In the second part of our recap of the 2022-23 school year, we take a look at the many achievements of Moffat County athletes in recent months.

Swimming

The winter season was a productive one for Bulldog swimmers with a combination of Moffat County, Steamboat Springs and Meeker pool patrons.

Zoe Anfang was the team’s fastest competitor in nearly half their events, including three wins at meets across the season, while fellow Steamboat freshmen Evie Gruben had two first-place finishes and was the best in the 50-yard freestyle, and Anna Richman the best in the 100 backstroke.

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The three, along with MoCo junior Megan Neton, also dominated in each of the relay events.

The team qualified for eight state events, as well as junior Natalie Womble in the 50 free unified race. Gruben, Richman, Neton and Anfang had their best finish as a group in the 400 free relay, placing 16th with a season-best 4:07.86. The same foursome also earned 27th in the 200 medley.

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Gruben took 38th in the 100 free and 26th in the 500 free, and Richman 30th in the 100 back as well as joining Meeker senior Kate Lockwood, MoCo senior Mary Willems and Neton in the 200 free relay, placing 31st.

Anfang placed 12th in the 200 individual medley and became the first MCHS swimmer since 2013 to medal in a state race with sixth place in the 500 free at 5:32.17.

With the boys swim season set to take place in the spring, the team did not have enough local athletes able to commit.

Wrestling

The usual fanfare with Bulldog wrestling was even greater this winter as not one but two teams took to the mat with the debut of a girls wrestling team, coached by Ashleigh Seely.

A packed roster with Craig, Meeker, and Hayden athletes picked up plenty of wins throughout the season, leading up to the Region 4 Tournament where the Bulldogs earned fifth place as a group and saw seven wrestlers place in the top six.

MoCo senior Makaela Simpson picked up a regional championship at the 170-pound weight class, while juniors Adrianna Price (105) and Kenleigh Pubanz (235) each earned silver honors, with freshmen Kayla Deaton (130) and Cydny Witherell (135), finishing third and fourth, respectively.

While they didn’t make the cut for state, sophomore Mikah Vasquez (115) placed fifth and sophomore Raegan McMillan sixth in the 110 class.

At the 3A Region 2 tournament under new head coach Mark Voloshin, MoCo boys were only five points behind Alamosa for the team championship but nonetheless earned four individual titles — senior Kaden Hixson (126), junior Eli Fredrickson (144), sophomore Zach Hedman (157), senior Michael Voloshin (165). The Dogs also saw five more grapplers qualify for state as junior Blake Hill was regional runner-up at 190, sophomore Kaeden Martinez took third in 138, and fourth place went to junior Aron Aguilar (150), senior Billy Lawton (190) and junior Cyrus Goldsmith (215).

At state, the list of Bulldog wrestlers was slowly whittled down with Michael Voloshin placing fifth, and Hedman and Lawton each sixth.

Hixson and Simpson each made it to the finals, with Simpson paired with her rival Nevaeh Garcia of Platte Valley and Hixson with Brush’s Nick Dardanes. Simpson held on through three rounds to take a loss by 13-5 major decision to finish second in the state with a 35-4 record.

Finishing 49-7 for the year, Hixson went into overtime but ultimately won 10-8 by sudden victory to become the first MCHS state champion since 2007.

All-Conference: Eli Fredrickson, Zach Hedman, Blake Hill, Kaden Hixson, Adrianna Price, Kenleigh Pubanz, Makaela Simpson, Michael Voloshin, First Team; Aron Aguilar, Kayla Deaton, Cyrus Goldsmith, Billy Lawton, Kaeden Martinez, Cydny Witherell, Honorable Mention

All-State: Kaden Hixson, First Team; Makaela Simpson, Second Team

Basketball

After making a return to the playoffs in 2022, Bulldog boys hoops struggled to make it to that level again with a 7-16 season full of close results. Bumped up into a new division, MoCo placed seventh in the 4A Western Slope League with a 5-9 conference record.

Even so, the Dogs had some standout numbers with junior Evan Beaver and senior Marcos Romero each recording double-doubles, with Romero also the team leader in rebounds (120) and blocks (24).

Ranked third in the league in scoring, junior Bryant Carlson led the squad in points (312), assists (70) and steals (39), and showed his proficiency with a 32-point game against Middle Park.

For the girls program, a mid-season change in coaching could have meant some troubles, yet the team adapted quickly to leadership under Seth Watson.

The group took third in the 4A WSL, 8-4 in conference play, as well as 13-9 overall, including winning eight of their last 10 games.

In a narrow postseason loss of 56-52 to Kent Denver, Cayden King had a personal-best 24 points to cap off a season that saw her return from an ACL injury her junior year, ultimately named Conference Players of the Year and selected for the The Show’s senior game in the Denver Showcase at Metro State University.

King and fellow senior Lizzy LeWarne shared MVP honors and battled it out in scoring, with LeWarne leading the team with 242 points as well as assists (56) and blocks (28), plus topping the league rankings in rebounds — a single-season school record 281 — and a dozen double-doubles.

All-Conference: Bryant Carlson, Cayden King, Lizzy LeWarne, Emma Tucker, First Team; Cort Murphy, Brook Wheeler, Honorable Mention

All-State: Bryant Carlson, Cadyen King, CHSAA Honorable Mention; Cayden King, Lizzy LeWarne, Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports

Baseball

In its first full season under head coach James Romansky, Bulldog baseball earned both big wins and close losses in a rocky spring that put them at 8-14 overall.

After a slow start, MoCo athletes had some of their best results in the middle of the season as they battled some of the top teams in the state, such as 3A Western Slope League rivals Coal Ridge and Delta, and also swept past some of the less challenging conference foes, placing sixth in the 3A WSL.

In terms of numbers, MCHS had bragging rights with senior Easton Eckroth compiling the best batting average (.522) in the league. Eckroth also led the team in RBIs with 26, while senior Easton Briggs led in stolen bases with 11. Though Eckroth, Briggs and junior Zaylan Kirby each hit home runs this season, Marcos Romero had the best slugging percentage (.857) with three triples.

With the most appearances on the mound, Kirby held a 6.38 ERA and led in strikeouts with 41.

All-Conference: Easton Eckroth, First Team; Easton Briggs, Zaylan Kirby, Honorable Mention

Track and Field

It was another strong spring for the MCHS girls track and field, with good results leading to a 3A Western Slope League meet in which they finished fourth as a group and claimed conference championships in both the 4×100-meter relay — Quincy Lowe, Sadie Smilanich, Cayden King and Camila Nunez, 52.27 — and 4×400 — Cayden King, Teya Miller, Alexis Jones and Lizzy LeWarne, 4:20.21.

The girls qualified for state in every relay event, as did Smilanich in the 200 dash, Alexis Jones in the high jump and Alexis Herndon in shot put. The final meet saw their best ranking in the 4×200 relay, jumping to sixth place from a No. 9 seeding as Nunez, Miller, Alexis Jones and Smilanich clocked in at 1:47.56.

If it was a good season for girls, it was a great one for guys, who gained a regional team title at the league event, with wins for Hudson Jones in the triple jump, Andrew Duran in the 200, and Evan Atkin in the 100 dash, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.

Bulldog boys made it to state with teams in every relay event, plus Duran and Zeke Cordero in the 200, Owen Gifford in the 800 run, and Ian Hafey in the discus.

Hudson Jones placed fourth in the triple jump (43 feet, 3 inches) and Hafey made it onto the podium in ninth for a throw of 135-5.

Though the relays didn’t go as smoothly as planned, the group of Cordero, Duran, Jimi Jimenez, and Atkin took eighth in the 4×100, while Cordero, Duran, Gifford and Atkin were runners-up in the 4×400 at 3:21.07 — one of two teams to beat the 3A state meet record, also setting a new MCHS record in the race in the process.

Earlier in the season, Cordero, Duran, Jimenez, and Atkin set a new record in the 4×200 at 1:29.69.

This season also saw Atkin set an individual record in the 400 dash (50.11) and twice break the school record in the 300 hurdles, with the 38.49 time he ran in his final race earning him a state championship.