Basalt’s Noah Williams wins 100-meter dash to open track season
Courtesy photo
The Basalt High School track and field team got its season underway Friday at the Rifle Invitational, where senior Noah Williams stood out after winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.74 seconds. A state qualifier from a season ago and a standout in football, he also took third in the 200-meter dash.
Williams looks to be one of the premier sprinters on the Western Slope this spring, especially after the graduation of Aspen High School’s Sunday Abarca. Abarca won the Class 3A 200-meter dash state title as a senior to go with three straight state titles in the 400.
“Sunday left big spikes to fill, but Noah was up for the challenge to try to fill them,” BHS coach Allyson Decatur said. “He proved that in the 100. And his 200 just needs a little honing, and a better start out of the blocks. He’ll get there and is determined to get there sooner than later.”
The Longhorns had numerous other standout finishes. Junior Megan Maley was third in the girls 400-meter dash, while freshman Kaitlin Boothe was sixth in the same race. Aspen’s Anastasia Ferlisi was 13th and Margaret Woodrow 17th.
Basalt’s Sierra Bower was sixth in the 2-mile race in 12 minutes, 48.15 seconds.
Basalt’s 3,200-meter girls relay team of Maley, Bower, Carly Robinson and Jenna Curnow took third.
Basalt’s 800-meter boys relay team of Kyle Hofferbert, Noah Williams, Ben Williams and Nathan Rivera took fourth in 1:39.17. Ben Williams also finished 10th in the 400-meter dash.
Aspen’s Will Chesner was 10th in the boys 800-meter run.
Aspen’s Kendall Clark was seventh in the girls 800-meter run, while Maley was ninth and Robinson 12th. Clark also finished 10th in the mile, while Bower was 11th.
Morgan Ash was fourth in the high jump and Emily Hendershot fifth in the discus throw.
“Our throwing coach has them throwing the disc from a standstill right now, because he’s broken it into different stages,” Decatur said. “So they are actually not spinning yet, so she got 88 feet, 8 inches standing there. Fifth place without a spin.”
Hendershot already holds the Basalt school record in the discus with a throw of 97 feet, 2 inches. Decatur expects she’ll break her own mark at some point this season.
Aspen’s Paige Quist was also strong in the discus, finishing ninth with a throw of 86-3.5. She also took sixth in the shot put.
Basalt’s Katie Bohannan was ninth in the girls triple jump, while Aspen’s Dillon Leasure was eighth in the boys triple jump.
“Very happy. We’ve got some great talent and they are ready,” Decatur said of the meet. “It was a great start to the season, and ironically it ended just like last year ended at state with the snow and the ice. So that was interesting. A lot of solid performances.”
Most WSL teams are next scheduled to compete Saturday in Grand Junction.
PHOTOS: Ski for the Pass returns as part of Ute Cup Nordic Series
The 7k classic began at the winter closure gate outside of Aspen and finished at the turnoff to Lincoln Creek Road on Independence Pass.
