Rangely High School sent two athletes, Taya Wren and James Talbot, to the Colorado 2A State Cross Country Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Norris Penrose Event Center has become the long standing location for the state meet and is known for its finish into a packed stadium, rolling hills throughout, chaotic stream crossing, and unpredictable weather. This year was no exception as temperatures started well below freezing Saturday as athletes prepared for their last 5-kilometer showdown of the season.
Freshman Taya Wren and the 2A girls got the day started off at 9 a.m. Wren took off hard and moved through the first mile in the top-20. As the course started getting hillier, she kept moving her way up into the top-15 at mile two. She ran down three more runners over the last mile and sprinted into the stadium and across the finish line in 12th place with an impressive 20:34 to finish as the top placing freshman in the race.
“Taya is one determined girl,” said Coach Beth Scoggins. “At every hill and turn of the course, Taya kept her eyes up and did all she could to move up in the race. She has had a really, really impressive and astounding freshman year and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
James Talbot, who has been on a mission all season, was up next for the Panthers. The boys 2A championship was nothing short of exciting, with the top 18 finishers all crossing the line within a minute of each other. Talbot put himself right in the mix of things as he came through the first mile in a large pack of runners leading the race. The race started to spread out ever so slightly through the second mile, but he held onto the lead pack and well inside the top-10. James charged home through the roaring stadium to claim his first state cross country medal with a sixth place finish in 16:44.
“Over the last year James has done some truly incredible things,” said Coach Scoggins. “At last year’s state cross country championships James finished 30th in 17:55. Since then he has broken the school record in the mile and two mile, placed third and seventh at the state track meet in those two events, ran a top-10 all time 5K time for RHS, and now finished sixth at state cross country. James is reaping the benefits of his continuous hard work and dedication and I believe this is just the start.”
The Rangely Panthers have completed yet another fun, fast season of distance running and would like to thank all those who helped make it such a memorable and successful year.
