Photos taken at a Colorado high school were once about winning. Now, they're helping a small town remember.

Before last Saturday, they were simply sports photographs.

A state championship celebration. A hug between best friends. A proud older brother holding his little sisters while teammates celebrated around him.

Now, they are something much more.

They have become treasured memories for a grieving community.

As Eaton prepares to remember recent high school graduates Cash Rinker, Jack Dirksen and Cooper Nider with a celebration of life at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Eaton High School football field, friends say photographs taken over the past several years now preserve moments they'll cherish forever.

The three young men were passengers in an SUV that crashed July 25 on Weld County Road 80 at Weld County Road 39 east of Ault. The Colorado State Patrol says the SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed when it went into a ditch, and rolled over. Troopers say none of the five occupants was wearing a seat belt.

CSP Investigators said Thursday that, "Troopers are looking closely at impairment as a factor in this crash. Crash investigators found open and closed alcoholic beverages in the vehicle at the scene of the crash. The cause of this crash is undetermined at this time." The 20-year-old driver, who is from Wyoming, remains hospitalized. He has not been publicly identified or charged as the investigation continues.

In the days since the crash, friends have found comfort in photographs taken by Avery Golden, 20, a former Eaton High School student-photographer whose work now tells a story far bigger than athletics.

"I really just wanted to tell the story of what they were to Eaton — classmates, friends and really good athletes," Golden said. "I was able to capture that through my lens."

For Golden, who graduated in 2024, the camera was never just about sports. It was about the people behind the scores.

As a student-photographer, she documented championships, celebrations and ordinary moments that today carry extraordinary meaning.

"I got to capture these last few years of their lives, and it will be memories that will be cherished and continue to be admired," Golden said. 

Through her lens, she captured Jack Dirksen's determination on the wrestling mat and football field, along with the close friendship between Cash Rinker and Cooper Nider throughout Eaton's 2024 state championship baseball season.

"It was meaningful then, and now it's meaningful because, in a lot of those pictures, Cash and Cooper were together. It shows their friendship, their interaction with their teammates and how we were such a close-knit community," Golden said. "It just shows the love they had for everybody .... And it has a whole new meaning now that they're gone."

What once felt like ordinary moments now feel irreplaceable.

The photographs no longer tell the story of games or championships won.

They tell the story of friendships, of joy, and of three young men whose lives touched an entire community.

"All three of them were the most playful souls ever. They loved to have fun, loved to be with each other, loved to be with other people," said Zack Maske, who graduated from Eaton high school in 2024 and played baseball with Nider and Rinker.

"They were striving for greatness every day, whether it was in baseball, flight school, their faith, being an older brother, a younger brother, a family man. They were working toward the next biggest thing every single day," Maske said of the three young men who died.

Among Golden's photographs, one image has become especially meaningful.

It shows best friends Cash Rinker and Cooper Nider embracing moments after Eaton won the 2024 state baseball championship.

"The one where Cash and Cooper are hugging on the field after they won state in 2024, everyone was celebrating, and I think it's a special moment that I captured of them together," Golden said. "They were proud of each other. They were celebrating together, and I think that's a great representation of their friendship."

Another favorite photograph shows Cooper Nider after that same championship victory. While teammates celebrated around him, he chose instead to hold his three younger sisters.

"I just see him as the loving big brother. There was obviously so much going on on that field, everyone celebrating. Everyone wanted to take pictures, and he's sitting there hugging his little sisters. That really sums up Cooper," Golden recalled.

Maske says the image of Nider with his sisters perfectly reflects who his friend was. "Cooper was their whole world, and he was theirs. That is really cool. He was such a family guy every single day, and he would give the shirt off his back to all three of his sisters."

Golden says knowing those photographs will be treasured memories for grieving families gives her comfort.

"It makes me happy that I was able to preserve those moments for all of my friends at Eaton, their families, definitely a bittersweet thing," Golden said. 

Golden has since turned her passion for photography into a professional career and now lives in Texas.

Before last Saturday, her photographs of Eaton athletics celebrated games, effort and victories.

Now, they tell a much bigger story.