Both Laramie Track Teams Finish Runner-up in ‘T-Town’

Laramie High School’s track and field teams concluded the regular season with second place finishes at the Wiseman Invitational last Friday in Torrington.

The two teams combined for 15 total event wins with sophomore Emmy Johnson and freshman Taylor Gardner leading the way. Both won two individual events, while Johnson was part of two victorious relays.

Johnson won the 100-meter dash in a personal best 12.68 seconds. She followed that with a win in the 300 hurdles by nearly three seconds. Here time was 46.12 seconds, while the runner-up from Central was at 48.98. Johnson also ran a leg on the first place 4x100 meter relay (49.33) and 4x400 meter relay (4:10.65). Laramie won the 400 relay by close to two seconds. They blew the field away in the 1600 meter relay with a margin of victory of just over 10 seconds.

Gardner won the 100-meter hurdles in 16.07 seconds. She also captured first place in the triple jump with a leap of 33 feet-10 inches.

The Lady Plainsmen also picked up a first-place finish from senior Becky Barbier in the 400 meters. She won with a personal best time of 1:01.58 and led a 1-2-3 sweep for LHS. Junior’s Ketisa Akambasi (1:02.99) and Kyleigh Bingham (1:03.07) came in second and third, respectively.

The Laramie girls also had 13 other top-eight finishes at the meet that produced points for the team. The Lady Plainsmen scored 165.50 and ended up well back of Cheyenne Central (260 points) in the team standings.

The Plainsmen had six different individuals win events, and they also won a pair of relays in route to their runner-up team finish.

Senior Tyler Dahl ran the 400 meters in 49.44 seconds and crossed the line in first place. Senior Liam McInroy won the 800 meters in 2:05.55. LHS swept the two distances races. Senior Philip Henry won the 1600 meters (4:29.69), while senior Albert Steiner captured the 3200 meters (10:02.54). Junior Jason Upton won the 300-meter hurdles in 41.58 seconds. The final event victory from an individual was by junior Matt Smith, who went 21 feet-3.5 inches and topped the field in the long jump.

The Plainsmen also won the 4x400 meter relay (3:28.23) and 4x800 meter relay (8:18.00). Both victories came by five seconds or more.

Eleven other top-eight performances resulted in more points to LHS’ total.

As a team, the Laramie boys scored 147 points and finished nine back of Cheyenne East at 156.

Laramie Track and Field will compete at the 4A East Regional Track meet in Cheyenne hosted by Central High School at Riske Field Friday and Saturday.

Laramie Soccer

With a chance to finish second in the conference and earn an automatic bid to the state tournament, the Laramie Plainsmen soccer team split their final two conference matches last weekend.

The fifth-ranked Plainsmen defended their home turf with a 2-1 victory over Cheyenne East last Friday night at Deti Stadium. Enrique Isidro and Timmy Atencio had goals for LHS, as they rallied for their fifth straight victory.

Their win streak ended Saturday with a loss at No. 2 Cheyenne Central, 2-0. The Indians scored early in each half for the victory.

The Plainsmen finish in third place in the 4A East Conference. They will face No. 6 seed Cheyenne South in a first round, loser-out, regional tournament game Thursday in Gillette. It will start at 7 p.m.

Laramie carries a 7-5-2 overall record into the post-season.

As for the Lady Plainsmen, they were already locked into fourth in the conference but took care of business with a 4-1 victory at Cheyenne East last Friday night. Sekoya Romero had the hat trick with three goals that led LHS in their victory.

Laramie is 7-5-1 on the season and will rematch against East at this week’s 4A East Regional Tournament in Gillette. The Lady Plainsmen play the Thunderbirds at 5 p.m. Thursday in the first round, loser-out, match.