The Star Valley cross-country teams repeated as double-team champions for the first time, the Lady Braves volleyball team swept Pinedale on senior night and the Braves football team remained undefeated in a road clash that determined the 3A West’s top seed. Look for more detailed coverage in the October 25, 2017 edition of the Star Valley Independent.

•Cross Country

The Braves distance posse now need both hands to describe their program’s Wyoming 3A state titles as the team put all five scoring runners into the top seven spots overall for an amazing 22 total points. Cody was second with a team total of 78 and Worland was third with 108.

Individually, junior Asefa Wetzel won the race as he outpaced Worland’s Porter Harm by 11 seconds. Wetzel finished with a time of 16:28.38. Wesley Kallgren was third overall with a 16:40 and the trio of Peter Visser (16:55), Trevor Clark (17:16) and Taylor Horsley (17:20) finished 5th, 6th & 7th to all earn All-State honors.

It is the sixth consecutive team title for the program. Kallgren, Clark, Spencer Angell and Dustin “Bubba” Brown represent the senior class.

The Lady Braves cross-country team repeated for the first time in program history as they finished with a razor-thin margin of victory over Cody, 50-51. Star Valley had all five scoring members in the top 16 while Cody’s first two runners had faster finishes but their scoring five finished 10th, 17th and 19th. It is the third overall team title for the girls cross-country program (2012, 2016, 2017).

Rawlins’ freshman phenom, Sydney Thorvaldson, scorched the course as she challenged the state’s overall record with a time of 17:49. Cody had the next two finishers in Riley Smith and Baylee Stafford. Star Valley was led by Emmy Heywood’s 4th place finish, followed by freshman Jacie Angell’s 6th place effort. Both ladies earned All-State honors.

The battle for the team title came to a head over the next 50 seconds as Star Valley and Cody’s runners jostled for positions. In the end, it was one single position over the course of an entire field in the top-20 that determined the outcome as Martha Pieper (11th), Brooke Kallgren (13th) and Shaelee Angell (16th) made the difference. Angell’s time was just three seconds in front of Cody’s Kathryn Sauerwein and nine seconds in front of the Fillies’ Ranchel Sanchez.

CLICK HERE FOR RESULTS FROM STATE CROSS-COUNTRY

SVHS will honor the championship teams with the traditional firetruck ride on Monday, October 23.

• Volleyball

The Lady Braves played their final home matches of the 2017 season as they hosted the Pinedale Wranglers on Friday night.

The freshman team rallied from an early 9-20 deficit to claim their first set, 26-24 and then win again, 25-14.

The junior varsity went three games with the Wranglers as they won, 25-20, 20-25 & 25-18.

Finally, the varsity team picked up their second sweep of the week as they won 25-18, 25-22 & 25-19 to give seniors Janice Hall and Emilee Hokum a victory in their final match on senior night.

Olivia Muir led the team with 21 kills while freshman McKenna Brog had 13.

The volleyball team will be in Riverton next weekend for the 3A West Regionals. The Lady Braves will take on the Powell Panthers in the opening round. Star Valley defeated Powell at the Outlaw Invitational in Rawlins and also at the 3A West Conference Duels in Mountain View earlier this season.

• Football

In a battle for the 3A West Conference crown in Green River, the Braves football team collected their third shutout of the season in a 21-0 victory over the Wolves. With a brutal wind whipping the length of the field, the Braves ran the ball 64 times for 438 yards to go (9-0) on the season and win the program’s 15th consecutive game.

Josh Dawson carried the ball 30 times for 178 yards and a pair of touchdowns to break the school’s single-season TD mark. He now has 21 total for the season. While Dawson was the workhorse in the second half, it was the speed of Wyatt Moore who put the Braves on top to begin with. The speedy junior returned after missing seven games due to injury to run for 114 yards on just 11 carries including the game’s first touchdown from 48-yards out in the second quarter. Hunter Jacobson finished with 99 yards on the ground as well.

Another pivotal moment came in the second quarter as the Star Valley defense stopped the Wolves with a goal-line stand after a Braves fumble. The defense has only allowed 48 total points in their last eight games and the team has outscored their opponents 353-90 during the regular season.

Because of a jumbled 3A East, a coin flip took place on Saturday, October 21, between Douglas, Buffalo and Rawlins who all finished the evening in a three-way tie. The Outlaws were the odd men out and will travel to Star Valley as the #4 seed out of the East for a 5 p.m. kickoff time on Friday, October 27. The Bearcats will travel to face Green River and the Bison claimed the #2 seed out of the East and will host the Cody Broncs. The only other match up was determined prior to kickoff with the Worland Warriors traveling to face the Torrington Trailblazers.

The last time Star Valley played the Outlaws was on the Rawlins field in a 39-0 victory in 2005. One has to go back much further to the last time Rawlins High School’s football team played in Afton. The last time was under Coach Jerry Hart in 28-16 victory in the 1972 season.