The Vista Ridge track and field team clinched their schoolís first state title by setting a 4A state meet record in the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:17.81. Noah Gabel finished strong as the anchor, as his fellow senior teammates Aaron Johnson, Pierre Copeland and Darrian Morgan cheered.The Wolves, in just their fifth year, relied mainly on the efforts of eight multi-talented individual athletes and three relay teams to accumulate 80 points ñ 12 points better than second-place Valor Christian.Gabel had the only individual victory by winning the long jump event, but he and his teammates reached the finals in 11 of 18 events, showing the versatility of this talented group. The Wolvesí relay teams also finished second in the 800 relay and third in the 400 relay.Sand Creek finished 15th with a team total of 20 points. Falcon finished 22nd with a total of 15 points. Falconís Kalen Ballage was one of the favorites in the 100 meter dash, but after a hamstring injury on the first day, Ballage finished a gutsy eighth in the 100.The Sand Creek girlsí track team finished second in state with 56 team points, as Niwot won the state title with 70 points. Rebecca Harris, who finished second in the 100-meter hurdles, led Sand Creek. The 400-meter relay team finished second as well. The Falcon girls accumulated only 10 team points, but the highlight for the Falcons was Deja Matlock, who finished third in the 300-meter hurdles.Baseball team third in leagueThe Falcon baseball team finished a solid season with 12 wins and 8 losses overall. The Falcons finished third in the Pikes Peak Conference, with a 9-5 league record. The Falcons finished the season strong the second half by winning six out of their last eight league games, including five wins in a row, before Northridge ended their season in the district tournament in a tough and disappointing 3-2 loss.The Falcons were led on offense by five players who hit over the .400 mark. Senior John Solberg was second in the league with an average of .509 and led the league in home runs with six bombs. Sophomore Wyatt Aaberg was third in the league with a .481 average and also belted four homers. Sophomore Benjamin Mcdowell was seventh in the league with a .464 batting average, and senior Jacob Mcdowell hit .433 and was 10th in the league. Senior Jason Elster hit .422 and was 15th in the league. Thatís four hitters in the top 10 for Falcon, and five in the top 15.No other team in the league had that many hitters in the top 10 or top 15. Two of those players in the top seven are sophomores. Solberg led the Falcons this year in RBIs with 24, and Aaberg was next with 20 RBIs.
