Eagle Climbing and Fitness kicks off bouldering season with back-to-back USA Climbing and ASCL events

The bouldering season arrived last month with back-to-back competition weekends at Eagle Climbing and Fitness.

The gym saw 150 region 41 climbers from across the Front Range and Western Slope congregate on Oct. 28 for a USA Climbing event and 140 more return to contest 30 boulders at the American Scholastic Climbing League (ASCL) season opener Nov. 4.

“The kids did well,” said Larry Moore, the gym owner and club coach. “It was super well-received. We had an incredible route-setting team.”

---

---

Eagle Valley freshman Brynn Lindal took the varsity girls individual title at the ASCL event, scoring 9,600 points as the Devils won the team title over perennial state power Colorado Rocky Mountain School.

“They often win state,” Moore stated of CRMS. “So to get first place as a team and for Brynn to get first place as a freshman are both huge deals.”

---

---

“I was so surprised. I definitely did not expect it. Very excited,” said Lindal, who only began climbing 2 1/2 years ago. “It was really nice to have my teammates and coaches there to celebrate with me.”

Fellow Devils Reese Manley, Iris Sheldon and MaryBeth Friery went 4-5-6, respectively, out of 37 climbers.

“As a team, we’re very supportive of each other. I think all of us have gotten way stronger since last season,” Lindal said, adding that the squad pushes each other in practice and shares beta at competitions.

“We all want each other to be better.”

Elliot Gray-Lopresti placed second to lead the gym’s varsity boys competitors. He duked it out with CRMS junior Devin Bush at both the Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 events.

“It’s fun to see him competing at such a high level and climbing so strongly,” Moore said.

“I told him, ‘it’s time for you to become friends with those guys, not just competitors. You guys should be out climbing together because you’re all so strong.’ That’s kind of the world of climbing — even the best competitors in the world are friends inside and outside of competition.”

Eagle Climbing and Fitness club members dominated the middle school ranks as well. Holly Berghauer, Violet Voboril, Chloe Cavanaugh, Hayley Morahan and Peyton Harmon swept the first five places respectively on the girls side and Dylan Hewitt and Wyatt Larson went 1-2 for Eagle Valley on the boys side.

“It was a great day for all of our athletes,” Moore said.

“We have some great depth all the way down to the elementary school-aged athletes. Super proud of the kids. They’ve been training hard and they deserve it. They’ve been working for it and the results are showing.”

In the elementary competition, Siena Katzenberger scored 7,236 points, which would have put the 10-year-old in seventh overall in the varsity girls competition.

“She’s super strong and a great addition to our team,” Moore said of the Carbondale-based athlete, who joined Eagle Climbing and Fitness after her home gym, the MonkeyHouse, closed last month. The MonkeyHouse also supplied Moore’s gym with a few new volumes and macros. Moore said the giant holds have been a hit and provided a nice surprise for regulars at both competitions.

“People who have been coming to our gym for competitions over the years didn’t know what to expect either, so it was pretty neat in that regard,” he said.

Eagle Climbing and Fitness created a new team, the Junior Elite Talons, to provide a more advanced elementary-to-middle school option in between the Junior Talons and Elite Talons squads. The seven-member Junior Elite Talon squad practices three days a week for 2 1/2 hours each night. Moore also said the gym has a bunch of new kids who’ve joined the entry-level Eagles team.

“So, kind of a mix of different types of growth. The team is doing really well,” he said.

For Lindal, individual growth has come in two forms: physical strength and climbing acumen. Without the stress of weekly competitions in the summer, the freshman enjoyed overloading her training volume this offseason.

“That definitely helped,” she said of her consistent three to four days per week of summer workouts.

“I’ve definitely gotten way stronger and (become) a way better climber, but also listening to my coaches and the mental part of competitions — as I’ve done more competitions, I’ve gotten better.”

Lindal’s goal for the USA Climbing circuit is to return to the Region 41 championships and possibly even qualify into the insanely competitive Division 4 event. The latter competition takes the top 13 climbers from regions 41 and 42 — perhaps the most densely talented region in the country — and winnows the field down to six national qualifiers. Last year, Elliot Gray-Lopresti, Dylan Hewitt and Ella Regjo competed at the USAC bouldering division 4 championships.

“I want to continue to have fun in comps and just try my best,” Lindal said. “The best feeling is leaving a comp, knowing I gave everything I could and gave it my best shot.”

On the ASCL side, she thinks the Devils should shoot for a state title.

“Oh yeah for sure,” she stated. “I definitely think as we’ve won this first one, we now actually maybe see that in the future.”