Memorial and Independence Day have flown by and with Labor Day peeking around the corner, Garfield County prep sports are preparing for another dominant season across courts, pitches, tracks, gridirons and diamonds. 

With new seasons on the horizon and underclassmen ready to make a name for themselves, it’s important to remember the previous season and circumstances that helped mold the player into their 2025 stage.

Boys soccer

The boys soccer season in the fall of 2024 was one for the memory books. 

Four teams throughout Garfield County pushed into their respective state playoff tournaments, highlighted by an unforgettable matchup between the No. 4 Rifle Bears and No. 5 Roaring Fork Rams at Rifle High School in the quarterfinals of the 3A CHSAA State Tournament.

After winning the 3A Western Slope League, the Rams took the quarterfinal road playoff victory, thanks to an 80th minute goal by incoming senior attacker Delano Crooks. The Rams eventually fell 3-0 to Holy Family in the semifinal round of the tournament. 

Roaring Fork, led by 2024 Coach of the Year Nick Forbes wasn’t the only strong boys soccer team throughout Garfield County last fall. The Rams, who finished the regular season 6-0-1 in 3A league play, had the No. 9 Coal Ridge Titans nipping at their heels all season long. The Titans finished 4-1-2 in league play, finishing the season in second place — one spot ahead of the 4-2-1 Rifle Bears. The No. 15 Glenwood Springs Demons, a 4A team, also got a taste of the state tournament after their 3-2-1 4A league play record, enough for second in the league. 

All four programs are reset and ready for another deep playoff push, and each team is going to look at a different player to take the next step. 

In Glenwood, the Demons will look to incoming senior and member of the first team all conference team, Jeziah Hernandez, who finished third in 4A WSL assists with eight in 2024. 

To accompany the senior Crooks, the Rams will look to incoming junior and second team all-conference member Cal Stone, the 11th highest assist gatherer in the 3A classification (10). 

The Bears, who rostered 12 seniors in 2024, will lean on incoming senior Malquane Mcqoy — their fourth highest point getter a season ago (10). 

The Titans and their first year head coach David Romero will enjoy another season of artistry in net by incoming senior and 2024 conference Goalkeeper of the Year, Colbran Inglehart. Inglehart finished third in 3A WSL in goals allowed average (1.235) during his junior campaign. 

Volleyball

Although the Glenwood Springs Demons Volleyball team wasn’t able to put together a deep playoff push in 2024, they will have a lot of momentum to build off of going into the 2025 season. 

The Demons found lots of success throughout the 2024 season in a loaded 4A division. The girls finished 17-8 on the season, 8-4 in 4A Western Slope League. 

Head Coach Brittani Chilson was named Co-Coach of the Year in the all-conference awards, while incoming senior Grace Sims was named a member of the first-team. Incoming seniors Emma Gavrell and Gianna Zambrano were named honorable mentions on the roster.  

To build even further off of the on-court performance, incoming senior Kaylee Molina helped bring home the 18U USA Volleyball Beach National Championship in July. 

Football

Although the 2024 Western Slope football season lacked the flair commonly seen throughout mountain towns, there were still many star-studded performances throughout Garfield County, and the season could have been the building blocks to explosive seasons out of up-and-coming players throughout the Colorado and Roaring Fork Valleys. 

The story of the 2024 season would be incomplete without mentioning graduated Glenwood Springs senior Mason Markovich’s unfathomable season. He finished the season leading the 3A Western Slope League with over 1,300 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns — leading the league by nearly double in both categories. Markovich will now take his talents to CSU Pueblo in 2025 to dominate at the next level. 

Markovich set a leadership standard within the fabric of the Demons’ culture, and according to returning head coach Mike West, there are potential options for the next leader in every corner of the locker room. 

Incoming seniors Brackett Enewold, Ossie Hilgeford, and Zack Bollock were all named to the first-team all-conference roster, while incoming junior Sebastian Romo has already begun drawing Division I college interest. 

The Coal Ridge Titans, not widely known for having a strong gridiron squad, finished 5-4 on the season, but their tough luck against league opponents kept them out of playoff contention. 

Through the tough results of the season, the Titans had stars shine on both sides of the ball. Incoming senior Diego Gamez finished the season with the third most interceptions in the state regardless of class (8), while incoming senior quarterback Dylan Miller finished with the fifth most passing yards in 2A (1,472), and 15 passing touchdowns. 

Although the Rifle Bears 2024 season was disappointing from a record perspective (1-8), the team was incredibly young and preparing for the future throughout last season. The team, led by incoming junior athlete Omar Mata, and incoming senior lineman Yadier Loya, will look to improve off the lessons learned last season. 

Cross country

The cross country season last fall didn’t see as much Western Slope dominance as the eventual spring track and field season, but didn’t go by without showcasing the elite running talent that Garfield County nurtures. 

The Coal Ridge Titans, who eventually took both the boys and girls 3A regional title during the track and field season, were also strong during the long distance season in the fall. 

The powerful girls Titan running trio of incoming juniors Effie Fletcher and Haily Whitman, along with incoming senior Faye Goodman were all named honorable mentions in CHSAA’s 2024 All-State rosters. Incoming senior Jake Curt was also named an honorable mention in 2024. 

The runners from Coal Ridge weren’t the only ones to be recognized by their impressive seasons. Graduated seniors from Rifle and Grand Valley Ana Robinson and Craig Cotter were both named honorable mentions on the 2024 roster. 

Softball

The Rifle Bears Softball team was strong as usual in 2024, but their final record fell just three games short of .500 and they missed out on the 2024 4A State Tournament by a slim margin. 

Although the girls didn’t make it to the dance in 2024, that doesn’t mean they didn’t impress on the diamond. They finished the season 10-13, but were 2-2 in league play and finished second within the 4A Western Slope League. 

Incoming seniors Brynn Axelson (35) and Rylan Petree (34) were top base stealers throughout the state regardless of class. Axelson and Petree finished sixth and eighth in total stolen bases by the end of the season. 

Their aggressive playstyle translates to a fun watch, and the girls will look to crack postseason action again for the first time since 2024 alongside longtime head coach Troy Phillips.