RANGELY | The 1A/2A Western Slope League has long been home to Colorado track and field standouts like Shane Gates, Scottie Vines and Kathryn Doll. This past weekend, a new generation of athletes added their names to the league’s legacy during the 2025 WSL Championships, hosted by Meeker High School.
Rangely made a strong showing across the two-day meet, finishing second in the girls team standings and third on the boys side. The Panthers set multiple personal bests, broke track records and climbed the state rankings.
The meet kicked off Friday with the boys 4×800-meter relay, where Clay Allred, Chance Allred, Jay Valdez and James Talbot set a track record in 8:38.00, moving up to No. 3 in Class 2A.
Ashlynn Ducey advanced to the girls 100 hurdles final with a heat-winning time of 17.12. In the 400 prelims, Courtney Casto ran a personal best of 1:15.38, and Jay Valdez narrowly missed the boys final with a 57.25. Chance and Clay Allred ran PRs of 58.55 and 58.72, while Aaron Savage also set a PR at 1:02.60.
In the field events, Taylor Fouch placed second in the shot put (33-1), while Aubrianna Tapia was sixth (31-7.25). Chase Cochrane’s discus throw of 119-10 earned fifth, with several teammates hitting PRs.
Miah Wren won the girls pole vault at 9-1. Rachel Elder, Kira Jo Benson and Tylee Fielder each cleared 7-1. Landon Bollinger placed ninth in the boys high jump at 5-6.
Logan Peterson won the boys long jump with a personal best of 19-5. Bollinger (19-1) was third, and Christian Fortunato (17-11.5) and Davon Lucero (17-3) also scored.
In sprints, Robert Murray led Rangely in the 100 (12.66). Ducey returned in the 1600 to place second in 5:17.98, the No. 3 time in the state. Faith Prieto, Addison Thayn and Haiden Garcia rounded out the girls mile, while Kellen LeFevre ran a 12-second PR of 5:08.69 for eighth in the boys race.
In the 300 hurdles prelims, Ducey and Kacey Allred each won their heats to qualify for finals. Peterson wrapped the day with a 24.38 in the 200 to secure a spot in the final.
“That first day really set the tone,” said head coach Beth Scoggins. “You could tell the kids were focused and determined to make the most of it.”
Saturday began with Ducey taking third in the 100 hurdles final (16.62). Cutler Mergelman led the boys shot put with a 39-10.75 PR for sixth place. Tapia placed eighth in the girls discus (87-2).
Jordan Irwin stole the show with a 42-5 triple jump to win the boys title and set a venue record. He also finished runner-up in the pole vault (12-0). Kacey Allred was third in the event with an 11-6 PR.
Ducey placed second in the girls long jump (15-6), and Benson cleared 4-4 in the high jump to take eighth. The girls 4×200 relay of Wren, Elder, Fielder and Ducey clocked a season-best 1:49.60 to win and set a track record, now ranked No. 3 statewide. The boys team of Talbot, Moody, Lucero and Fortunato also won in 1:38.37.
Taya Wren dominated the girls 3200 with a record-setting 11:31.78. Prieto took nearly a minute off her previous best to finish eighth (15:18.83). LeFevre ran 11:16.29 to take third in the boys race, followed by PRs from Kyler Fouts and Gage Nielsen.
In the 4×100 relay, the girls placed fifth (53.31) and the boys were third (46.52). Wren later finished third in the 300 hurdles (49.49), and Kacey Allred was fifth in the boys race (47.78).
Rangely entered 10 runners in the 800. Wren took her second title of the meet with a 2:25.68, breaking another track record. Tavan Morgan led the boys with a sixth-place finish in 2:10.91. Chance and Clay Allred followed in near-identical times, while LeFevre, Savage and Nielsen all logged solid performances.
Peterson closed out his weekend in the boys 200 final, placing eighth in 24.44.
The meet concluded with strong showings in the 4×400 relays. Ducey, Elder, Benson and Fielder won the girls race in 4:20.30, now No. 5 in the state. Peterson, Valdez, Irwin and Talbot placed second for the boys with a 3:37.59, ranked 10th statewide.
After all events, the Rangely girls finished as league runner-ups and the boys claimed third.
Taya Wren was named the 1A/2A WSL Girls Athlete of the Year after tallying two wins, one runner-up finish, and two track records. She is currently ranked in the top five statewide in the 800, 1600 and 3200, and holds school records in all three events.
“This was a great weekend,” Scoggins said. “We saw PRs, league titles and state-level performances. It was awesome to compete against our fellow Western Slope schools.”
Rangely will compete in one final meet Saturday at Grand Valley in hopes of qualifying more athletes for the state championships beginning May 15.
