Roaring Fork High Rams hope to keep momentum
Post Independent Sports Editor
Jon Mitchell / jmitchell@postindependent.com |
VOLLEYBALL
Head coach: Jenn Dority (First season).
Last season: 23-5 overall, 7-1 Class 3A Western Slope League play (second place), won 3A Region 11 Tournament before losing a tiebreaker match to Platte Valley in Class 3A state tournament. A victory would have placed the Rams in the 3A semifinals.
Key returners: Rose Maun, Sr., MH/OH; Toni Gross, Sr., S; Josie Horn, Sr., DS; Taila Howe, Sr., OH.
Others to watch: Diana Flores, Sr., MH/OH; Mealani Gray, Sr., OH/DS; Yaritza Zarate, Sr., DS; Riley Marshall, Sr., MH/OH; Elyza Ceballos, Sr., S; Emily Fuller, Jr., OH; Grace Brown, Soph., MH/OH; Madilyn Kuhl, Soph., OH.
Outlook: Roaring Fork’s continued success in the past three years, especially during the 2012 season, helped place them in the top 10 of the CHSAAnow.com preseason rankings. “That puts a target on our backs, because people tend to root for underdogs,” Dority said. “This gives us something to maintain instead of shoot for, but these are bright, smart girls who will be up for something like that.” The coach also likes Roaring Fork’s athletic skill set and its player’s ability to play multiple positions, which in her mind makes finishing in the upper half of the ultra-tough WSL to be a reasonable goal. Kristin Hall and Rebecca Moller, Dority’s assistant coaches, help serve as a much-needed supporting cast, Dority said.
BOYS SOCCER
Head coach:Text ColorSwatch/NoneStrokeStyle/$ID/SolidText ColorSwatch/NoneStrokeStyle/$ID/SolidText ColorText ColorText ColorText Color Nick Forbes (First season).
Last season: 11-4-1 overall, 4-2-1 Class 3A Region 3 play (third place), lost to The Classical Academy, 5-1, in second round of Class 3A state playoffs.
Key returners: Lalo Clemente, Jr., MF; Ben Carpenter, Jr., MF; Cameron Doherty, Sr., MF; Jack Fisher, Sr., Sweeper; Alex Fisher, Sr., GK; Erik Carillo, Jr., Striker; Misael Ramos, Jr., Striker; Zack Ritchie, Sr., D; Roman Romero, Sr., D.
Others to watch: Gustavo Oliva, Soph., Striker; Eduardo Meraz, Jr., D.
Outlook: The Rams lost Enrique Abarca, the league’s Player of the Year in 2012, to graduation. Forbes, however, said there’s plenty of returning talent to go around for the Rams this season. “We have a dedicated core group of players who all like to play together,” he said. “We won’t have the one guy who can really dominate and take control of a game like we did last year, but we’ll have a lot of guys who can contribute.” Forbes also said the team’s overall depth could be a problem, saying he’d like to avoid any issues with academic eligibility.”
CARBONDALE — Nick Forbes and Jenn Dority are more than happy with the proverbial hands they’ve been dealt as first-year varsity coaches at Roaring Fork High School.
Forbes, who was an assistant boys soccer coach for the Rams under Aaron Anderson, was part of a coaching staff which helped Roaring Fork reach the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs.
Dority was the Rams’ junior varsity coach for a few seasons prior to this one, and she served as an assistant coach under Carrie Schultz for a varsity team which came oh-so close to reaching the Class 3A state tournament’s semifinals.
Both, as it turns out, will have much of that experience back for the 2013 seasons.
“We have a very dedicated core group of players,” said Forbes, who served for an assistant coach for two years prior to this season. “There’s enough skill there where we can spread the success around.”
Roaring Fork received a few votes in the CHSAAnow.com Class 3A boys soccer preseason poll, finishing just short of a top-10 ranking. The Rams ended last season with an 11-4-1 overall record, taking third-place in the Class 3A Region 3 standings, before falling, 5-1, to The Classical Academy in the second round of the state tournament.
Nine players with starting experience return to this year’s team.
Roaring Fork’s volleyball team only has four returning starters from a 2012 team that went 23-5, with two of those losses coming to state semifinalist Platte Valley. But Dority is more than confident in the capabilities of the 2013 squad, which was ranked No. 7 in the CHSAAnow.com Class 3A volleyball preseason poll.
“Our goal is to maintain and build,” Dority said. “These returners aren’t learning anything new. They’re developing what they already know.”
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