The start of the new school year this week for the Roaring Fork School District also marks the beginning of fall sports seasons.
Roaring Fork High School returns to action with varsity boys soccer and girls volleyball, while the football team will be competing at the junior varsity level this season due to low numbers in the upperclassman ranks.
Rams soccer will be looking to build on its 3A state semifinals appearance last season, when the team went 13-4-2 overall and 6-0-1 in conference play to win the super competitive Western Slope League (WSL).
Although Roaring Fork lost several key players from that team to graduation, the Rams return a core group of starters who will look to defend the league title and make another deep run in the playoffs.
“We looked really good in our scrimmage last weekend against some pretty good 4A and top 3A teams,” veteran coach Nick Forbes said of the tune-up day in Edwards, where the Rams defeated Fruita and Colorado Academy, and dropped one to defending 4A WSL champs and fellow state semifinalist Battle Mountain.
“While we lost some starters, we have some numbers behind them to make another run,” Forbes said.
Among them are seniors Jason Clemente, Peter Brennan, Salbador Vasquez and Miles Speiss, and a junior class that includes one of the state’s top 3A boots at forward, Cal Stone. Other contributors in that group are Wesley Serrano, Randy Candela, Quentin Galbraith, Michael Parada and Oli Shook.
The team is looking to fill the goalie position, after their stalwart keeper, senior Keven Cisneros, was deemed ineligible by Colorado High School Activities Association officials due to his age. Cisneros is still helping out by working with the keeper corps as a student assistant, Forbes said.
The Rams open the regular season on the road at Crested Butte this Friday, Aug. 22, and will regroup for a week before the home opener on Sept. 3 against Basalt, 6pm at Rams Field.
Volleyball
The Roaring Fork girls volleyball team welcomes Rod Taylor as the new head coach this season, replacing longtime coach Karen Crownhart who stepped down after her daughters Carley and Erica graduated last year.
Taylor has been involved with the Carbondale middle and high school programs as a parent volunteer. His daughter, Kate, is a junior member of the team this season.
Also returning to the court this year are a core group of seniors in
Nikki Tardif, Yaki Hernandez, Maddy Applegate, Elleree Richmond and Hannah Bays.
“We’re excited to finally get going,” Taylor said. “I’m pretty optimistic with the way they look in practice, and I think we have the potential to be really good.”
Taylor is assisted on the sideline this season by Canace Finley, a former D1 collegiate volleyball player with the Universities of Oregon and San Diego.
The Rams open the season this weekend with a tournament at neighboring Glenwood Springs High School, followed by another at Steamboat Springs on Aug. 26. They start the home campaign at 6pm on Sept. 2 against Vail Mountain.
In other sports…
Meanwhile, the JV football team is set to open its rebuilding campaign on the road at Grand Valley on Sept. 2, with games at Basalt (4pm, Sept. 8), Cedaredge (Sept. 22) and Delta (Sept. 29), before hosting Basalt on Monday, Oct. 6 (4pm kickoff).
Also teeing it up for the fall season are the combined Basalt and Roaring Fork girls softball, boys golf, boys tennis and coed cross country teams, which are hosted by Basalt High School.
The annual Basalt Longhorn Cross Country Invitational takes place at Crown Mountain Park in El Jebel this Saturday, Aug. 23 (races start at 9:30am), bringing teams from Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Coal Ridge, Rifle and Grand Valley, among others. Younger runners from Carbondale Middle School, Ross Montessori and several other middle school teams will also be participating in the event.