Day One of the three-day State Wyoming Track and Field Championships were completed on Thursday on the campus of Kelly Walsh High School in Casper.
The running events began with the 3200 meter event in which Star Valley junior Jase Burton placed second with a time of 9:40.87, earning All-State honors. Sheridan senior Landrum Wiley won the race with a 9:38.55. Habtamu Wetzel was fifth with a 9:49.09. Star Valley sophomore Colton Cranney also ran in the race, placing 14th. The Lady Braves had a pair of runners in the race but neither finished in the top eight with sophomore Gracie Visser placing 14th and freshman Kylee Linford placing 20th.
Lady Braves’ standout, Valerie Jirak, leaped an impressive 19’ 4.25” to place second in the 4A long jump. It was only outdone by Cheyenne East’s Taliah Morris who set a new overall state record with an amazing distance of 20’ 8.5”. Jirak, who will compete in track and field for Duke University next year, had the field’s fastest preliminary time in the 100 meter hurdles.
The SVHS boys sprint medley team placed seventh with Khale Clinger, Bryson Nield, Peter Lorch and Preston Ross combining in the effort. On a related note, the overall state mark of the event, which was set in 2018 by Star Valley’s Jackson Tully, Alias Erickson, Dustin Brown and Wyatt Peck, was broken by Cody High School.
Team standings in the 4A ranks after the first day have Cheyenne East leading the girls team scores with 24 points. Natrona was second with 18 and Kelly Walsh was third with 13. Star Valley was ninth with 8 points.
The Braves are third after the first day of competition with 14 team points, trailing Cody (20) and Sheridan (26) in the standings.
Events on Friday are expected to deal with high winds in Casper, prompting the rescheduling of certain field events such as the pole vault.
Both Kammi Merritt and Habi Wetzel are returning state champions looking to add to their career accolades.
CLICK HERE FOR THE WHSAA STATE TRACK AND FIELD PAGE –
Also in Lincoln County School District No. 2 (LCSD), Cokeville’s Bryli Groll dominated the 3200 meter run en route to a state championship with a time of 12:44.42 in the 1A Girls class. She was nearly 40 seconds in front of the second place runner. Bailey Bird placed fifth and Sarah Dietz placed eighth from CHS.
The Cokeville quartet of Layla Brodt, Cambry Harmon, Dakota Vierig and Mia Dayton set a new 1A record in the sprint medley with a time of 4:29.43 which also earned them a state championship. Rachel Thomas and Brodt placed second and third in the long jump, an All-State leap for Thomas. Addison Barnes had the fastest preliminary time in the 100 meter hurdles on Thursday.
For the Panther boys, Drake Plowman won the 3200 meter race with a time of 10:15.14. Blaze Plowman was fourth.
In the 1A ranks, the Cokeville girls scored 39 points to top the standings after the opening day. The Panther boys are third with 15 points, trailing Upton (26) and Burlington (44).
In 2A, the Kemmerer Lady Rangers are expected to be in the running for the top of the podium by the end of the weekend and are tied for 6th. Listen to more about the Kemmerer Track and Field team as the Weekday Wake-up spoke with head coach Phil Thatcher from Casper on Friday morning.
