Depth helped Powell win Class 3A state track and field titles

Powell doubled its pleasure at the Wyoming State High School Track & Field Championships last weekend.

The Panthers girls’ team held on for a narrow victory over runner-up Worland (105.5-103) to win its third consecutive Class 3A title. The boys’ team, meanwhile, survived a late surge by Lander to win its first since 2014.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Powell head coach Scott Smith said after the awards ceremony. “This is my 32nd year as the head coach and this is the first time both teams have won state championships in the same year.”

Boys

Senior Daniel Merritt, who won the 800-meter run, finished second in the 3200 and fourth in the 1600, accounted for 23 individual points and also ran a leg on the Panthers’ fourth-place 1600 sprint medley team.

Junior Isaiah Woyack added gold in the triple jump and silver in the high jump to lead a strong showing in the field events in which Powell scored 46.5 points. Sophomore Cody Seifert finished second in the triple jump and third in the long jump, along with a fifth-place showing in the 100.

Merritt said winning the team title was a perfect ending to his prep career.

“This is all I could ever wish for,” he admitted. “When it mattered most we came together.

“We had a really strong team my freshman year and then COVID canceled that so this kind of felt like revenge for that season.”

In addition to the strong individual performances, Smith credited his team’s depth — 14 different Panthers found their way to the podium — and health as key factors in their state title.

“We were able to stay healthy and other teams like Torrington and Mountain View had some bad luck,” he said. “We stayed healthy and didn’t make mistakes.”

Mountain View, which had defeated Powell by 0.5 points (158-157.5) at the West Regional, and East Regional winner Torrington weren’t as fortunate. The Buffalos finished a close third with 91 points and the Trailblazers were fourth with 81 despite senior sprinter Brendan Flock scoring just one point in the 100 and missing both the 200 and 400 finals with an injury

Still, that didn’t take away from the Panthers’ accomplishments.

“At the beginning of the season we weren’t predicted to win and we weren’t predicted to win coming into state,” Merritt said. “So to pull it out like we did was huge. I still can’t wrap my head around it.”

Girls

Powell’s strength in the field events (57.5 points) and the relays (26) played a huge role in the three-peat.

Senior Sydney Spomer won the triple jump for the Panthers’ only individual title, but they also got second-place finishes from senior Ine Kollstad (long jump, triple jump) and junior Addy Thorington (high jump). And seniors Anna Bartholomew and Megan Jacobsen and sophomores Kinley Cooley and Kenna Jacobsen earned 10 points by winning the 4x800 relay.

Just like the boys, the girls finished with 14 athletes on the podium.

“We have a lot of kids with a lot of medals, and as a head coach that makes me happier than anything,” Smith said. “I told them to get as many medals as we can and at the end of the day someone is going to punch a button and say, ‘Oh, here’s the team scores.’ If you take care of the individual medals the rest will all fly.

“These kids did a good job of improving every week,” he added. “They worked really hard and they support each other. It’s been a lot of fun to work with them. I think it just came down to the fact that they worked really well together as a team.”

Follow sports editor Jack Nowlin on Twitter @wyovarsity

State Track & Field Championships

Class 3A

Girls

TEAM: Powell 105.5, Worland 103, Lander 85, Rawlins 84, Torrington 63, Wheatland 55, Buffalo 50, Mountain View 46.5, Pinedale 46.5, Lovell 22, Lyman 17, Moorcroft 10, Glenrock 7.5, Thermopolis 4, Douglas 3.

100: Desirae Iacovetto, Whe, 12.43; Brooklyn Asmus, Tor, 12.62; Cherise Douzenis, Wor, 12.73; Avery Crane, Lan, 12.74; Avery Bever, Lan, 12.74; Kalistynn Crippen, Wor, 12.77; Caroline Bradshaw, Lym, 12.97; Maddy Lloyd, Wor, 13.01.

200: Cherise Douzenis, Wor, 25.87; Desirae Iacovetto, Whe, 26.04; Brooklyn Asmus, Tor, 26.25; Avery Crane, Lan, 26.35; Maddy Lloyd, Wor, 26.65; Kalistynn Crippen, Wor, 26.69; Waycee Harvey, Pow, 26.78; Alexa Colman, Lan, 27.16.

400: Cherise Douzenis, Wor, 57.50; Eva Nitschke, Raw, 58.02; Lily Nichols, Whe, 58.75; Waycee Harvey, Pow, 58.90; Marissa Moorehouse, Tor, 59.53; Anna Bartholomew, Pow, 59.72; Ellie Kaufman, Lan, 1:00.49; Shae Whitlock, Wor, 1:01.53.

800: Ryann Smith, Raw, 2:15.18; Lily Nichols, Whe, 2:18.07; Amee Newman, Lov, 2:21.18; Anna Bartholomew, Pow, 2:22.07; Ameya Eddy, Lan, 2:22.42;.Madison Antonino, Pin, 2:22.87; Megan Jacobsen, Pow, 2:22.96; Briley Farris, Buf, 2:23.48.

1600: Ryann Smith, Raw, 5:03.54; Madison Antonino, Pin, 5:05.88; Zena Tapia, Wor, 5:19.35; Ameya Eddy, Lan, 5:26.26; Mallory Jones, Mor, 5:31.90; Marlee Jones, Lan, 5:33.52; Kinley Cooley, Pow, 5:37.08; Makinzea Lynch, Raw, 5:37.77.

3200: Madison Antonino, Pin, 11:31.29; Ryann Smith, Raw, 11:33.25; Zena Tapia, Wor, 11:41.85; Ameya Eddy, Lan, 11:50.73; Mallory Jones, Mor, 12:15.29; Kinley Cooley, Pow, 12:20.11; Harris Tanner, Raw, 12:20.67; Natalee Rudy, MV, 12:27.33.

100 hurdles: Eva Nitschke, Raw, 14.73; Carly Norman, Buf, 14.95; Jaylee Antonino, MV, 15.05; Shae Whitlock, Wor, 16.06; Natalie Hawes, Tor, 16.12; Olivia Maertens, Buf, 16.58; Alaina Gross, Buf, 17.01; Shania Scheel, Raw, 18.10.

300 hurdles: Eva Nitschke, Raw, 44.23; Jaylee Antonino, MV, 44.80; Lily Nichols, Whe, 46.00; Carly Norman, Buf, 46.74; Shae Whitlock, Wor, 47.13; Natalie Hawes, Tor, 47.27; Shania Scheel, Raw, 47.35; Mylie Micheli, MV, 47.56.

4x100 relay: *Worland (Maddy Lloyd, Kalistynn Crippen, Nyssa Leyva, Erika Manahan) 49.97; Rawlins 50.37; Torrington 50.50; Lander 50.58; Wheatland 50.60; Lyman 51.18; Powell 51.66; Douglas 53.57.

4x400 relay: Torrington (Alyssa Wondercheck, Natalie Long, Trishell Pontario, Marissa Moorehouse) 4:05.56; Worland 4:06.28; Powell 4:11.73; Lander 4:13.22; Lovell 4:13.97; Mountain View 4:14.08; Douglas 4:20.89; Glenrock 4:24.25.

4x800 relay: Powell (Kinley Cooley, Kenna Jacobsen, Megan Jacobsen, Anna Bartholomew) 9:58.91; Lander 10:10.98; Buffalo 10:35.00; Lovell 10:44.51; Rawlins 10:45.49; Thermopolis 10:59.16; Pinedale 11:04.76; Torrington 11:12.82.

1600 sprint medley: #Rawlins (Trista Palmer, Shania Scheel, Makinzea Lynch, Ryann Smith) 4:14.04; Powell 4:20.95; Lander 4:22.04; Buffalo 4:23.62; Worland 4:29.68; Pinedale 4:31.52; Moorcroft 4:40.73; Torrington 4:45.28.

High jump: Mya Hutchings, MV, 5-02; Addy Thorington, Pow, 5-02; Anna Richardson, Wor, 5-00; Grace Peterson, Buf, 4-10; Makenzi Partridge, Glk, 4-10; Jaylee Antonino, MV, 4-10; Desirae Iacovetto, Whe, 4-10; Megan Boulter, Pin, 4-08; Charity Siggins, Pow, 4-08.

Pole vault: Mylie Micheli, MV, 10-03; Avery Crane, Lan, 10-00; Lauryn Bennett, Pow, 9-06; Olivia Maertens, Buf, 9-00; Grace Whiting, MV, 9-00; Alexa Colman, Lan, 9-00; Sophie Berglund, Buf, 9-00; Kacey Otero, Whe, 8-06.

Long jump: Lily Nichols, Whe, 17-00; Ine Kollstad, Pow, 16-09.5; Marissa Moorehouse, Tor, 16-09; Waycee Harvey, Pow, 16-08; Sage Bradshaw, Lym, 16-07.75; Alyssa Wondercheck, Tor, 16-04.75; Cherise Douzenis, Wor, 16-02.5; Carly Norman, Buf, 16-01.75.

Triple jump: Sydney Spomer, Pow, 36-03.5; Ine Kollstad, Pow, 35-10; Marissa Moorehouse, Tor, 35-05.5; Trishell Pontarolo, Tor, 35-04; Waycee Harvey, Pow, 35-02.5; Sophie Berglund, Buf, 34-09.25; Madilyn Glanz, Wor, 33-10; Ina King, The, 33-00.

Shot put: Katy Dexter, Pin, 42-03.25; Adelyn Anderson, Lan, 39-10.5; Manaia Peterson, Wor, 36-05.5; Kallie Owens, Lov, 35-09.75; Caroline Bradshaw, Lym, 35-07.75; Grace Coombs, Pow, 35-06.5; Katie O’Brien, Pow, 35-05; Carissa Lindsay, Lov, 35-01.25.

Discus: Katy Dexter, Pin, 146-01; Adelyn Anderson, Lan, 120-03; Manaia Peterson, Wor, 120-00; Grace Finkle, Buf, 119-11; Caroline Bradshaw, Lym, 115-00; Katie O’Brien, Pow, 114-05; Ann-Marie Young, Glk, 112-04; Carissa Lindsay, Lov, 111-07.

#State record

*Class record

Boys

TEAM: Powell 107.5, Lander 99, Mountain View 91, Torrington 81, Worland 55.5, Lovell 54, Douglas 53, Lyman 47, Buffalo 40, Wheatland 28, Rawlins 23, Newcastle 9, Thermopolis 8, Glenrock 1, Pinedale 1.

100: Carson Eardley, MV, 11.10; Kieran Murray, Buf, 11.27; Tyler Bohnen, Whe, 11.33; Cody Seifert, Pow, 11.49; Jack Pasquinelli, Lan, 11.51; Gabe Harris, Lan, 11.71; Adnan Khan, Lov, 11.88; Brendan Flock, Tor, 12.38.

200: Gage Gose, Lan, 22.14; Kieran Murray, Buf, 22.98; Tyler Bohnen, Whe, 23.30; Angel Ruelas, Wor, 23.69; Holden McConkey, New, 23.89; Corbin Lake, MV, 23.96; Dylan Packard, Tor, 24.24.

400: Reed McFadden, Lan, 50.06; John-Paul Danmeyer, Dou, 51.14; Matisse Weaver, Lan, 51.74; Duncan Boyd, Raw, 51.85; Corbin Lake, MV, 52.27; Seth Needham, The, 52.84.

800: Daniel Merritt, Pow, 1:59.01; Reed McFadden, Lan, 1:59.24; Aydan Loya, Tor, 1:59.59; Preston Nichols, Lov, 2:00.22; John-Paul Danmeyer, Dou, 2:00.46; Tanner Johnson, Dou, 2:00.84; Tayden Bell, MV, 2:00.98; Brigham Fanos, Lym, 2:01.62.

1600: Aydan Loya, Tor, 4:28.69; Tayden Bell, MV, 4:33.49; Trajn Swalstad, Wor, 4:33.54; Daniel Merritt, Pow, 4:39.00; Cash Henrie, MV, 4:40.63; Harley Redding, Wor, 4:41.24; Colt Henrie, MV, 4:42.05; Aquinas Lasnoski, Lan, 4:44.29.

3200: Trajn Swalstad, Wor, 10:02.93; Daniel Merritt, Pow, 10:11.38; Cash Henrie, MV, 10:14.75; Dash Madsen, MV, 10:22.08; Diego Lobatos, Lan, 10:26.60; Colt Henrie, MV, 10:27.42; Cody Hinman, Raw, 10:28.58; Ethan Rayo, Buf, 10:34.28.

110 hurdles: *Gage Gose, Lan, 14.24; Reed McFadden, Lan, 15.23; Noah Mitchell, Wor, 15.48; Hyrum Jeide, Pow, 15.50; Stuart Shoopman, Pow, 16.22; Simon Shoopman, Pow, 16.26; Duncan Boyd, Raw, 16.73; Trennan Pearson, Dou, 16.93.

300 hurdles: #Gage Gose, Lan, 36.09; Carson Eardley, MV, 38.93; Hyrum Jeide, Pow, 40.20; Dawson Utterback, Wor, 41.18; Duncan Boyd, Raw, 41.30; Simon Shoopman, Pow, 41.35; Benjamin Fuller, Tor, 41.70; Tyson Muir, MV, 43.11.

4x100 relay: Torrington (Brendan Flock, Benjamin Fuller, Landre Greiman, Dylan Packard) 44.09; Lander 44.40; Powell 44.45; Wheatland 44.93; Lovell 45.12; Worland 45.33; Newcastle 45.89; Rawlins 45.97; Mountain View 46.13.

4x400 relay: Lander (Reed McFadden, Matisse Weaver, Aidan Russell, Gage Gose) 3:23.84; Mountain View 3:24.05; Douglas 3:33.62; Lovell 3:33.72; Buffalo 3:35.31; Rawlins 3:36.31; Wheatland 3:38.13.

4x800 relay: Buffalo (Zach Freise, Brodyn Lambert, Cole Rasmuson, Ryan Rasmuson) 8:20.34; Mountain View 8:21.64; Worland 8:30.32; Douglas 8:35.23; Thermopolis 8:37.67; Rawlins 8:44.40; Torrington 8:51.14; Powell 8:52.71.

1600 sprint medley: Lovell (TJ Scheeler, Gavin Robertson, Ben Nichols, Preston Nichols) 3:40.10; Torrington 3:40.18; Mountain View 3:40.80; Powell 3:41.41; Worland 3:43.36; Lander 3:44.63; Rawlins 3:46.42; Glenrock 4:00.72.

High jump: Braydon Bradshaw, Lym, 6-04; Isaiah Woyack, Pow, 6-04; Trennan Pearson, Dou, 6-02; Owen Walker, Lov, 6-00; Sam Gregory, Lym, 5-10; Bryant Demott, Tor, 5-10; Jace Hyde, Pow, 5-08; Brodie Zwetzig, Dou, 5-08; Bryce Stenson, Whe, 5-08.

Pole vault: Carter Bradshaw, Lym, 13-00; Ethan Jackson, Whe, 12-00; Jeremy Harms, Pow, 12-00; Wyatt Heffington, Pow, 12-00; Canton Green, Wor, 11-06; Adam Williams, Pow, 11-06; Dawson Utterback, Wor, 11-06; Bryant Demott, Tor, 11-00.

Long jump: Benjamin Fuller, Tor, 20-11.75; Adnan Khan, Lov, 20-07; Cody Seifert, Pow, 20-03.5; Trennan Pearson, Dou, 20-03.25; Carter Bradshaw, Lym, 20-02; Bryce Camino, Buf, 20-01.25; Xander Lyman, Lym, 20-01.25; Angel Ruelas, Wor, 20-01.

Triple jump: Isaiah Woyack, Pow, 44-02; Cody Seifert, Pow, 43-04.5; Adnan Khan, Lov, 42-05.5; Bryce Camino, Buf, 41-05; Owen Walker, Lov, 41-04.75; Matthew Newman, Lov, 40-06.25; Blake Wilson, Lov, 40-05; Charlie Fonseca, Raw, 40-04.25.

Shot put: Dane Branson, MV, 50-06; Tyler Bennick, Tor, 49-04; Tegen Seeds, Dou, 47-07.25; Trey Parriott, Tor, 46-08; Dylan Huelskamp, Lan, 45-09.25; Jacob Prell, New, 44-09.25; Brayden Frazier, Tor, 44-06.25; Carter Archuleta, Dou, 41-09.75.

Discus: Braydon Bradshaw, Lym, 147-03; Ryan Baker, Tor, 143-07; Max Gregory, Lym, 138-03; Tegen Seeds, Dou, 135-06; Tyler Bennick, Tor, 134-11; Dane Branson, MV, 134-09; Carter Archuleta, Dou, 132-11; Lance Rabel, Buf, 128-09.

#State record

*Class record

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Jack Nowlin

Sports editor

Jack Nowlin returned to the Star-Tribune in 2007 after eight years covering Michigan State University athletics. A Wyoming native, and a graduate of Jeffrey City High School and the University of Wyoming, Jack serves as the Star-Tribune’s sports editor.