Special to the HT
RANGELY | Rangely’s track and field teams turned in a dominant performance Saturday, April 18, winning both boys and girls team titles at the Rangely Panther Invite in front of a home crowd.
The meet also served as a tribute to Noel Crown, a Rangely graduate who won three consecutive state titles in pole vault from 1957–59 and helped lead the Panthers to a team championship in 1959. Crown later spent 31 years as a teacher and coach in Rangely. In his honor, the Noel Crown Award is presented annually to the male and female athletes who score the most individual points.
This year’s awards stayed in Rangely, going to freshman Teagan Behunin and senior Landon Bollinger.
“All the athletes performed well,” coach Scoggins said. “They wanted to do well for the home crowd, so many pushed harder and had a really great meet.”
Bollinger led the senior class with a first-place finish in the triple jump (37 feet, 8.75 inches) and runner-up finishes in the high jump (5-9, personal record) and long jump (19-5). Logan Peterson won the long jump (20-8.75), placed third in the 100-meter dash (11.59, PR) and fifth in the 400 (54.14). Chase Cochrane won discus (132-8) and placed second in shot put (38-8).
Joseph Valdez added a second-place finish in the 400 (52.97) and fifth in the 200 (24.02, PR), while Aubrianna Tapia placed second in shot put (30-8) and fifth in discus (82-0). Gage Neilsen recorded personal records in the 1,600 (5:36.24) and pole vault (8-10).
The junior class made an impact despite smaller numbers. Kacey Allred won the pole vault with a personal-best 12-4, and Taya Wren placed second in both the 1,600 (5:32.53) and 800 (2:22.36, PR). Christian Fortunato recorded PRs in the 100 (12.47) and 200 (25.21).
Rangely’s deep sophomore class continued to produce strong results. Taylor Fouch won the shot put (35-9), and Chance Allred took first in the 800 (2:05.25, PR). Cutler Mergelman placed second in both shot put (40-3) and discus (89-10). Natalie Bollinger and Easton Petersen each placed second in pole vault, with Petersen setting a PR at 9-4.
Behunin highlighted the freshman class with first-place finishes in the long jump (15-8.5, PR) and pole vault (8-4), along with a third-place finish in the 100 (13.22, PR).
In relay events, the boys 4×800 team of Chance Allred, T. Friedrich, Tavan Morgan and Valdez took first in 8:39.19. The girls 4×400 team of Natalie Bollinger, Aubrey Yates, Behunin and Wren also claimed first (4:23.66). The boys 4×400 “A” team placed third (3:45.39), while the girls 4×800 finished fourth (11:07).
Rangely returns to action with a busy week, traveling to Olathe on Thursday before competing in the Clint Wells Invitational in Craig on Friday.
The Noel Crown awards went to RHS freshman Teagan Behunin and senior Landon Bollinger for scoring the most individual points at this year’s Rangely Panther Invitational track meet.
