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Preps: Aspen cross country hosts home race; Basalt football pulls away from Delta

Aspen High School cross country senior Julia Diaz competes in the Chris Severy Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Aspen.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Racing on what is believed to be one of the toughest courses in the state, Aspen High School cross country dug into its local knowledge on Saturday for a pair of second-place team finishes in its annual home race, the Chris Severy Invitational.

In a relatively small field of teams, the Aspen girls scored 31 points to finish runner-up to Kent Denver’s 28. Colorado Rocky Mountain School was third with 69, and Eagle Valley was fourth with 113.

Eagle Valley took the boys team title with 27 points, followed by Aspen’s 63, Middle Park’s 71, Kent Denver’s 90, and Rangely’s 108.



Outside of the non-traditional Montrose Relays, this was the last meet of the season for the Skiers until the regional race on Oct. 25, hosted by Middle Park in Fraser.

“Things are starting to look good,” longtime Aspen coach Chris Keleher said. “We’ve just got to keep everybody healthy and put in a couple of weeks of hard training and see what happens.”




In the girls race on Saturday, Rangely sophomore Taya Wren paced the field, winning in 21 minutes, 48.6 seconds. In second was Aspen senior Julia Diaz in 22:26.2, while her sophomore teammate, Annabelle Case, was fifth in 24:36.8. A pair of Kent Denver runners finished third and fourth. AHS senior Fiona Benvenuto was ninth (25:35.5), senior Niamh Nelson was 11th (25:46.3), and senior Darienne Kenny was 14th (26:16.6).

“I’ve yet to actually put the five fastest on the line,” said Keleher, who was again missing a couple of girls for Saturday’s race, this time for SAT testing. “Julia had a great race. Home-course advantage definitely helps.”

In the boys race, Eagle Valley’s Henry Martin won in 19:57.2, beating Middle Park’s Sage York (19:57.8) in a sprint finish. Coming in third was AHS sophomore Jack Diaz, the younger brother of Julia, in 20:09.2. CRMS senior Henry O’Hagan also had a top-10 finish, placing seventh in 21:25.6.

Unlike the veteran girls, the smaller-in-numbers Aspen boys team is comprised of all underclassmen.

“Boys ran great. The last two weeks, they have really been running together,” Keleher said. “I like the way things are going. They are all working hard and helping each other out.”

AHS sophomore Dominic DiMaria was 13th in 22:14.7, and AHS sophomore Vlad Loboda was 14th in 22:19.7. CRMS sophomore Max Peterson was 16th in 22:29.9.

“Just looking forward to having a really consistent next couple of weeks of training and hopefully everyone is healthy in two-and-a-half weeks,” Keleher said.

The high school varsity boys race gets underway during the Chris Severy Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Aspen.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Basalt did not compete in Aspen but opted for Friday’s Panther Invitational in Delta. BHS junior Towler Scott won the boys race in 15:36.5, which is unofficially a new school record. Grand Junction Central’s Yishai Trowbridge was runner-up in 16:05.8.

Central won the team title with 50 points, while Basalt did not record a team score.

Isabella Moon led the Basalt girls, finishing 16th in 20:03.6. Battle Mountain won the girls team title with 57 points. Coal Ridge was fourth with 143 and Basalt was fifth with 149.

The Longhorns will compete at the same regional meet as the Skiers in Fraser.

Big wins for football

In Friday’s battle for Western Slope supremacy, Basalt football pulled away from defending 2A champion Delta, winning 30-14 on the road to remain undefeated. It was the league opener for both teams.

According to MaxPreps, BHS junior Will Tarallo had 194 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. Senior Will Daniel added 97 yards and a score on 20 carries.

Delta dropped to 3-2 overall, 0-1 in league. Basalt, now 5-0 and 1-0, returns home to host Coal Ridge (4-1) this coming Friday at 7 p.m. on the BHS field.

Aspen also had an impressive league opener, winning 40-2 at Middle Park on Friday. According to MaxPreps, AHS junior Dylan Mika had 116 yards rushing and two TDs on only five carries. Quarterback Brett Eggleston was 7 of 9 for 101 yards with a pair of passing TDs.

Middle Park fell to 1-4 (0-1), while Aspen improved to 3-2 (1-0). The Skiers are scheduled to stay on the road, with a game coming up Thursday night at Moffat County (2-3).

Roaring Fork dropped its league opener on Friday, losing at home to Grand Valley, 23-20. The Rams, now 2-3 overall, host Meeker (3-2) this Friday.

Volleyball win streak snapped

Aspen volleyball played Saturday against Battle Mountain, losing 3-1. Set scores were 17-25, 25-9, 20-25, and 17-25. The win keeps the Huskies undefeated at 8-0 overall.

The Skiers fall to 7-6 overall, the loss snapping a three-game win streak. Aspen will host Gunnison on Wednesday.

Basalt played on Thursday at Moffat County, losing 3-2. Now 2-6 overall, the Longhorns next play on Tuesday at Vail Mountain.

Roaring Fork beat Grand Valley on Thursday, 3-1, to improve to 4-9 overall. The Rams host Moffat County on Thursday.

Rough weekend for soccer

Basalt soccer played on Thursday at Vail Mountain, losing 5-4. Now 4-6 overall, the Longhorns host Rifle on Thursday.

Aspen played on Saturday at Crested Butte, losing 2-1. Now 3-6 overall, the Skiers will play on Tuesday night at Roaring Fork.

The Rams are 6-2-1 overall following a 1-0 win at Delta on Wednesday.

Longhorn softball wins

Basalt softball played Aspen on Thursday, winning 28-5. The Longhorns are now 6-13 overall and next play Tuesday at Rifle. Aspen (0-11) plays Gunnison on Tuesday.

Tennis preps for regionals

Aspen and Basalt tennis teams are done with the regular season and are gearing up for regional play this Wednesday and Thursday in Grand Junction.

State begins for golf

Aspen and Basalt golf teams are competing on Monday and Tuesday at the Class 3A state golf tournament at Walking Stick in Pueblo. The Skiers won the regional tournament last week at Snowmass Club, while the Longhorns were second. Both teams have all four golfers competing at state.

acolbert@aspentimes.com