800 title and James Talbot ran 2:01.14. Joseph Valdez also finished the 800 in 2:23.18. James Talbot returned to the track along with Gage Nielsen and Matthew Morgan for the 3,200-meter. James Talbot won the event in 10:00.06, Gage Nielsen ran 14:48.42 and Matthew Morgan 14:49.26.
Fisher Winder, Logan Peterson and Anthony Dorris all competed well in the long jump and each finished just inside the top 10. Fisher Winder jumped 17-10.25, Logan Peterson 17-03.75, and Anthony Dorris 16-11.5. Kenyon Cochrane threw a PR of 156-03 in the discus to finish second place. Chase Cochrane threw 105-00 in the discus.
After going to dinner and movie, the Rangely track team got some rest before returning to the track on Saturday morning for finals, relays and a few more field events.
Ashlynn Ducey secured second place in the 400 with a time of 1:01.71. Ashlynn Ducey returned to the track for a fifth place finish in the 200 in 28.04. MacKenzie Manchester finished seventh place in the 100H finals in 21.02.
The lady Panthers’ 4×200-meter ran a great time of 1:52.38 to finish second. The 4×400-meter team was third in 4:27.55, SMR was sixth in 2:05.75, and the 4×100-meter ran a time of 58.15.
Annika Cantrell cleared 4-10 in the high jump to finish third while Kastyn Dembowski jumped over 4-06 for sixth and Paytin Kendall cleared 4-00. Addison Scott finished third in the long jump with her leap of 14-08.75, Ashlynn Ducey lept 14-07.25 for fifth, and Emma Smith jumped 13-00. Kyrah Phelps led the way in the shot put with her throw of 32-11 to place fifth. Mackenzie Manchester was eighth with 29-07 and Aubrianna Tapia threw 27-02.
Andrew Dorris secured his second individual title of the meet, taking home the middle distance crown with a first place in the 400 with his PR time of 52.21. James Talbot proved himself the WSL finest distance runner as he also won his second individual event with a 4:35.96 in the 1,600-meter. Andrew Dorris was Second in the race with a time of 4:46.93 and Joseph Valdez ran 5:26.86.
The boys’ relay teams were led by the first place finish of the 4×800 which ran 8:37.26 to break the school record. This team was made up of Clay Allred, James Talbot, Justin Allred and Andrew Dorris. The 4x400m took fifth in 3:53.20 and the 4x200m was eighth in 1:40.70.
Fisher Winder had a good day in the triple jump with a fifth place finish and distance of 37-01. Anthony Dorris took eighth in 35-08.75 and Clay Allred leapt 34-01.5. Kenyon Cochrane continued his great season of throwing with a throw of 40-09 in the shot put to finish third. Chase Cochrane threw 32-02 and Malcom Osborn 31-04.
“This was a really great weekend for the Panthers,” said head coach Beth Scoggins. “We took home lots of PRs, several WSL titles, and a few school records. Our entire team has been working so hard all season and it is really fun to get to see them showcase that hard work at these championships.”
The Rangely Panthers track and field team has one more track meet in Grand Valley to secure their spots at the state track meet, which takes the top-18 ranked competitors in each event.
Special to the Herald Times
