It took some extra effort in the fourth quarter to fend off a surging Grand Valley basketball team on Thursday, Feb. 27, but the Roaring Fork boys prevailed 66-57 to secure their first 3A Western Slope League (WSL) title since 2013.
Playing before the home crowd in Carbondale for senior night, the Rams held a 37-19 advantage at halftime before the Cardinals went on a 25-12 run in the third quarter to make things interesting.
“That ended up being more interesting than I was hoping for,” Rams Head Coach Jason Kreiling said. “We knew they would come ready to play, so I was just thankful that the boys could pull it back together and secure our league championship.”
Roaring Fork ran the slate to finish undefeated in league at 11-0, while going 17-6 overall.
“This means everything to me,” senior Lawson Kreiling said of finally winning the league. “It’s been over a decade since we last won league, and we came in second the last two years. Now, we can finally say we came out on top.
“I think we’re playing our best games at the moment, but we’ve got to finish it out next weekend and hopefully go to the Elite Eight. That’s our goal this year,” he said.
The Rams enter the regional round of the 32-team 3A tournament as the No. 15 seed, going up against No. 18 Denver Christian (10-13) on Friday. Host Windsor Charter Academy (No. 2) plays No. 31 Fountain Valley on Friday, and the winners meet Saturday for the right to advance to quarterfinals the following week at Denver University.
The Rams completed their undefeated league season on Saturday, March 1, with a 59-35 win on the road at Gunnison.
“Since the start of my high school career, I’ve always wanted to put a banner up, so this just means everything,” junior Kiko Pena said after the Grand Valley win.
“I feel like the team has really built a connection, and we have great chemistry to try to make a run for it,” Pena said.
Coach Kreiling said the regional draw is a tough one, but he said the Rams team can compete if they’re on top of their game.
“It’s always exciting this time of year. A lot of fun things happen, and it’s a matter of who is playing at their peak,” he said.
Ladies finish 2nd in league
Meanwhile, Roaring Fork girls basketball finished the regular season at 21-2 overall and 12-2 in the 3A WSL — second only to Cedaredge, which handed the Lady Rams their only two losses this season.
They’ll also be on the road for the regional round of the state playoffs, entering as the No. 9 seed and matched up against No. 24 Lyons on Friday afternoon. The winner of that game will play the winner of the other Friday game, either No. 8 Strasburg (the regional host) or No. 25 Meeker.
Roaring Fork closed out the regular season with convincing 74-32 and 55-42 wins over Grand Valley and Gunnison, respectively.
“We were certainly hoping to get a home regional, and we fell just a little bit short of that,” Head Coach Mike Vidakovich said. “The girls are playing well right now, and if we can get by Lyons on Friday afternoon we have a tough draw against Strasburg, but I think the girls can play right with them. A trip to Denver for state will be on the line.”
Rams frontline of junior Nikki Tardiff and sophomore Riley Bevington said they believe the Rams can make a strong push for a state title.
“I think we’re starting to get our mojo back after playing Cedaredge,” Bevington said of a close 40-37 loss at Cedaredge on Feb. 21. The Bruins enter the 3A tournament as the No. 4 seed, and are hosting one of the eight regionals.
Added Tardif, “We’re really connecting as a team right now, and I think we really want this state title.”
Glenwood hockey
Playing for a 4A state title on Monday night in Denver, the Glenwood Springs High School boys hockey team came up just short, falling 4-2 to Steamboat Springs.
Shoutouts to four Carbondale student-athletes who played for Demons hockey this season: Roaring Fork High’s Carter Finley, David Santino and Luke Phillips, and Colorado Rocky Mountain School’s Sam Rosenberg.
Spring season
Now it’s on to the high school spring sports season. The Roaring Fork baseball team opens with a road tournament on Saturday, March 8; girls lacrosse opens at home Saturday, March 8, against Steamboat Springs (12:30pm); girls soccer opens at Grand Junction on Tuesday, March 11; and the boys and girls track team is at the Rifle Invitational on Friday, March 14.