Boulder City track and softball teams open seasons with wins

Courtesy photo

The Boulder City High softball team won the March Warm-Up’s small-school division title in St. George, Utah.

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | 11:50 p.m.

The host Boulder City High boys track team beat 3A Southern League foes Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley on March 20 at the Ron Ressler Invitational and finished 10th overall in the 14-team field.

Green Valley High from Henderson won the meet with 125 points while Boulder City had 26 points. Moapa Valley had 17 points in 12th place and Virgin Valley was 13th with 14.5 points.

"We had a reasonable good meet for the first time out," Boulder City coach Joe Ringen said. "We had a lot of young kids in different events and it was a good experience for them."

Boulder City's 3,200-meter relay team took first in 8 minutes, 30 seconds and senior Alex Dillon was third in the pole vault at 12 feet. Dillon also took fifth in the high jump at 5 feet, 6 inches and eighth in the long jump at 18-2.

Taylor Clifford, who was part of the winning relay team, was sixth in the 3,200 at 10:43 and John Garlinghouse was eighth in the shot put with a throw of 43 feet.

The meet's top performance came from Green Valley pole vaulter Bryan Artmann. Artmann set a stadium record at 14-7 to take first place.

Ringen said his team benefited from facing several large-school classification schools.

"The kids get to see what other people do besides the small schools," Ringen said. "They get to compete against people who typically run faster, jump higher and throw further."

Boulder City's girls team also outscored Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley to finish ninth. The Eagles had 28 points and Henderson's Coronado High was first with 112 points.

Boulder City's Kallie Stanton won the high jump at 4-10 and Endea Dawson was third in the shot put at 33 feet.

"I was happy with the way we competed," Boulder City girls coach Steve Roe said. "I thought the kids did well."

The Eagles, who won the state title last year, will rely on Dawson, Stanton, Elise Smith and Ashley Vince, Roe said. Vince placed in the discus at state last year and is the anchor of the 1,600 relay team.

"It is still early. We are getting our feet wet," Roe said.

Boulder City wins Utah softball tourney

The Boulder City High softball team only gave up one earned run March 20 and 21 during the 18th annual March Warm-Up in St. George, Utah, to capture the event's small-school division title.

The Eagles outscored five tournament opponents 56-5 to cap a week where they went 8-0 — they also beat Pahrump Valley March 16 and swept a doubleheader from Mountain View Christian School March 17.

"It is amazing to watch these kids," Boulder City coach Bruce Reid said.

Boulder City topped Emery, Utah, 12-0 by the mercy-rule after four innings in the championship game. The rule stops play if a team is winning by 10 or more runs after four innings.

The Eagles' closest win was a 6-5 victory in seven innings against Morgan, Utah, in the semifinals. The Eagles trailed 5-3 entering their final at-bats, but scored twice to force extra innings. Melissa Stewart singled to lead off the seventh and scored the winning run on a single from Taylor McKeever.

"The kids went crazier after winning that game than they did when we won the championship," Reid said.

Karlee Koopman picked up four wins in the tournament, striking out 27 batters in 15 and 2/3 innings. Paxton Fleming batted .667 and Stewart hit .615.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@hbcpub.com.