Nobody would have blamed the SVHS track & field team if there had been some kind of letdown in the middle distance events. After all, they lost two top three scorers from last year but that’s just not the way things work for for a program that has learned to visit the pain cave on a regular basis.

Embracing the hurt of the 800 meter run, Star Valley has won the past two 3A team titles but even with some of the impressive performances of years past, they’ve never done anything like they did on Friday morning Casper.

Wyatt Peck set a new 3A Classification mark en route to winning the individual state title with a time of 1:51.75. Interestingly enough, this is nearly three seconds slower than his personal best which stands as the SVHS school record set at the BYU Invite earlier this season.

Following Peck was indeed a processional during this graduation season as Wesley Kallgren (1:59.06), Peter Visser (1:59.30) and Dustin “Bubba” Brown (2:00.08) helped the Braves to a literal sweep of the event with a 1-2-3-4 finish and a whopping 29 points earned for the team in about two minutes time.

“It was something we discussed,” head coach Ty Draney said of the sweep. “We knew it was a possibility. Half the field hadn’t raced Wyatt yet and if we were patient that we might be able to have things play out how we wanted.”

According to Draney runners from the East jumped out early trying to hang with Peck but it was the final kick from Visser and Brown as they passed up the field in the home stretch that completed the sweep.

“It was fun to see these guys rewarded for all the hard work that they put in,” he said.

Draney praised the chemistry of the team during their development and borrowed a few thoughts from Kallgren.

“They have definiltely come together,” he said. “Wes summed it up pretty well. There have been ups and downs but they’ve pulled together to carry the mantle and we’re sure proud of them.”

•Thursday recap

The points are added to a good outing on Thursday where the Braves picked up 24 team points in the 3200 meter run behind a state championship from Kallgren (9:47.74) and a runner-up finish (9:54.94) from freshman Visser. Star Valley’s 38 points after Day 1 led second place Buffalo and Douglas who sat with 15 points.

Embracing the pain of the 800 paid off on Thursday as well as the quartet of Jesse Loveland, Brown, Kallgren and Visser kept the school tradition of winning the 4 x 800 meter relay which they did by nearly 15 seconds.

With the 1600, the 400 and the sprint finals still coming up on Saturday, the Braves have positioned themselves nicely to compete for the three-peat, a feat which would come on the heels of a 43-year title drought.

As for the Lady Braves, the 4 x 800 meter relay team of Emmy Heywood, Jacie Angell, Shaelee Angell & Lacy Coles won the state title and along with another group effort in the 3200 meter run, had the Lady Braves in second place after Day 1 with 28.0 team points, trailing Cody’s 38.5.

Janice Hall has qualified for the 100 & 200 meter finals on Saturday, both events where she has earned all-state honors in the past.

CLICK HERE FOR RESULTS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE.

After a pair of lightning delays in the late afternoon on Friday, the Braves padded their team lead heading into the final day with a second place finish in the 4 x 100 meter relay and a state championship in the new sprint medley. The group of Jackson Tully, Dustin Brown, Alias Erickson & Wyatt Peck set the bar for the state’s newest event with the all-class state record.

For the Lady Braves, the 4 x 100 meter relay had some troubles with injuries while junior Olivia Muir won the 3A triple jump.

At the end of Day 2, the Braves hold a whopping 50-point lead over second place Mountain View with 90.0 team points. The Buffs are at 40.0 points with Buffalo rounding out the top three at 33.0 points.

The Lady Braves in in a very close three-way battle for second place in the 3A girls team scores after Day 2. Cody leads the team race with 77.5 team points. Lyman is second with 49.5 and Star Valley is third with 48.0. Riverton is close behind with 45.0 points.