Both the Coal Ridge boys and girls teams won their respective divisions to crown themselves 3A Multi-League champions at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction on Friday.

To add the cherry on top, head Titans track and field coach Ben Kirk was named “Best Coach for the 3A Division of the Western Slope and Southwestern Track and Field League Championships.”

Pretty much every single female event had a Coal Ridge individual or relay team either nab first place or make the top three. They would end the blistering-hot day’s action with 10 first-place finishes, which elevated them to a 239-point team finish.

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To put things in perspective, Moffat County scored 139 points for second place.

The Titans’ team prosperity in the boys’ division came from grinding it out for a plethora of silver and bronze finishes. Though Coal Ridge collected three golds, its three second-place, five third-place and four fourth-place finishes helped accrue 167.5 team points.

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Moffat County came in second place in the boys’ division, scoring 149 points. Rifle came in a respectable third place, collecting 144 points.

Leading the charge on the girls’ side was junior Peyton Garrison, who collected three individual golds in the short dash events.

She’d win first in the 100-meter dash by finishing the race in 12.29 seconds. Keeping up the pace in the 200-meter dash, her 25.36-second finish landed her second first place of the day. She’d end the day in her individual performances with a 57.46-second finish in the 400-meter dash.

Titans junior Lydia Karren had herself a phenomenal showing in the 300-meter hurdles, nabbing a 50.38-second first-place finish. She’d outrun senior teammate Raeanna Nelson, who finished second in 54.98 seconds. Nelson was also second in the 100-meter hurdles.

In the field events, Titans senior Marin Simons took first place in high jump via a height of 5-2.

Senior teammate Phoebe Young, who competed in the Multi-League Championship pole vault event held at Coal Ridge earlier this week, hoisted herself to a 10-04 inch first-place finish.

Finally, junior Natalie Smythe achieved success in triple jump. Her 33-11.25 was good for first place.

Among the key second-place finishes for the Lady Titans was senior Taylor Weiscamp in the discus (118-11) and shot put (38-05), and Mikayla Cheney in the 3200 meters (11:36.08) and 800 meters (2:16.40).

But perhaps the biggest feather in the Titans’ cap came from their relay events.

The 4×100 team of Railey Largent, Phoebe Young, Emma Morgan and Raeanna Nelson finished with a time of 52.59-seconds for first place. Then the 4×200 relay team (Jackie Camunez, Largent, Morgan, Nelson) claimed another gold via a 1:50.27 finish. Not to be outdone, the Titans’ 4×400 relay (Smyth, Camunez, Morgan, Garrison) nabbed first place with a 4:07.31 finish.

And, the Titans’ 800-sprint medley (Young, Camunez, Largent, Cheney) capped off the dominance with a 1:53.39 first-place finish.

Titan boys depth prevails

On the boys’ side, the Titans ended top dogs in the triple jump and pole vault events and the 4×200-meter relay.

The Titans’ 4×200-meter relay team (Moises Contreras, Omar Vergara, Eddie Salazar and Jack Price) ran 1:34.15 to secure a first-place finish. Meanwhile, senior Shayne Sandblom took first in pole vault with a height of 11-04.5.

Finally, Titans junior Eddie Salazar took first place in triple jump with a 38-03.75.

Rifle, Glenwood Springs, Roaring Fork and Grand Valley also manufactured some stellar performances during the Multi-League Championship.

RIFLE HIGHLIGHTS

Rifle, one of the other Garfield County teams competing in the 3A division, didn’t see too much gold but the Bears captured their fair share of silver and bronze.

For the boys, the 4×100-meter relay team of Peyton Prettyman, Daniel Hernandez, Kade Bishop and Embrey Marantino took first place via a 45.36 finish.

From there, the boys were responsible for amassing eight second-, two third- and five fourth-place finishes on the day.

Yahir Loya and Nicholas Salvidar tied for second in the high jump, each going 5-05, and Joel Valencia was fourth in the event at 5-03.

The Rifle girls’ major triumph came in the 800-sprint medley relay (Maddy Valencia, Sage Allen, Abigaile Pinkerton-Sparkman and Jamie Caron), gaining third place with a time of 2:01.97. Caron also finished tied for fourth in the pole vault (7-04.5).

ROARING FORK HIGHLIGHTS

Roaring Fork High School also competed in the 3A division. The Rams boys took seventh place overall with a score of 40, while the girls took eighth place overall with 19 points.

Senior Lily Nieslanik triumphed in girls long jump, nabbing a 16-09.50 for first place.

For the boys, senior Ross Barlow took first place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:06.37 and was second in the 1600 meters at 4:50.74. The boys also saw gold in the 4×800-meter relay (Barlow, Talon Carballeira, Ryan Camp, Misha Logan) after locking down a time of 8:48.47.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS BOYS THIRD

In the 4A Western Slope League, Glenwood Springs took third place in the male division with a score of 96. In the female division, the Demons placed sixth with 51 points.

Major highlights for the boys came from senior Brian Delgado, who nabbed a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a final time of 51.09.

Senior Taber Uyehara also triumphed in the 110-meter hurdles, notching a first-place finish with a time of 16.65. The speed Demon then nabbed his second gold of the day with a 41.44 in the 300-meter hurdles event.

The Demons captured their final first place of the day in the 4×400-meter relay via a time of 3:33.16.

The highest honors the Demons nabbed in the female division came mostly by way of individual events.

Senior Sophia Vigil took first place in the 300-meter hurdles event with a time of 48.20. She also took third place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.87.

Meanwhile, junior Ella Johnson’s 11:19.7 in the 3200-meter run was good for third place.

The 4×400 girls relay team (Maria Carlson, Ruby Patch, Ella Johnson, Sophia Vigil) capped the day off with a second-place finish with a time of 4:14.45.

GRAND VALLEY BOYS THIRD

In 1A-2A Western Slope League, Grand Valley’s boys took third place overall with a team score of 74.5, while the girls took 11th overall with 23 points.

Major triumphs for the girls started off with senior Alex Mendoza. Her time of 16.7 in the 100-meter hurdles was good for a second-place finish. She’d go on to take second place in the 300-meter hurdles event with a time of 49.68.

The biggest win for the Cardinals boys came in the relay events. Grand Valley nabbed first place in the 4×800-meter relay (Keaton Jansen, Nikolai Stammer, Kade Sackett and Hector Delacruz) with a time of 9:04.58.

The boys also collected four second-, two third- and one fourth-place finishes to end the day, including a second in the 4×400 relay (Sackett, Michael Satterfield, Gabe Magana, Delacruz) with a time of 3:45.99.

Also among those second-place finishes, senior Tyler Boger nabbed two — in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles events.

Up next, area runners and field event athletes prepare for the June 24-26 Colorado State Championships at JeffCo Stadium in Lakewood.

Reporter Ray K. Erku can be reached at 612-423-5273 or rerku@postindependent.com.