Special to the HT
RANGELY | High school track season is officially underway, which also means spring storms are in full effect. Track and field meets can be unpredictable, with athletes competing in high winds, sporadic snow, freezing rain, and sunny skies—all in the span of one day. The first meet of the year for the Rangely Panthers track and field team, hosted by Rifle High School in Rifle, Colorado, set the tone for this very scenario. As athletes stepped off the bus on the morning of March 14, officials and volunteers worked to scrape ice and snow off the track.
As the track was cleared, throwing pits scrubbed, and jumping boards defrosted, the Rangely Panthers and 23 other high school teams did their best to warm up for a full day of competition. Freshman Taylor Fouch opened the meet on a strong note for the Panthers, placing second in the girls shot put with a throw of 30-2. Nearby, Chase Cochrane finished 11th in the boys discus with a throw of 108-1. Natalie Bollinger and Kira Jo Benson shared 10th place in the girls high jump after clearing 4-0.
The track events began with the girls 4×800-meter relay. Taya Wren, Haiden Garcia, Addison Thayn, and Faith Prieto braved two laps each as the weather worsened, finishing second in 12:47.86. Rangely fielded two boys 4×800 relay teams, aiming to pit similarly matched athletes against each other in an exciting race. James Talbot, Chance Allred, Kellen Lefevre, and Kyler Fouts bested Joseph Valdez, Clay Allred, Tavan Morgan, and Cutler Mergleman, finishing in 10:10.27 (fourth place) and 10:59.92 (ninth place), respectively.
Izaiah Moody led a trio of Panther sprinters in the boys 100-meter dash with a time of 14.00. Davon Lucero ran 14.15, and Robert Murray finished in 14.28. Two boys relay teams took the track for more friendly competition in the 4×200 relay. Murray, Moody, Kacey Allred, and Valdez ran 1:50.06, ahead of Lucero, Christian Fortunato, Morgan, and Trey Lewis’s 1:52.81.
Fouts returned to the track for the 1,600-meter run, pacing himself to a 6:28.12. The girls 4×100 relay team of Miah Wren, Benson, Bollinger, and Tylee Fielder placed ninth in 58.26. The boys 4×100 relay team of Murray, Moody, Jordan Irwin, and Logan Peterson finished fifth in 49.20, while Lucero, Fortunato, Chance Allred, and Lewis finished in 54.25. Meanwhile, Landon Bollinger led the boys long jumpers with a leap of 18-7.75, placing third. Peterson jumped 17-11.75 for sixth, while Murray reached 16-1.25.
By this point, the sun had only appeared for a few minutes, leaving athletes to contend with intermittent snow and bitter winds. In the throwing ring, Fouch placed eighth in the girls discus with a throw of 78-5. In boys shot put, Cochrane led the Panthers with a throw of 35-3. Cutler Mergleman threw 34-4, and Jaren Blankenship reached 31-10.5. Bollinger leaped 12-3 in the girls long jump, while Benson jumped 10-4. Chance Allred hit 31-3 in the boys triple jump, with teammate Ayden Frasier reaching 29-7. Bollinger cleared 5-4 in the boys high jump.
During this time, Irwin claimed his first of what is expected to be many victories in the boys pole vault, clearing 12-7 to win at what was formerly his home track. Kacey Allred finished fourth with a clearance of 10-6. The Panthers’ success in the pole vault carried over to the girls event, as Wren secured her first pole vault win of the season by clearing 9-0. Bollinger and Benson made their pole vaulting debuts, each clearing 5-0.
Lefevre ran his second 800-meter event of the day, finishing in 2:36.39. Moody returned for the 200-meter dash, finishing in 28.72. As the meet neared its end, the sun finally made an extended appearance, bringing some warmth to the Rifle track. The girls 4×400 relay team of Wren, Garcia, Thayn, and Prieto placed seventh with a time of 5:04.18. The boys put together two more relay teams for a 4×400 showdown between sprinters and distance runners. The distance crew of Clay Allred, Chance Allred, Morgan, and Talbot narrowly edged out the sprinters—Irwin, Peterson, Lewis, and Valdez—running 4:00.19 and 4:03.09, respectively.
“This was a really great first meet,” head coach Beth Scoggins said. “The weather was unrelenting, but so were all the athletes competing today. I really think this weekend was a launching pad for what is going to be one of the finest years of Rangely track and field.”
Scoggins is joined by assistant coaches Davin Boydstun, Colt Allred, Dana Pollack, and Patrick Scoggins. The Rangely Panthers will compete next at the North Fork Invitational in Hotchkiss, Colorado, on March 22.
