Demons show their stuff at Basalt meet

Demon girls second at BHS meet

EL JEBEL, Colorado — With top runner Katrina Selsor busy on a college visit, Glenwood Springs’ girls cross-country runners didn’t falter at Saturday’s Basalt High School-hosted meet at El Jebel’s Crown Mountain Park.

With top-10 runs from Melissa Buchanan and Angie Shepard, the Demons still managed a second-place showing behind only Aspen. Buchanan’s time of 23:11 landed her seventh, while Shepard turned in a 23:19 for 10th.

Michelle Stripp (18th, 24:12), Abbey Barnes (19th, 24:14) and Hope Whitman (20th, 24:15) also placed high for Glenwood’s girls.

In the boys race, the Demons’ Kellen Fockler posted a fourth-place finish. He completed the 3.1-mile course in 18:47. Pearce Littler was the next-best Glenwood finisher at 20th (20:56).

The Demon boys were fifth in the team standings.

Glenwood coach Mike Schneiter is happy to see his program flourishing two meets into the season, much of which can be attributed to what is the deepest roster the third-year coach has had.

“We had several outstanding individual performances, with a strong pack of experienced runners aided by promising results from some of our new team members,” Schneiter said. “It’s really encouraging to not only see a high number of kids — 31 total — joining our program but also to see great results from our new, young runners.”

Ross wins boys race at Basalt

EL JEBEL, Colorado — Dustin Ross landed his first-ever high school cross-country win at Saturday’s Basalt High School Invitational.

The Bear tackled the 3.1-mile course at El Jebel’s Crown Mountain Park in 18 minutes, 8 seconds. The next-best Rifle male finisher was Andrew Proebstel, who ran 15th (19:55). Rifle’s boys took third overall in the team standings.

Rifle coach Jerry Shafer said that, though Ross conceded he could have run faster, it was good to see him nail down that first win.

“It was pretty good for him,” Shafer said. “He won his first track race last spring at Rangely, but this was his first in cross country. I think he was nervous at first. He laid back the first mile or so, and then he decided to start running.”

For the Rifle girls, Holly Keeper scored a fourth-place finish to pace her team. She clocked in at 21:40.

Coal Ridge boys second at Basalt

EL JEBEL, Colorado — DaLin Murphy took second (18:33), Cody Roper ninth (19:42) and DaNivin Murphy 14th (19:52) as Coal Ridge’s boys cross-country squad rolled to a second-place team finish at Saturday’s Basalt cross-country meet.

The Titan girls got a strong showing from Chelyn McCain, whose 22:41 nabbed her sixth overall.

“Everybody improved this week,” Coal Ridge coach Tiffany Robison said. “It’s good to see that.”

Krieg fourth at G.J. Central’s XC invite

GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado — Grand Valley’s Brandi Krieg turned in a fourth-place showing at her first-ever cross-country meet, Friday’s Warrior Invitational at Long Family Memorial Park in Grand Junction.

The Cardinal sophomore clocked in at 22:10 in finishing behind winner Alicia Nelson of Moffat County (20:37), Fruita Monument’s Olivia Daniels (21:56) and Fruita’s Kasey Mortensen (22:03).

Eryn Paskett also ran well for the Grand Valley girls, placing 12th (25:14).

Austin Germiller scored the best run for the Grand Valley boys, taking 18th place with a 21:10 showing on the 3.1-mile course.

Cards escape marathon day with two volleyball wins

Hotchkiss/Cedaredge, Colorado—Grand Valley’s volleyball team grew up in a big way on Saturday, gutting out two matches and 10 games and coming away with wins over both Cedaredge and Hotchkiss.

The Cardinals traveled to Cedaredge for an early-afternoon match, rebounding from at two-game deficit to knock off the Bruins in five (21-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-15, 15-12).

Later in the day, Grand Valley ventured over to Hotchkiss and outlasted them in another marathon match (21-25, 25-18, 25-21, 19-25, 15-9).

David Walck, the Cardinals’ first-year coach who spent the 12 previous seasons at Rangely, has on his hands a team that is improving rapidly after a 1-4 start to the season. Down two games to none against Cedaredge, he had a message for his players.

“I told them, ‘Girls, you’ve got to convince yourselves that you’re good,’” he relayed. “They came back and won the next three easily. That’s when we started blocking and playing consistent ball.”

Against Hotchkiss, the Cardinals sunk into a 12-0 hole in the opening game and fought back.

The wins, both 3A Western Slope League matches, pushed Grand Valley to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in league.

Against Cedaredge, Samantha James led the team in kills with 12. Karmen Steimel added eight and Caitlin Brady had seven. Erin Vanderpool added four aces and a team-high 14 digs. Sami Jo Krieg added three aces and Brittney Garcia had 26 assists from the setter position.

James led the Cardinals in kills against Hotchkiss as well, slamming 11 of them. Brady and Steimel had eight apiece and Garcia finished with 30 assists. Vanderpool led in digs in that one as well, matching her previous match’s total with 14.

Demons knock off Palisade on the pitch

GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado — Freddie Ruiz scored a goal on his first varsity touch and Ryan Buchanan and Fabian Tapia each had scores as Glenwood Springs rolled to a 3-1 boys soccer win at Palisade on Saturday.

Ruiz had just been moved up from the Demons’ junior varsity team. Both his and Buchanan’s goal came within the first five minutes of play at the Mesa State College soccer field. Tapia’s goal late in the second half sealed the victory.

“We definitely dominated possession,” Glenwood head coach John Mount said. “The team played well. The things we focused on in practice last week and coming into the game worked. We emphasized possession, playing our game.”

Next up for the Demons (1-2 overall, 1-1 in the 4A Western Slope League) is a Tuesday trip to Summit County.

Titan boys soccer blanked at Hotchkiss

HOTCHKISS, Colorado — Coal Ridge surrendered two first-half goals and three more in the second half in a 5-0 loss at Hotchkiss in the Titans’ 3A Western Slope League opener on Saturday.

Titan goalkeeper Arrick Peck faced a barrage of shots from the Hotchkiss attack, making 12 saves, as Coal Ridge dropped to 1-3 overall.