Laramie Track Shines in Sturgis

It was a banner day for Laramie High School Track and Field last Saturday in Sturgis, South Dakota at the Black Hill Track Classic.

Laramie won eight events and set three meet records with a select group of student-athletes competing.

Head coach Gil Bradfield said after deciding who would go, the performances were real good.

“The idea of just getting some different competition really helped. They showed that kids from Laramie, Wyoming can do a good job on the track and in the field events. We were pretty pleased with the whole thing.”

Eight boys and seven girls reached pre-qualifying marks for the Wyoming State Track and Field Championships.

Senior McCade Johnson led the charge by sweeping both hurdle events. That included winning the 300 hurdles in a meet record time of 38.31 seconds. That eclipsed the old mark of 39.04 that had stood since 2007.

The Plainsmen also set a meet record in their victory in the 4x400 meter relay. They won by over four seconds with a time of 3:25.00. That beat the old mark of 3:30.14 from 2013.

The final record was courtesy of the Lady Plainsmen 4x800 meter relay, who topped the field by over 31 seconds. Their time of 9:46.17 beat the old mark by over eight seconds, 9:54.96, set back in 2013, as well.

The Laramie boys also won the 4x100 and 4x800 meter relays. Junior Albert Steiner crossed the finish line first in the 3200 meters. His time was 9:38.94. Senior Reid Baty added a pair of runner-up placings in the 200 meters and high jump. Junior Philip Henry came in third in both the3200 and 1600 meter runs.

The Laramie girls also got a victory from freshman Abigail Whitman in the 1600 meters with a time of 5:11.14. Senior Maria Smith-Lopez took second in the 3200 meters and fourth in the 1600.

No team scores were released from the meet.

Last Friday another group of student-athletes went to the LoboCat Roundup in Fort Collins. The meet was cut short because of weather.

Junior Caely Pickerd led the way with a runner-up finish in the javelin, throwing 68 feet. She added a fifth place in the 100 meter hurdles. Fellow junior Kyra Wulff was fifth in the 100 meters, while the Lady Plainsmen 4x200 meter relay was also fifth.

This is the final week of the regular season for high school track and field in Wyoming. Regional track meets are next weekend with the state meet in Casper May 18-20.