Mary Friery can climb in the clutch.

The Eagle Climbing + Fitness athlete shrugged off a twisted ankle and reached a low zone on her fourth and final boulder in the finals of the USA Climbing Division 4 championships on Feb. 9 in Oklahoma City. The last-second points bumped her up to sixth place, punching her ticket to the national championship later this summer in Portland, Oregon.

“Just unbelievable grit, determination and persistence,” said coach Larry Moore, who was standing by Friery’s mom when the athlete came off her second climb wrong and injured her lower extremity.

“We thought, ‘that’s it for her, she’s done for the day,’” Moore continued. Instead, the Eagle Valley senior hobbled over to a chair, put her shoe back on and tested the start holds at the third boulder. Even though she didn’t score points there, her attempt ended up being critical. Friery used the remaining four minutes — plus the rest time between that boulder and the final rock — to regain her composure and reach the low zone on the fourth problem.

“We were just amazed she got back on the wall and continued,” Moore said.

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Three other Eagle Climbing + Fitness athletes competed at the event. Brynn Lindal made the 13-person final, finishing 12th in the F17 category. Ada Cole and Nora Pyle were 17th and 26th, respectively in the F15 division. Friery, who competed in the F20 age group, is the third climber from Moore’s gym to make USA Climbing nationals. Only 18 climbers from the area have ever made it to nationals, he stated.

“It’s a true testament to her commitment,” Moore said of Friery. “She was a beginner climber when she started with her team. Now she’s qualified for state, she’s going to go to the ASCL national event, she’s qualified for USA Climbing nationals. She’s really matured and gotten super strong and continued to develop her skills. And the results speak.”

Lindal and Friery both qualified for the American Scholastic Climbing League (ASCL) state competition by placing 11th and 12th, respectively, at the Western Slope Regional event at Grand Valley Climbing in Grand Junction on Feb. 1. The state competition is Saturday at Gripstone Climbing in Colorado Springs.

At the regional event, Moore’s gym racked up a few other notable successes. Waylon Larson won the middle school title handily, scoring 7,509 points. Indy Ratzlaff placed sixth and sixth-grader Tanner Liesegang also made the top 10 in eighth.

“It was a really great competition for Waylon. He just continues to climb really strong,” Moore said before adding that the seventh-grader was impressing the high school kids with his moves. “There was a couple routes that only one or two people got, and he was one of the furthest up the wall other than those who finished — and those people were in high school.”

Siena Katzenberger was the top Eagle Climbing + Fitness athlete on the girls side, placing fourth in the middle school girls standings. Chloe Cavanaugh finished ninth.

While the bouldering season wraps up this weekend, Moore said the transition to lead/top rope has already begun. The first USA Climbing lead/top rope competition is in Colorado Springs this weekend as well. Athletes are competing to qualify for the regional event on May 10, where the top 13 athletes advance to the Division 4 championships on May 31 in Louisville, Colorado. The top six from that competition will join Friery at nationals in Oregon.

“We’re super proud of all the athletes and grateful that families made the commitment to travel to Oklahoma for this event,” Moore said. “It was a super fun weekend to celebrate the kids and their successes.”