This Saturday’s Colorado High School Cross Country Championships in Colorado Springs will have solid representation from two local high schools.
The Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) boys and girls teams both qualified for state at their 2A Region 5 meet in Delta on Friday, Oct. 25, as did the Basalt High School (BHS) girls team at their 3A Regional in Fraser.
Standout Basalt runner Towler Scott took the individual Region 1 boys title and will enter the 3A state meet as one of the favorites.
Scott, a junior at BHS, said he went out a bit slower than usual to begin the 5-kilometer race at 8,813 feet elevation, after having been sick earlier in the week.
“After a little bit I was leading, and just kept feeling stronger,” Scott said of his winning time of 18 minutes, 2.1 seconds — 15 seconds ahead of runner-up Jake Curt from Coal Ridge.
“I credit it to a lot of training over the summer, and running doubles (two workouts a day) to get to this point,” Scott said. “And coach Amy (Rollins), for pushing me to work hard.”
The state meet for all classi-
fications takes place at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.
Scott’s season-best time of 15:36.5 for 5K at the Oct. 4 Pantherfest meet in Delta puts him among the top five 3A runners in the state. He also clocked a 15:08.5 at the Woodbridge Classic in Irvine, California on Sept. 20, though that doesn’t count for Colorado qualifying purposes.
“I’m feeling pretty excited for state, and hoping I can be up in front and compete (for a state title),” he said. “I feel like I’m recovered and in my best health of the season, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Joining Scott will be the Basalt girls, who qualified with a strong team showing at Regionals. The Longhorns placed third with 70 points, behind first-place Aspen (53) and Coal Ridge (64).
The top runner was senior Izzy Moon, who took seventh in 21:55.5, followed closely by junior Addison Raymond in eighth (22:02.2). Junior Caroline Cole was 10th (22:22), senior Morgan Fink, 21st (23:14.5), and sophomore Sadie Silcox, 24th (23:38.6) to round out the Longhorns’ scoring.
Competing at their 2A Regional in Delta, the CRMS girls placed second and boys third to qualify for the 2A state meet.
Senior Canyon Cherney led the boys with a seventh-place finish in 18 minutes, 22.4 seconds, followed by senior Henry O’Hagan, 10th (18:34.7); senior Will Karow, 25th (20:15.1); sophomore Max Peterson, 28th (20:24.3); and junior Arthur Williams, 67th (24:42.6).
The girls were led by a trio of freshmen, Genevieve Vickers in ninth (21:54.2), Kayla Steele, 10th (22:01.8) and Abigail O’Keefe, 12th (22:03.9). They were followed by senior Ellis Hutchens, 23rd (23:12.9) and junior Lexi Bier-Moebius, 27th (23:34.4).
Soccer playoffs
The Roaring Fork High School boys soccer team entered the 3A state tournament this week as the No. 5 seed, following a pair of home wins to close out the season — a 1-0 decision over Vail Mountain on Oct. 24, and a 5-0 win over CRMS for senior night on Oct. 25.
The Rams were set to square off against No. 28 Rocky Mountain Prep SMART at 4:30pm on Wednesday (game played after deadline for this report).
A win would give Roaring Fork another home game next Tuesday, Nov. 5, against the winner of No. 12 The Academy versus No. 21 Fort Lupton.
The Rams, winners of the 3A Western Slope League at 6-0-1 and 10-3-2 overall, are on a collision course to play league foe Rifle in the quarterfinals if both teams win their first two games. Rifle earned the No. 4 seed by virtue of its 12-2-1 overall record, and wins over several 4A teams during the regular season.
Football
Roaring Fork’s football team closes out the regular season at home for senior night this Friday against North Fork (7pm kickoff).
The Rams suffered a 48-14 loss at Cedaredge on Oct. 25 that likely keeps them out of the upcoming 1A playoffs.
Against Cedaredge, junior Eli Norris had a 95-yard pass interception return for a touchdown. Junior Donny Read was in on 15 tackles, including seven solo, and senior Balaram Koss had six solo tackles and six assists.
Basalt High School’s football team continues its march to the 2A playoffs following a 33-6 win at Middle Park on Oct. 25. Senior Henry Hendrix rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns, and freshman Jude Webb ran for 102 yards on 18 carries, including a touchdown. Senior Taylor Harris caught passes from junior quarterback Karson Schneider for two touchdowns.
Basalt (8-0) closes out the regular season this Friday, Nov. 1 at home against Aspen, and looks to enter the state playoffs with a top-three seed.
Volleyball
The Roaring Fork girls volleyball team concluded the season with senior night on Tuesday, Oct. 29 against North Fork, losing 0-3. The Rams fell 3-1 to Cedaredge on the road last Friday (25-18, 15-25, 23-25, 18-25).