The Kemmerer High School track and field teams were on the road over the weekend for the final two meets of the regular season, competing at the Bobcat Invitational Friday in Thermopolis, and dropping by Lander on their way back home Saturday for the Shane Brock Invitational.

The Lady Rangers placed second as a team behind Worland at the Bobcat Invite, while the Rangers placed fourth; both teams placed fourth at Saturday’s Shane Brock, as KHS head coach Phil Thatcher rested a few of his athletes after three straight days of competition, with Kemmerer having hosted the Larry Rector Invitational Thursday.

“I thought over the whole weekend the kids did a great job,” Thatcher said. “Tons of PRs, and four records broken; the kids just kept performing. It was a hot weekend, and by the time Saturday rolled around, we pulled a few events from some kids. But for the most part, kids came out and produced really well.”

The KHS track and field teams will now ready themselves this week for the 2A West Regional Meet in Shoshoni, scheduled to begin Friday.

“I think we’re going to be pretty tired after this weekend,” Thatcher said. “We’re going to go pretty light this next week and practice, do a lot of stretching and just working on technique with some running and jumping and handoffs, things like that — let these kids come in and feel full energy come the weekend. We’ve obviously got our big guns, we expect them to perform, and they expect themselves to perform. But these other kids that have been role players are starting to step up and see some success. I think our boys’ relays are sitting well for state. The girls are going to have a couple of relays. They’re going to sit pretty good. We’re going to rely probably a little more on individual performances this year than we have in the past. But I like where we’re sitting.”

 

Bobcat Invitational

Friday’s Bobcat Invitational featured a healthy mix of 2A and 3A competition among the over 20 teams that competed, with the Lady Rangers placing second overall, behind 3A powerhouse Worland; the Rangers finished fourth.

Three school records also fell in Thermopolis, making it a very productive day for the KHS track and field programs.

Lady Ranger senior Laynee Walker — no stranger to rewriting the record books during her career at KHS — shattered her own school record in the pole vault, clearing 11 feet, 6 inches.

“Man, she’s really starting to get up there,” Thatcher said of Walker. “I mean, from what she’s done over the last few years — to go from 8 feet to 11 feet, 6 inches — she’s put in a lot of work. And she’s wanting to compete well at state, and not just with 2A — she wants to show that she can hang with all those girls. She’s worked with Coach Micheli down there at Mountain View a lot. I just hope she can go out with a bang at state, see what she can do.”

For her part, Walker said hitting the 11 feet-plus mark is something she would have never thought possible just a couple of years ago.

“It felt so good to hit that mark; I was almost in disbelief,” Walker said. “If I could tell sophomore me that I would hit 11’6” in the future, I would never believe it.”

Ranger hurdler Cole Rogers also had a record-setting day, setting the new standard in the 110 hurdles with a blistering time of 14.29; to give that time a little context, last year’s winning time at the 4A State Track and Field Championships in Casper was 14.86.

“Cole ran well down at BYU, and you hear it from coaches sometimes —  they’re athletes,” Thatcher said. “You go down to Utah, you run good times, you can do it in Wyoming. Well, he came out to Wyoming and smoked those hurdles. That was a great performance by him. Last year he dealt with a lot of injuries — I think he only had about two or three meets that he actually ran, and it was really bothering him, and he ended up really hurting it. But he went through and strengthened it, and he’s been pretty diligent about staying strong. And then he came back, and, boy, he has really shown that he’s got some wheels.”

Finally, the Lady Rangers’ 4x400 team of Natasha Martinez, Ella Thatcher, Claire Crosland and Laynee Walker set a new school record in the event with a time of 4:06.20, good enough for second place.

“We have three seniors and one sophomore — Claire Crosland — and man, is she fast,” Thatcher said. “We put that team together a couple weeks ago, and they ran a 4.13, and our record was 4.10. We thought, ‘Man, these girls are good enough to do it.’ So we tried it down at the BYU Invite and just didn’t quite get it done. We had a talk with the girls, and I think they were just determined to do it. They went out and competed. Worland came in with a fast team, and so we were trying to stay in front of them. And, boy, they ran really well. It was a nice, warm day. And they really got that baton around the track and to go to a 4.06. That’s a pretty legitimate time, third in the state out of all classes. Laney and Claire both went minute flats, and Tosh and Ella both went 1.02s – that was about what we could do. I actually think we could get a little faster than that.”

Other notable performances included Jolee Swasey, who won the long jump (16’8.5”) and Derek Hagler, who won both the shot put (51’2.5”) and discus (147’3”).

 

Shane Brock Invitational

Closing out the regular season at Saturday’s Shane Brock Invitational in Lander, the KHS track and field teams were feeling the effects of three meets in a row, though that didn’t keep senior thrower Derek Hagler from etching his name in the record books.

Hagler uncorked a toss of 54 feet, 6.25 inches in the shot put to break former Ranger Brent Hartman’s record of 54 feet, 3.5 inches – a record that stood for nearly three decades.

“Derek’s really starting to put it out there,” Thatcher said. “He’s been throwing solid upper 40s, low 50s, but really hasn’t hit the 50s a whole lot. We were hoping he could find his groove again, because he was really throwing well the first three weeks of the season, but then he kind of hit a little lull. And then this weekend he really kind of came out and re-established himself and, hopefully, [at] just about the right time of year to carry that through regionals and state.”

Hagler said he knew when he let it go it was a good toss; he was just hoping he hadn’t stepped out of the ring.

“My first thought was to not scratch it and ruin the throw,” he said. “Being the new record holder has been one of my biggest goals starting my freshman year. I told coach Thatcher that one day I would break it, and it finally happened.”

Turning his attention now to regionals and state, Hagler said it’s time to turn his expectations into reality.

“I want to be a 3-peat regional champ and a two-time state champ in the shot and a discus state champ,” he said. “Being the new record holder, I plan on making it a lot harder than the last record to break. I want it to stand for another twenty years, so I can eventually show my kids the record.”

 

Bobcat Invitational

Girls Results

1. Worland 170, 2. Kemmerer 84, 3. Big Piney 66, 4. Green River 49, 5. Pinedale 47.50, 6. Lovell 40, 7. Riverside 34, 8. Encampment 27, 8. Burlington 27, 10. Shoshoni 26.50, 11. Saratoga 24, 12. Glenrock 23, 13. Thermopolis 21, 14. Rawlins 16, 15. Greybull 14, 16. Rocky Mountain 10, 17. Wind River 8, 18. Farson-Eden 6, 19. HEM 5, 20. Ten Sleep 2, 21. Little Snake River 1, 21. Dubois 1

100 Meter Dash

3. Jolee Swasey 12.84, 4 Claire Crosland 12.99, 36. Kaila Mancini 15.15

200 Meter Dash

33. Kaila Mancini 31.75

800 Meter Run

33. Clara Vega 3:23.37

1600 Meter Run

19. Clara Vega 7:42.63

3200 Meter Run

9. Emileen Dearden 15:15.95, 13. McKenna Whitbeck 15:44.71

100 Meter Hurdles

3. Laynee Walker 16.64, 5. Claire Crosland 17.02

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Laynee Walker 46.82, 4. Claire Crosland 48.60

4x100 Relay

10. Hadlee Wood, Riley Meyer, Laranda Waldner, Kalyn Lockwood 56.32

4x400 Relay

2. Natasha Martinez, Ella Thatcher, Claire Crosland, Laynee Walker 4:06.20

4x800 Relay

8. Riley Meyer, McKenna Whitbeck, Emileen Dearden, Laranda Waldner 11:32.05

1600 Sprint Medley

4. Jolee Swasey, Natasha Martinez, Ella Thatcher, Janae Skidmore 4:48.71

Pole Vault

1. Laynee Walker 11’6”, 5. Riley Meyer 7’6”

Long Jump

1. Jolee Swasey 16’8.5”, 13. Ella Thatcher 14’10”

Triple Jump

3. Jolee Swasey 33’.5”, 14. Ella Thatcher 30’3”

High Jump

9. Janae Skidmore 4’7”

Shot Put

11. Janae Skidmore 31’5.25”, 12. Hadlee Wood 31’1”, 17. Cambree Dearden 29’2”, 31. Addie Anderson 26’1.5”

Discus Throw

7. Janae Skidmore 102’10”, 12. Hadlee Wood 90’9”, 17. Cambree Dearden 83’5”, 40. Grace Smaldon 63’6”

 

Boys Results

1. Thermopolis 136, 2. Lovell 81, 3. Worland 79.50, 4. Kemmerer 61, 5. Burlington 60.50, 6. Glenrock 46.50, 7. Big Piney 39, 8. Saratoga 29, 9. Little Snake River 26, 10. Pinedale 22, 11. Wyoming Indian 21, 12. Rawlins 19, 13. Green River 12, 14. Rocky Mountain 11, 14. Ten Sleep 11, 14. Farson-Eden 11, 17. Encampment 7.50, 18. Riverside, 19. Fort Washakie 5, 20, Wind River 4, 20. HEM 4, 22. Dubois 2, 23. Meeteetse 1, 23. Greybull 1

100 Meter Dash

35. Noah Parks 12.37, 70. Jacob Platt 13.45

200 Meter Dash

32. Marcus Rachael 25.20, 35. Noah Parks 25.58, 39. Sam Thatcher 25.78, 51. Abram Hartmann 26.77

400 Meter Run

29. Noah Parks 59.65

800 Meter Run

17. Chase Benson 2:17.44, 31. Callahan Ryerse 2:28.78, 48. Calvin Erickson 2:49.54

1600 Meter Run

24. Kane Jimenez 5:23.90, 25. Able Jimenez 5:24.18, 35. Calvin Erickson 6:28.71

3200 Meter Run

6. Bowman Sandall 11:31.87, 10. Carlos Schneider 12:09.62

110 Meter Hurdles

1. Cole Rogers 14.29, 12. Colter Krell 17.72

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Cole Rogers 38.05, 9. Colter Krell 45.32

4x100 Relay

9. Bridger Anderson, Marcus Rachael, Sam Thatcher, Bryson McGill 47.57

4x400 Relay

3. Bridger Anderson, Brent Erickson, Bryson McGill, Cole Rogers 3:37.16

4x800 Relay

2. Brent Erickson, Chase Benson, Kane Jimenez, Bowman Sandall 9:12.25

1600 Sprint Medley

5. Bryson McGill, Marcus Rachael, Bridger Anderson, Brent Erickson 3:57.78

High Jump

9. Bryson McGill 5’6”, 14. Bridger Anderson 5’4”, 26. Kane Jimenez 5’2”

Pole Vault

9. Bowman Sandall 10’6”, 16. Jacob Platt 9’6”, 19. Able Jimenez 9”

Long Jump

31. Marcus Rachael 16’4”

Shot Put

1. Derek Hagler 51’2.5”, 43. Abram Hartmann 33’.25”, 54. Beau Jackman 30’11.5”, 73. Jace Barton 25’9.5”

Discus Throw

1. Derek Hagler 147’3”, 9. Sam Thatcher 119’11.5”, 19. Colter Krell 111’4”, 22. Abram Hartmann 110’9”

 

Shane Brock Invitational

Girls Results

1. Rock Springs 132, 2. Lander Valley 125, 3. Riverton 82, 4. Kemmerer 78.50, 5. Cody 75, 6. Shoshoni 26, 7. Encampment 25.50, 8. Wind River 21, 9. Little Snake River 9, 10. Dubois 4, 10. Arapahoe Charter 4

100 Meter Hurdles

3. Claire Crosland 17.07

100 Meter Dash

3. Laynee Walker 12.93, 6. Jolee Swasey 13.30, 40. Kaila Mancini 15.54, 49. Stefania Dascalu 17.93

4x100 Meter Relay

2. Hadlee Wood, Riley Meyer, Laranda Waldner, Kalyn Lockwood 56.05

400 Meter Dash

1. Laynee Walker 1:00.17

300 Meter Hurdles

6. Riley Meyer 53.25

800 Meter Run

9. Ella Thatcher 2:42.34, 11. Janae Skidmore 2:46.64, 18. Emileen Dearden 3:00.27, 19. Laranda Waldner 3:00.70

200 Meter Dash

2. Claire Crosland 26.85, 27. Kaila Mancini 32.99

High Jump

5. Janae Skidmore 4’5”

Pole Vault

1. Laynee Walker 11’

Long Jump

3. Jolee Swasey 16’, 6. Ella Thatcher 15’1”

Triple Jump

3. Jolee Swasey 31’9.5”

Shot Put

8. Hadlee Wood 31’10.5”, 10. Janae Skidmore 31’4”, 17, Cambree Dearden 28’7”, 26. Addie Anderson 24’9”, 28. Grace Smaldon 24’4”, 30. McKenna Whitbeck 23’4.5”, 33. Emileen Dearden 23’1”, 37. Kalyn Lockwood 22’5”, 39. Emma Culler 22’2”

Discus Throw

6. Janae Skidmore 104’8”, 11. Hadlee Wood 97’11”, 13. Cambree Dearden 89’6”, 26. Addie Anderson 69’, 31. Emma Culler 63’7”, 34. McKenna Whitbeck 59’7”, 37. Grace Smaldon 58’3”

 

Boys Results

1. Lander 150.50, 2. Rock Springs 135, 3. Riverton 124.50, 4. Kemmerer 65, 5. Little Snake River 52.50, 6. Wyoming Indian 51, 7. Dubois 23, 8. Encampment 21.50

4x800 Relay

3. Brent Erickson, Chase Benson, Kane Jimenez, Bowman Sandall 9:06.80

110 Meter Hurdles

7. Colter Krell 17.27

100 Meter Dash

19. Bridger Anderson 12.32, 23. Noah Parks 12.58, 35. Sam Thatcher 12.91, 44. Jacob Platt 13.63

1600 Meter Run

11. Bowman Sandall 5:17.04, 16. Able Jimenez 5:31,90, 18. Carlos Schneider 5:38.29, 24. Callahan Ryerse 5:48.42

4x100 Relay

4. Bridger Anderson, Marcus Rachael, Noah Parks, Bryson McGill 47.80

400 Meter Dash

5. Bridger Anderson 55.23, 12. Bryson McGill 58.24, 15. Noah Parks 59.16, 16. Chase Benson 59.39, 17. Marcus Rachael 59.74

300 Meter Hurdles

4. Colter Krell 44.57, 8. Brent Erickson

800 Meter Run

17. Abel Jimenez 2:30.68, 20. Carlos Schneider 2:35.97, 21. Callahan Ryerse 2:38.00

200 Meter Dash

13. Bryson McGill 25.16, 21. Marcus Rachael 25.78, 22. Brent Erickson 25.87, 27. Sam Thatcher 26.43, 31. Jacob Platt 27.77

3200 Meter Run

6. Calvin Erickson 15:36.30, 7. Gabe Platt 15:49.94

High Jump

3. Bryson McGill 5’8”, 6. Kane Jimenez 5’4”

Pole Vault

3. Bowman Sandall 11’6”, 5. Jacob Platt 9’

Long Jump

19. Marcus Rachael 15’10”

Shot Put

1. Derek Hagler 54’6.25”, 33. Beau Jackman 33’7.5”, 43. Abram Hartmann 30’2.5”, 51. Jace Barton 27’9.5”, 54. Jacob Platt 25’5.75”

Discus Throw

1. Derek Hagler 145’9”, 11. Sam Thatcher 116’4.5”, 14. Colter Krell 115’6.5”, 20. Abram Hartmann 105’11.5”, 46. Beau Jackman 88’9”, 56. Jace Barton 80’1.25”