GRAND JUNCTION — Rifle High School’s Brenden Wagler recorded a personal-best time in the 3,200 meters by a wide margin on Friday, and his winning time in the event was a highlight among Garfield County athletes on the first day of the Class 4A and 3A Western Slope League meet at Stoker Stadium.

Wagler, a senior, finished in 9 minutes, 49.86 seconds, easily beating his previous personal best of 9:58.13 that he ran at the Ram Charger Invitational. He also came less than a second away from breaking the school record of 9:49.55 that was set in the late 1980s, according to Rifle distance coach Ben Bradley.

“My goal going into the race was just to set a PR, and to set a big one,” Wagler said after the race.

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On a day which saw primarily preliminary races throughout the day, Wagler’s result was the highlight of the 4A meet for the Bears. Rifle, along with Glenwood Springs, will complete the 4A meet today. Coal Ridge, Grand Valley and Roaring Fork today will complete the 3A WSL meet. All events will take place at Stoker Stadium.

The Bears also got high finishes in the throwing events. For the boys, Joe Kosht placed fifth in the discus with a mark of 134 feet, 1 inch, with teammate Ethan Strouse (124-11) finishing seventh. Deleny Aguirre of Rifle finished fifth in the girls shot put with a mark of 32-1.

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At the 3A level, Coal Ridge got standout performances from both its girls and boys teams.

On the girls side, junior long jumper Kaitlyn Detlefsen won the long jump by a wide margin, posting a winning jump of 17-3 to beat her previous-best jump of 15-6. That jump quickly vaulted her into state-title contention for the event, giving her the second-best jump in Class 3A behind Sterling’s Kylie Chavez (17-5 1/2).

Also posting a personal-best mark was senior Britni Allen, whose winning put of 41-0 1/4 easily beat her previous-best of 39-6 set at the April 24 Montrose Invitational. It also ranks her second in Class 3A, with Lamar’s Courtney Clark (43-3) leading the way.

Finishing third in the 3A 3,200 was senior Noah Crisler of Coal Ridge (10:27.43), with Basalt’s Zach Walsh winning in 10:00.38. Crisler also took second to Walsh in the 800, with teammates Roman Plano finishing third and Enrique Bucio finishing fourth in the event.

Other placers for Coal Ridge included Brandon Gray (second in the boys shot put) and Allie Winkler (third in the girls shot put).

“I feel pretty confident in saying that this is the best first day at the league meet that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” eighth-year Coal Ridge coach Ben Kirk said.

Computer problems at Stoker Stadium prevented many results from becoming official even through Friday night.

The big finals highlight on Friday for Glenwood came from senior Lexi Montoya, who had a second-place finish in the triple jump with a personal-best leap of 34-1 3/4. That beat her previous best of 33-6 3/4.

Makena Warren, a junior, took third with a leap of 32-1 1/2. Also placing for the girls was Claudia Hirons, who was eighth in the 3,200 in 13:18.42.

On the boys side, Tim Batchelder was sixth in the long jump with a 19-6 1/2.

Preliminary results show Glenwood could have a strong showing during finals today. The Demons qualified three — Montoya, Carly Setterberg and Ginny Bergstrom — in the girls 300 hurdles final. For the boys, Kaden Weller and Larry Flores each qualified for today’s 110 and 300 hurdles final.