Defensive-led 4th quarter charge lifts Montrose past Rifle

RIFLE — A defensive switch by the Montrose High School boys basketball team made a world of difference for the Indians’ offense Wednesday, and it came at the expense of the Rifle Bears in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Montrose switched to an extended defensive zone in the second half and limited the Bears’ offense, paving the way to a 28-point fourth quarter for the Indians on their way to a 56-46 victory. “We knew we had to get out on their ...

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Raptors take early lead, never look back in win

AURORA — All of the momentum the Silver Creek High School football team built up on Saturday never shifted into the Rifle Bears’ favor for very long. The Raptors used that momentum from the very beginning, scoring on the opening drive to put the top-ranked Bears in a hole for the first time this season. It paved the way to the Raptors’ 
32-15 victory over the Bears in the Class 3A state championship game, ending the longest single-season winning streak in Rifle ...

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Role reversal

RIFLE — Embracing the role of the favorite is something Rifle High School’s football team could now do very easily. The Bears have been ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A media polls for much of the season. They have the best running back in the classification, are tied with Class 5A Valor Christian as Colorado’s top-scoring offense among 11-man football teams and have a defense that has given up the fewest points (75) among all teams in Colorado. So it would be easy for ...

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Another Rifle runaway

PUEBLO — Pueblo East High School’s football team left some early opportunities for Rifle Saturday afternoon. Thanks to that, the Bears left no doubt on the outcome in the Class 3A semifinals. Kellin Leigh scored three critical touchdowns early in the game and Ryan Moeller rushed for 207 yards and three scores, leading the top-ranked Bears to a 56-6 victory at Dutch Clark Stadium and a trip to the state title game. “We knew that we had to get the job done and did the job ...

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Defense helps Bears keep momentum

PUEBLO — So much for Saturday’s Class 3A state semifinal between the Rifle and Pueblo East High School football teams being a close game. The Bears’ defense made sure that didn’t happen. They did it the same way they did in their quarterfinal victory against Roosevelt the previous week. Rifle’s big defensive stops halted the momentum the Roughriders had built. This time, though, it was one big stop that kept the Eagles from building any momentum. And that ...

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Defensive challenge

RIFLE — Roosevelt High School’s football team did something to the Rifle Bears that no other team had done much of this season. The Roughriders threw the ball, and they threw it effectively last Saturday in the fourth quarter of the Bears’ 48-34 victory in the Class 3A quarterfinals. And by virtue of that, along with a solid first-half running game, Roosevelt scored — a lot. Roosevelt’s point total against the Bears was only one point shy of what Rifle had ...

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Rifle’s relief

RIFLE — Roosevelt High School’s football team put the top-ranked Rifle Bears in an unfamiliar spot Saturday afternoon, but the Bears persevered. Ryan Moeller’s 91-yard interception return for a touchdown as time expired halted the Roughriders’ late comeback bid from a three-touchdown deficit, preserving Rifle’s 48-34 victory in the Class 3A state quarterfinals and moving the Bears one win away from their first state title game since 2005. “I guess it ...

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Vote Moeller: Rifle coach praises back after another shutout win

RIFLE — Election season might be over, but Rifle High School football coach Damon Wells wasn’t afraid to campaign for one of his running backs Saturday afternoon at Bears Stadium. “I think this might sound unprofessional, but I don’t care, because ultimately my allegiance is to my kid,” Wells said of senior Ryan Moeller. “For any recruiter who doesn’t come after him and doesn’t think he can play Division I football, sorry, but they’re ...

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Emotional Cardinals fall short

PARACHUTE — Signs, shirts and chants were all reminders to Grand Valley High School’s football team about everything that’s happened with the Cardinals in the past week. A slow and methodical, but effective, Middle Park offense showed Grand Valley a proverbial exit sign out of the Class 2A state playoffs. Henry Southway had 160 rushing yards on 27 carries, including the go-ahead five-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 7 seconds remaining. That helped the Panthers to a ...

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Swarming Bears

RIFLE — Anthony Alfini isn’t about to claim Rifle High School’s defense as the biggest, baddest unit in Colorado, or even Class 3A. He will classify the unit as one of the most effective, though. “We’re not going to physically manhandle anybody,” said the defensive coordinator of the top-ranked Bears, who take their unbeaten 8-0 record (6-0 Class 3A Western Slope Conference) into Friday night’s game at Delta. “Our kids don’t have a lot ...

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Zimmerman lifts Cards past ‘Horns

PARACHUTE — Basalt High School’s football team had some fourth-quarter comeback opportunities. Tanner Zimmerman made sure those didn’t last. The senior running back finished with 272 yards rushing, 194 of them coming in the second half, to help No. 6-ranked Grand Valley rally from a small third-quarter deficit for a 41-20 Class 2A Western Slope Conference victory. “We’re not about letting teams back into games, but I give a lot of credit to them for playing ...

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Bears’ defense huge in win over Huskies

RIFLE – The last time Damon Wells can remember one of his team’s defenses forcing its opponent into negative yardage was … “Never. It’s never happened,” the coach of the top-ranked Bears said following his team’s 55-0 Class 3A Western Slope Conference victory over Battle Mountain at Bears Stadium on Friday night. Rifle (5-0 overall, 3-0 league) proved more than stout defensively against the winless Huskies (0-5, 0-3). Not only did the Bears force ...

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Diverse Cardinals dispatch Cowboys

PARACHUTE — All the Grand Valley High School football team needed to get going was a little motivation. That motivation came from a nine-yard touchdown run from Gunnison running back Alex Schliesman, whose scoring jaunt awakened a Cardinals’ offense that responded with four unanswered touchdowns Friday night in a 40-20 Class 2A Western Slope Conference victory. “Things like that always hit us pretty hard,” said Grand Valley quarterback Tyler Scott, who finished 10 ...

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Rifle rides Moeller’s 323 rushing yards to 28-0 win

RIFLE—No one was more surprised by the final score of Friday night’s game at Bears Stadium than Damon Wells. “Absolutely surprised,” the Rifle High School football coach said after the top-ranked Bears beat rival Glenwood Springs 28-0. “They’re phenomenally well-coached and always prepare their kids well. I never in a million years would have thought we’d go into that game against that staff and win by four touchdowns.” Senior running back ...

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Hannigan’s big ground game lifts Palisade past Glenwood

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — So much for Dalton Hannigan’s bad start. The pint-sized Palisade High School running back more than made up for a lost fumble on the Bulldogs’ opening offensive play against Glenwood Springs, running for 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns in third-ranked Palisade’s 33-7 win in the Class 3A Western Slope Conference opener for both teams. “I think the biggest thing for him was coming back after he fumbled the ball in that first series,” ...

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No looking back allowed

RIFLE — Rifle High School’s football team is doing its best to put its 2011 campaign in its rear-view mirror. The Bears, however, are well aware the rest of the 3A Western Slope Conference hasn’t forgotten what they did. “Some teams, when they’ve had a good season like we did, they think they have it made and feel they don’t need to work hard in the offseason,” senior running back and safety Ryan Moeller said. “That hasn’t been the case ...

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Experience could return Grand Valley to playoff contention

PARACHUTE — All of the experience the Grand Valley High School football team was lacking going into the 2011 season is a thing of the past going into its 2012 campaign. That, at least, is the way Mike Johnson feels. “We should be able to hit the ground running with what we want to do,” the 13th-year coach of the Cardinals said. “We have a lot of experience now, and we have a lot of kids who went through that rough year or two. When these seniors came in as freshmen, ...

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Bearing down

RIFLE— Being the team to beat in Class 3A is something brand-new for the Rifle High School boys track and field team. Then again, it’s also something the Bears have noticed all spring. “Now we’ve gone to these meets around the state, and people remember who we are and where we come from,” Bears junior sprinter and jumper Ryan Moeller said. “A lot of people just look at us as the ones who stopped (Classical Academy’s) run. Everyone has been watching ...

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Begler hits, pitches Weld Central past Rifle in 3A District 7 tourney

RIFLE — Troy Phillips saw it coming. “As soon as we got down 2-0 right away, I knew we were in trouble,” the Rifle High School baseball coach said Saturday after the Bears’ 6-0 loss to Weld Central in the first round of the Class 3A District 7 tournament. “That kid,” the coach continued, referring to Weld Central senior right-hander Matt Begler, “throws harder than just about anyone else in our league.” Begler was effective in more ways ...

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Palisade baseball team likely to host districts

District tournament baseball teams in the Class 4A and 3A Western Slope League and the Southwestern League have been determined. Where those teams will play is still up in the air. Palisade (17-2 overall, 12-0 WSL), the league champion with the best overall record in the classification, looks like it’s in good shape to be one of the eight teams to host a four-team district tournament on Saturday. The Colorado High School Activities Association will seed the 32 district-tournament ...

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Rifle sweeps Basalt to clinch share of Class 3A Western Slope League title

RIFLE — Danny Bartels struck out 15 and walked none in his six-inning outing and Tristen Quigley homered in the nightcap as Rifle High School’s baseball team clinched at least a share of the Class 3A Western Slope League title Friday night with a doubleheader sweep of Basalt at Cooper Field. The 24-1 and 8-0 victories for the Bears (17-2, 16-2 WSL) gave Rifle its first league championship since 2005 when it was still a 4A school. The Bears also clinched their best ...

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Guettler’s late-game heroics lift Coal Ridge

PARACHUTE — A fast start for the Coal Ridge High School boys basketball team almost turned into a frantic finish in the Grand Valley Cardinals’ favor on Wednesday. Tyler Guettler made sure that didn’t happen. The Coal Ridge senior scored a game-high 15 points, and his steal and layup with 1 minute, 14 seconds left to play halted Grand Valley’s comeback bid in the Titans’ 47-42 victory in the first round of the Class 3A Western Slope League District Tournament ...

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Montrose sending six to state, four as regional champions

GYPSUM — What the Montrose High School wrestling team lacked in quantity of athletes it made up for with quality performances Saturday. Four Montrose wrestlers took home weight-class titles — more than any of the 16 teams at Eagle Valley High School — to pace a field of six Indians who qualified for this weekend’s state championships in Denver at the Class 4A Region 1 Tournament. “We don’t have many kids, but the ones we brought are pretty tough,” ...

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‘Dogs have 7 wrestlers in 4A wrestling regional semis

GYPSUM — Having Roosevelt High School in the same regional wrestling tournament hasn’t dampened the Palisade Bulldogs’ resolve. If anything, it’s strengthened it. “We might have a target on our backs, but Roosevelt always has a target on its back,” Palisade senior Daniel Salazar said. “That’s who we’re aiming for.” The Bulldogs were hitting the proverbial bull’s-eye all day Friday. Seven of them moved into the semifinals ...

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Playing with heavy hearts, Rifle falls to Windsor in 3A playoffs

RIFLE — Rifle High School’s football team didn’t have much going in its favor entering Saturday’s Class 3A state playoff game against the Windsor Wizards. Yet through their adversity, the Bears managed to make a game out of their quarterfinal-round loss at a snow-soaked Bears Stadium. Playing with heavy hearts and a primary tailback who wasn’t 100 percent healthy, Rifle hung with the larger Wizards before Windsor pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 36-15 ...

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Run game lifts Rifle to victory

RIFLE — Close games are something the Rifle High School football team has gotten used to the past three weeks. The end result is something the Bears have been accustomed to all season. Fourth-seeded and unbeaten Rifle took control early with its powerful running game, then stuffed the Roosevelt Rough Riders’ equally powerful running game down the stretch of their 14-7 victory in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs Saturday afternoon at Bears ...

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Memories of Austin Booth help Rifle FB team strengthen bond

RIFLE — Reminders of Austin Booth are everywhere. Rifle High School football coach Damon Wells has a photo of Booth and running backs Taylor Webb and Ryan Moeller holding hands in uniform prior to a game last season. Another photo of Booth, which Webb said has somehow circulated into households around Rifle, hangs in Wells’ office at the high school. A No. 2 sticker, Booth’s jersey number, adorns each football helmet, and memories of Booth’s infectious smile and ...

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SPT rifle helmet 111211

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Moeller helps Rifle finish undefeated

RIFLE — A special kind of game Friday night against Glenwood Springs led to the Rifle High School football team’s special accomplishment. Ryan Moeller rushed for 239 yards on 42 carries and the Bears held off a gallant come-from-behind effort from the Demons on their way to a 32-27 victory and Rifle’s second unbeaten regular season in school history, the first since 2002. “It’s very special,” Rifle coach Damon Wells said. “I’m just happy for ...

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Pirates rally to win title in WSC

ASPEN — So much for a slow start for Olathe High School’s football team Friday night. And so much for a slow start to the Pirates’ season. Starting the game much like it started the 2011 campaign, Olathe found a way to overcome adversity. The Pirates overcame an early two-touchdown deficit against Aspen, much like it overcame two losses in its first three games of the season, with six straight touchdowns to prevail 40-21 and win its fourth consecutive Class 2A Western ...

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Moeller’s 6 TDs help Rifle cruise to win

RIFLE — Ryan Moeller expects he’ll get teased quite a bit during the Rifle High School football team’s film sessions next week. Never mind that he rushed for a career-high 324 yards on 28 carries, had 373 all-purpose yards and found the end zone six times Friday night during the Bears’ 48-6 Class 3A Western Slope Conference win over Moffat County. The junior figures he’ll get an earful from his coaches and teammates for the touchdown he scored in the second ...

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Palisade tops Eagle Valley to win first WSL title in 7 years

Palisade’s and Eagle Valley’s volleyball teams matched attack for attack early Saturday. Late in the match, though, some unforced errors by the Devils helped Palisade claim the Class 4A Western Slope League title. Behind a 23-kill, four-block performance from senior outside hitter Audrey Steinkirchner, the Bulldogs gutted their way through the first four games before claiming a 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-6 victory and their first league championship since 2004. “We ...

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Olathe stays on track for playoffs, tops Coal Ridge

SILT — Olathe High School’s football team hasn’t been on the outside of the playoffs looking in very often in recent years. On Friday, the defending Class 2A state champions showed they wanted a return trip. Behind quarterback Ben Kaylor’s big night, Olathe got right back into position to return to the state playoffs with their 36-17 Class 2A Western Slope Conference victory against a banged-up Coal Ridge squad. “We went back to being ourselves ...

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Battle Mountain shocks Palisade in 3A showdown

EDWARDS — A track meet type of game between the Palisade and Battle Mountain high school football teams Friday night ended with the Huskies leaving the Bulldogs in the dust. Battle Mountain scored touchdowns on plays of 8, 37 and 38 yards to break away from a 21-21 halftime tie and hand second-ranked Palisade a 49-28 Class 3A Western Slope Conference loss in front of a big homecoming crowd. “They were just flat-out better than we were tonight,” Palisade coach John ...

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Staying in control of emotions key for Rifle team at 3A state golf

RIFLE — A drive to win got a pair of Rifle High School juniors back to the Class 3A boys state golf championship. A new approach on the course helped the rest of the team get there, too. Thanks to the second-place finish in the Class 3A Western Regional Tournament at Rifle Creek Golf Course on Sept. 20, Rifle will go to a state tournament as a team for the first time since 2001. The opportunity might not have presented itself, however, if it weren’t for an attitude adjustment ...

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Titans top Gunnison for big win at home in football

NEW CASTLE — Robby Moore summed up the past few weeks for the Coal Ridge High School football team with one simple phrase. “We’re just one big family now,” the Titans’ senior quarterback said. Moore scored three touchdowns, two of them early on with the final decisive scoring run with 1 minute, 54 seconds left to play, to propel Coal Ridge to a 26-13 Class 2A Western Slope Conference victory in the Titans’ homecoming game against Gunnison. “We ...

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Palisade escapes with win over Glenwood

GLENWOOD SPRINGS —  Two solid drives got the Glenwood Springs High School football team back in the game against Palisade on Friday night. One final drive clinched the game for the second-ranked Bulldogs at Stubler Memorial Field. Spencer Jackson’s 25-yard field goal with 36 seconds remaining capped an 11-play, 62-yard drive in Palisade’s 31-21 victory in the Class 3A Western Slope Conference opener. “It’s tough to win here,” Palisade coach John ...

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Coal Ridge FB coach can return to sideline Sept. 30

Coal Ridge High School football coach Scott Parker has been cleared to return to coaching his team at practice, although he will miss one more game. Garfield School District RE-1 Superintendent Susan Birdsey on Tuesday issued a two-game suspension on Parker, retroactive to last Friday’s game against Delta in New Castle. Though Parker will serve the remainder of his suspension by missing Friday’s game at Roaring Fork in Carbondale, he was allowed to resume running the ...

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Cowboys see progress despite loss

COLLBRAN — A 20-minute time frame Saturday afternoon showed Plateau Valley High School football coach Dave Bristol what kind of potential the Cowboys have. A 3-minute window was all the opportunity Soroco needed to put the 8-man football game out of reach. Nic Paxton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another for the Rams, who scored five unanswered touchdowns after the Cowboys had pulled within two points on their way to a 48-18 nonleague victory. “You know as well as ...

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Second-half surge lifts Rifle past Olathe

RIFLE — Olathe High School’s usually potent rushing attack was turned away early and often Friday night. The Rifle Bears made sure to take advantage of nearly all of their second-half chances. Ryan Moeller rushed for one touchdown and 116 of his 144 yards in the second half for the Bears, who forced five turnovers and limited Class 2A’s fifth-ranked team to only 102 yards on the ground in their 16-0 nonleague victory at Bears Stadium. “I don’t think ...

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Coal Ridge FB coach Parker placed on administrative leave

Coal Ridge High School football coach Scott Parker was placed on administrative leave from his coaching duties Thursday for violating the school’s coaching code of conduct, a school spokesman said. Garfield School District RE-2 spokesman Theresa Hamilton said the administrative leave has no set time frame, but it is pending the conclusion of an investigation into the alleged code-of-conduct violation. Hamilton said she was told by district superintendent Susan Birdsey that the ...

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Youngren leads Indians past Demons

CARBONDALE — Coming out strong against the Glenwood Springs Demons worked wonders and then some for the Montrose High School football team Friday night. Angelo Youngren found the end zone four times and finished with 236 rushing yards on only 17 carries for the Indians, who handed the Demons a 42-0 loss at Carbondale Middle School. “Our game plan was simply to come out strong and continue that,” Youngren said. “After that first touchdown, everybody got crazy. Then ...

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Moeller, Kittle help Rifle run away in Grand Valley

PARACHUTE — Big plays by a pair of Rifle High School running backs paved the way to a 48-7 season-opening win Friday night over Grand Valley. Ryan Moeller and Brandon Kittle combined for 403 rushing yards and five touchdowns. “We knew exactly what their tendencies were,” said Kittle, a junior who finished with 175 rushing yards on only eight carries. “We’d been watching them all week. We were ready.” Moeller, a senior who finished with 228 yards on 21 ...

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Turtle power: Navarro’s hard-shelled companion has been a source of good luck

Navarro knows the meaning of Rally time. It’s not because of a succession of come-from-behind victories over the course of the season. It’s because of a Texas pond turtle named Rally, a hard-shelled pet the Navarro (Texas) College baseball found and adopted near the end of the regular season. Rally, as it turns out, has been with the Bulldogs since their doubleheader victory April 28 against Texarkana College. Navarro has no immediate plans to find another home for him, thanks ...

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Teams deal with blustery conditions at Suplizio Field

South Georgia College didn’t exactly blow away the Jefferson (Mo.) College Vikings on Sunday. The windy conditions, however, played a big part in the Tigers’ elimination-game victory. Teams had to deal with unusually blustery conditions on the second day of the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series at Suplizio Field. Wind gusts of up to 47 mph, according to the Grand Junction office of the National Weather Service, created a constant nuisance for teams throughout the ...

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The perfect dive: Montrose’s Rogers wins Class 4A title with great performance

Kyle Rogers had something saved up for this moment. The Montrose High School senior was on the verge of winning the state diving title with one dive remaining Saturday in the Class 4A state swimming and diving championships. He was behind, and his final dive — a reverse 21⁄2 with a high degree of difficulty — was one he had difficulty with all season. This time, he landed it perfectly. The big score of 48 from the judges at the El Pomar Natatorium earned him the ...

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Class 4A state swimmers sing praises of fast pool at El Pomar Natatorium

Silas Almgren’s assessment that the El Pomar Natatorium is the fastest competitive pool in Colorado was shared Friday by plenty of swimmers and coaches in the Class 4A state swim championships. “It is, straight out,” the Montrose High School boys swimming coach said. “I mean, there’s a new one in Thornton (the Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center) that’s also really nice. But this one’s right up there.” Preliminary heat times proved that. ...

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Doll keeps improving for Meeker

RIFLE — Kathryn Doll is finding out just how big a difference one year can make. The Meeker High School junior broke onto the prep track and field scene in a big way, making an impact at the Class 2A state meet as a freshman. She placed second in the triple jump and long jump and sixth in the 100 meters two years ago, but her finishes in those events at last year’s state meet weren’t as good. They were similar, for sure. But that’s not good enough for Doll, who ...

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Fruita Monument girls, boys track teams shine in Demon Invitational

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Katie Werman’s performance Saturday at the Demon Invitational track and field meet matched the Fruita Monument High School girls to a T. The Fruita boys found a way to one-up their female counterparts in the team standings. Werman finished second in each of her three events to help the Wildcats finish second in the team standings, and the Fruita boys won the team title convincingly in the 31st annual running of the event at Stubler Memorial Field. “The ...

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Hotchkiss pitchers shut down Rifle

RIFLE — Hotchkiss High School’s baseball team provided plenty of offense Saturday against Rifle. Turns out, the Bulldogs’ pitching staff almost could have done without all the run support. Hotchkiss pitched a pair of three-hitters, and big innings in both games of their Class 3A Western Slope League doubleheader paved the way to the Bulldogs’ 6-0, 7-1 sweep of the previously unbeaten Bears at Cooper Field. “We kind of preached all week leading up to this game ...

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