Rifle Bears track coach Christopher Bomba has coached the sport for more than 20 years, and he said he may go another 20 without seeing a feat like the one senior sprinter Rylan Petree delivered on March 21 at the 2026 Runners Roost Invitational at French Field in Fort Collins.

Petree, who is committed to run at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in the fall, arrived with her eyes on the Rifle record book and left eight hours later with three new school records.

“In the 23 years I’ve been coaching, I’ve never seen three individual records in a season, let alone three in one day,” Bomba said. “It’s such a rare feat that most coaches out there won’t see something like this in their entire tenure. We will be hard-pressed to have another athlete do that. It was an amazing experience to sit back and watch.”

She started by breaking a 22-year-old record in the 100-meter dash, running a 12.39 to top the previous mark of 12.47. She followed that by breaking a 21-year-old record in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 25.65 to beat the old record of 25.96. She completed the hat trick in the 400-meter dash, breaking her own school record by nearly two seconds with a time of 56.00 after setting the previous mark of 57.80 last year.

Petree said she entered the season with all three sprint records in her sights and had been chasing them throughout the year. The night before the meet, she said, she visualized breaking all three.

“Going into the meet, I was just excited to run with some of the best athletes in the state,” Petree said. “The night before the meet, I visualized all my races and pictured breaking the records.

“I gained confidence after each race, and after the 200, all I could think about was how cool it would be to break all three records in one day,” she said. “It means so much to me that all my hard work is paying off. All my coaches have given me high praise throughout my career, but I truly couldn’t have done it without any of them.”

Bomba said Petree’s humility and coachability set her apart. He added that the record book may not be done changing, because she still has time to lower those marks before beginning her college career.

“Rylan has put her heart and soul into becoming an amazing athlete from the very start of her career,” he said. “She is one of the most coachable athletes I have ever coached, which has allowed her to break records and push past what she thought was possible.

“She is a special athlete, and I feel proud to be her coach,” Bomba said. “The crazy part is that she is not done this season. She still has many opportunities to set those records a little lower to help push future athletes coming through our program.”

While records help drive Petree, she said leaving a legacy for younger athletes at Rifle High School is her ultimate motivation.

“I’m definitely not done yet. I believe I can improve all of my times,” Petree said. “It’s such an honor to have all my hard work pay off and be seen by so many people.

“Records are meant to be broken, and I’m excited for the younger athletes to strive to break my records,” she said. “The previous 100-meter record was held by coach Terena Gross, and she helped me break her own record.”

While track is an individual sport in competition, Petree said it is far from a one-woman show, and having a strong support system matters more than any amount of training.

“The coolest part of all of this is hearing my family, coaches and teammates cheer for me as I cross the finish line,” she said. “Hearing them cheer me on reminds me why I do this, and keeps pushing me to work harder.”