Panthers prowl toward state competition

RANGELY I The Rangely High School track team started their weekend on the track, but not in the way they are normally accustomed to. On Friday, the Rangely Middle School hosted their first meet of the season and while they were competing, the high school athletes were busy working to operate the meet. They took charge of field events, timing and starting races. The help that the high school team provided was pivotal to helping the meet run smoothly.

After a day of administrative duties, the Panther team was back to competition at the Frank Woodburn Memorial Track Meet in Grand Junction. Despite being matched up against the much larger Grand Junction schools, the Panthers held their own across. The team saw many personal records across multiple events, but a couple of performances stood out. On the track, senior Hayley Burr had a particularly good day, coming away with a first-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 51.67 and a second place finish the 100-meter hurdles with a 18.06. As of now, Burr sits fifth and eighth respectively in the race for the 2A state championships. 

The Panther throwers also showed up to compete. Junior Kenyon Cochrane finished third in the discus competition with a throw of 133-feet, 2-inches. Cochrane is also in hunt for the state competition and is currently ranked sixth. Lady Panthers Rylee Allred and Kyrah Phelps finished second and fifth respectively in the discus. Allred threw a career best 101-02, which comes with a ninth place state ranking. Phelps also added a career best of 95-1. Phelps and Allred, along with MacKenzie Manchester, finished seventh, ninth and tenth in the shot put competition.

The Panthers season will continue on Saturday, April 16 in Glenwood for the Demon Invitational.