A handful of Garfield County students have punched their ticket to the 2023 Colorado High School Track and Field Championships and will look to bring home medals this coming weekend. 

Needing a top-18 ranking in their individual events or relays throughout the season to qualify for the state championships, six different Garfield County and Roaring Fork District high schools will be represented at the meet. Those in attendance will have a chance to witness the prowess that has taken form in the Western Slope League this season.

Coal Ridge High School will see a number of male and female athletes find their way to Jefferson County Stadium this weekend. A number of them are also making their way to the collegiate track and field ranks following their final high school competition.

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Senior Mikayla Cheney is set to attend the United States Military Academy West Point following high school, where she will continue her track career. Others planning to continue their track career include Dylan Campell, who plans to attend Colorado Mesa University, and Tyler Parker, who will find his way to Durango to continue his track and field career at Fort Lewis College.

All three student-athletes, who have gone on to break a number of Coal Ridge records during the course of this season, have cemented their spots in the state competition starting Thursday.

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During the Dennis Teeters Tiger Invitational this past weekend, Parker was able to shatter two school records, in the 1600- and 3200-meter races, where one event found him squeezing into a top-18 spot for the state meet. 

Recording a 4:33.11 time in the 1600 and placing third, Parker bumped himself up from the No. 25 spot into the No. 17 spot and solidified an opportunity to compete for a state medal. His time of 10:12.13 in the 3200 was good enough for a school record and third place in the Grand Junction event, but not quite to state qualifying standard, as Parker holds the No. 24 spot.

“It’s been a goal of mine to get the distance records here since I was a freshman,” Parker said. “I’m proud that I was able to cement myself into the record books at the school along with others who have worked so hard this year.”

Others posting personal bests and moving up in the rankings on the final qualifying weekend were Coal Ridge sophomore Brilee Jensen, who now has the best girls 3A shot put mark heading into state at 38 feet, 4 inches; the Coal Ridge girls 4×400 relay team (4:04.42); Rifle High’s Sophia Craig, who now sits No. 14 in the class 3A pole vault (8-9); the Grand Valley boys 800 sprint medley, which moved into the top qualifying spot with a time of 1:40.13 at their home Cardinal Invite on Saturday; the Grand Valley boys 4×200 relay team, who earned themselves a No. 16 ranking, also at the Cardinal Invite with a time of 1:34.96; and Grand Valley’s Taylor Pittman in the girls 300-meter hurdles, at 0.50.13 seconds.

Coal Ridge’s Josie Pfirman and Rifle’s Julia Torrens both posted personal bests this weekend in the pole vault, but just missed the cut, sitting in the No. 20 and No. 21 spots, respectively.

State qualifiers and event rankings:

2A

Grand Valley: Kade Sackett, 400 meters (17th, 0:52), 800 meters (12th, 2:02.81), triple jump (5th, 42-5.5); boys 800 sprint medley (1st, 1:40.13); boys 4×100 relay (9th, 0:44.86); boys 4×200 relay (15th, 1:34.96); Jacob Doyle, shot put (5th, 48-9.5) and discus (1st, 167-8); Taylor Pittman, 300 hurdles (10th, 0.50.13); girls 4×100 relay (17th, 0:52.81); girls 4×400 relay (10th, 4:19.36); girls 800 sprint medley (16th, 1:57.75)

3A

Coal Ridge: Omar Vergara, 200 meters (15th, 0:22.96), 400 meters (8th, 0:50.46); Dylan Campbell, 400 meters (7th, 0:50.22); 800 meters (4th, 1:56.44); James Webber, 400 meters (12th, 0:51.13); Tyler Parker, 1600 meters (17th, 4:33.11); boys 4×400 relay (1st, 3:23.66); boys 4×100 relay (6th, 0:43.95); boys 4×200 relay (8th, 1:31.70); boys 4×800 relay (4th, 8:19.04); boys 800 meter sprint medley (2nd, 1:41.16); Justin Richel, pole vault (10th, 12-6); Angelo Perea, discus (16th, 129-2); Mikayla Cheney, 200 meters (15th, 0:26.76), 400 meters (4th, 0:58.34), 800 meters (5th, 2:16.68); 1600 meters (3rd, 5:05.05), 3200 meters (3rd, 11:07.23); Jackie Camunez, 100 meters (13th, 0:12.86), 200 meters (9th, 0:26.09), 400 meters (6th, 0:58.89); girls 4×100 relay (15th, 0:52.44); girls 4×200 relay (8th, 1:48.01); girls 4×400 relay (1st, 4:04.42); girls 4×800 relay (5th, 9:59.78); girls 800 meter sprint medley (1st, 1:51.52); Aceleigh Porter, triple jump (11th, 33-7); Samantha Simons, pole vault (18th, 8-0); Brilee Jensen, shot put (1st, 38-4), discus (5th, 112-4); Addy Davis, shot put (17th, 31-9.5), discus (3rd, 116-5)

Roaring Fork: Kyra Reeds, 100 meter hurdles (17th, 0:17.4), 300 meter hurdles (18th, 0:50.51)

Rifle: Jade Cunningham, triple jump (12th, 42-5); Joel Valencia, high jump (13th, 6-0); Troy Mataia, shot put (2nd, 50-3), discus (9th, 136-7); boys 800 sprint medley (6th, 1:46.94); Rylan Petree, 400 meter (15th, 1:00.46); Nevaeh Henderson, long jump (10th, 16-4); Sophia Craig, pole vault (14th, 8-9); Triniti Johnson, pole vault (16th, 8-3)

Basalt: Jared Tennenbaum, 300 meter hurdles (14th, 0:42.17); Jacey Read, 100 meters (6th, 0:12.7), high jump (12th, 5-0), 200 meters (8th, 0:26.09); Ava Lane, 400 meters (5th, 0:58.38), 800 meters (7th, 2:19.01), 1600 meters (12th, 5:17.69); girls 4×400 relay (10th, 4:19.61); girls 4×800 relay (16th, 10:39.97); girls 800 meter sprint medley relay (8th, 1:54.61) 

4A

Glenwood Springs: Sophia Connerton-Nevin, 3200 meter (14th, 11:29.35); Ruby Patch, 100 meter hurdles (9th, 0:16.29), 300 meter hurdles (12th, 0:48.01); Breauna Sorensen, long jump (12th, 17-3.25)