It was all on the line for the Roaring Fork High School girls 4×800 relay team at the Montrose Invitational on Saturday, May 10.
The “last chance” meet was their final shot at qualifying for the 3A State Track and Field Championships. The team, senior Isabella Moon, junior Caroline Cole, sophomore Sadie Silcox and freshman Kinley Richmond, delivered, shaving 23 seconds off their previous best time and shattering the school record yet again, clocking in at 10 minutes, 20.17 seconds to take fourth in the event.
Moon anchored the relay with an impressive half-mile time of 2:27, matching her season best in the open 800 meters and vaulting the Rams relay team into the 13th state qualifying position out of 18 teams.
Moon also heads to the state meet as a 3A qualifier in the 800 as the 17th seed. Her qualifying time of 2:27.72 was set at last week’s 3A Western Slope League Championships in Grand Junction on May 2.
She just missed qualifying in the 1600 meters with a season-best time of 5:32.64, also at the league championships. However, Moon’s Basalt cross country teammate, junior Addison Raymond, did make it in for the 1600, running a 5:30.07 at Montrose to ultimately claim the 18th state qualifying spot.
Also headed to the state track meet for the Rams is junior Nikki Tardif, who goes as the 11th seed in the 300-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 48.83 set at the league championships; just off the school record mark.
The state championships take place this Thursday, May 15 through Saturday, May 17, at JeffCo Stadium in Lakewood. The 4×800 relay is set to run Thursday afternoon, Tardif will be in the 300 hurdle prelims Friday morning, and Moon runs the 800 Friday afternoon.
Soccer, lacrosse playoffs
Meanwhile, the Roaring Fork girls soccer and lacrosse teams each won their opening state playoff games last week before falling in the second round on Saturday, May 10.
Entering the 4A playoffs as the No. 7 seed and earning a first-round bye among 24 teams, Roaring Fork lacrosse defeated No. 10 Mullen at home in the second round, 12-4, and fell in the quarterfinals to No. 2 Green Mountain on Saturday, 20-7.
Points leader for the Rams against Mullen was senior Hailey Wolfe with eight, and versus Green Mountain it was Wolfe and junior Jordyn Miller with four each.
The team finished at 12-5 overall and had its best regular season ever, graduating seven seniors: Wolfe, Ella Gunning, Josie McKinley, Meredith Gardey, Ana Aguilar, Claire Gillen and Lilu Illouz.
“I am super proud of our squad,” head coach Drew Kitchell said, reflecting on the season. “Our defense really stepped up towards the end of the season and held a tough Front Range team in Mullen and several other strong outings.”
Wolfe set a new high points record for the program with 91 on the season, and McKinley set a new goals record with 73. Gunning, the team goalie, had a whopping 224 saves.
“We should have several players who make the All League squad and perhaps All State,” Kitchell said. “It was super gratifying for me as many of the kids who were on the squad I have coached since they were young, so it was a special season to graduate kids that I have coached since the fifth or sixth grade.”
The 3A soccer playoffs saw the Rams enter as the 19th seed out of 32 teams, when they upended No. 14 Montezuma-Cortez 8-2 in Cortez on May 8. They bowed out in the second round with a Saturday loss at No. 3 Delta, 6-0.
Goals against Montezuma-
Cortez came from sophomore Riley Bevington (four), senior Carley Crownhart (three) and senior Maddie Anderson (one).
Roaring Fork finished at 8-6-3 overall on the season, and graduated nine varsity seniors.
Baseball
Roaring Fork’s baseball team concluded the season by splitting a pair of games with 3A WSL rival Aspen, losing 16-7 at home on Wednesday, May 7, and winning on the road 10-0 on Saturday, May 10.
The Rams concluded the season at 7-16 overall, as senior Cole Fenton was named as the Rams’ Trent Goscha Player of the Year on senior night.
In addition to Fenton, the Rams baseball team graduates seniors Westin Sherman, Ethan Gardiner, Teo Manconi, Josiah Wheeless and Matt Fischer.
