Gunnison High School (GHS) fall sports teams have been super busy in recent weeks. Following are just some of the highlights from Homecoming Week and beyond:

Volleyball squad registers second dub

The Cowboy volleyball team secured their second win of the season on Tuesday night. GHS scorched the Salida Spartans in three straight sets.

The win moves the Cowboys to 2-6 for the season, after they picked up a loss to Cedaredge on Homecoming. Senior Zoe Koch was a dominant force at the net for GHS, while Katelyn Fuller went on a hot streak to give her team an early lead.

Against Cedaredge, GHS fell 3-1, but put up a great fight along the way. The sets were close and The Bullpen was packed. Gunnison students showed great support for their volleyball team. 

The first set was a win for Gunnison, 26-24. After dropping a quick game two, GHS was just edged out in game three, 26-24. Quincy Copenhaver had multiple clutch serves late in this set, almost pushing Gunnison over the edge. 

The Cowboys’ next matches will be on Saturday against Rifle and Grand Valley. 

Golfers swinging into the postseason

The boys’ golf team was in Durango last week playing tournaments back to back days at Hillcrest Golf Course and Dalton Ranch Country Club. 

At Hillcrest, senior Skylor Wild took the team scoring title with a score of 77,  six strokes above par. Fellow senior Daniel Mikkelson was not far behind with a score of 80. The Gunnison team finished in 5th place with a collective score of 243 strokes.

The next day, at Dalton Ranch, the team did not perform to its greatest abilities. The course was stupid hard and the greens were fast. Skylor Wild once again had the best score on the team with an 86, fourteen strokes above par. The team collectively finished in 9th place with a score of 275 strokes. 

This week is the Regional Tournament, which is held in Cortez, where the team can only take four people. Skylor Wild, Danny Mikkelson, sophomore Preston Pike, and senior Conner Zummach will compete to make the cut for  the State Tournament the following week.  

Softball team slides 

The Gunnison Softball team had a thrilling Homecoming Week, as they had two home games against the Sierra Stallions, from Colorado Springs, and one away game against Delta. 

Gunnison lost 8-5 during the first game against Sierra. Sierra had a fast start with all of their eight runs in the first four innings. The Cowboys trailed the whole game, but had a final push with three runs in the final inning. Senior Tahlayn Fee had a good game at bat, going 2-for-4 with one run.

In the later half of the doubleheader, GHS bounced back after the tough loss.

The Cowboys creamed the Stallions with a score of 11-3 in game two. Gunnison was up all game with a score of 4-2 going into the 6th inning. The Cowboys then scored seven more runs in the sixth to push the score to 11-2.

Seniors Tahlayn Fee and Melita Ferchau had great games both having three RBIs and going 3-4 at the plate. Fee had three runs on the day, leading the Cowboys to the victory. 

In Delta, the Cowboys were up early, with a 8-4 lead going into the fifth inning. In the 5th inning, Delta scored five runs to Gunnison’s two, putting them in a trailing position by one run.

In the last inning, Gunnison scored two more runs but it was not enough. Delta put up another four runs to win the game.

The Cowboys’ next game is home at 2 and 4 p.m. on Friday, September 24, against Meeker.

XC teams defend home turf

The GHS cross country teams started off the season on the right foot Saturday, September 18, on the Van Tuyl trails behind the Gunnison Community School. The girls team finished fifth overall in a stacked field, while the boys were fourth as a team.

The girls team was led by freshman Madelyn Stice, who took fourth place overall in a time of 20:24.89. Sophomore Izabelle Hartzell finished 17th with Justine Mowery just behind her in 18th and Samantha Jones finishing 36th.

Senior Jackson Baker led the pack for the GHS boys team, crossing the line in 17:22.45 for fourth place overall. Senior Garrett Brauch was 9th overall, Rowen Downum finished 16th and Marshall Mangum was 31st.

The Cowboys will hit the trail again this weekend when they travel to Crested Butte.