Following a 2A State Track and Field Championships that saw the Kemmerer girls win their first state title since 1984, Lady Rangers head coach Phil Thatcher has been named the 2A Coach of the Year for girls’ track and field by the Wyoming Coaches’ Association.

“Those girls, I’ll tell you — they make you look good,” Thatcher said. “I’ve never really gone after accolades like that — I see coaches get Coach of the Year, and it’s usually the championship team. You see some of those teams that maybe take third and fourth, and their coaches are busting their butts just to get them to that spot. I was just fortunate to have the group of kids that I had — they had the ability and the talent to achieve such a big thing.”

After finishing runner-up to Big Piney last season, the Lady Rangers finally got the monkey off their back in 2024, winning the overall team title at the 2A State Track and Field Championships in Casper by just six points over the Lady Punchers, 113-107.

The Lady Rangers earned 13 individual spots on the podium, led by three individual state championships by junior Laynee Walker and a pair of All-State performances from fellow junior Natasha Martinez; the team also won three relay titles.

Thatcher was quick to credit his assistant coaches — Shelby Thatcher (jumps, sprints, relays), Katie Schulthess (hurdles, sprints, relays) and Alex Poncelet (throws) — for the team’s success.

“To be named Coach of the Year — and I know it’s kind of cliche — but without those girls, and without my assistant coaches, none of this happens,” he said. “My assistant coaches did the lion’s share of the work — they’re working with the kids in their specific areas, and they do so much work with those kids. For me to be Coach of the Year — I think that’s a little overstated for what I actually did for the team. It should be Coaching Staff of the Year.”

Having coached a variety of Kemmerer