Plainsmen Cross Country Skiers Excel on Home Course

Junior’s Liam McInroy and Albert Steiner won races on their home course, as Laramie host the Nordic Skiing meet last weekend at Happy Jack Rec Area east of town.

McInroy won the 7.5K freestyle race on Friday with a time of 24:29.75. He was 36 seconds faster than his nearest competitor. Steiner came in third place followed by teammate Sam Fay in fourth.

Saturday saw Steiner capture the top spot in the 5K classic race. His winning time was 17:15.36. That was 12 seconds ahead of teammate Liam McInroy, who took second. Miles Stump came in sixth.

Laramie head coach Rebecca Watson said there were a number of factors that contributed to a great weekend.

“There were a number of boys that had some break-through races. Liam was on form; Albert had an amazing classic day; Miles had break-through race, and so did Sam Fay. Just was really fun to watch everybody just kind of come together this weekend on their home course, and just really ski the way I know they can.”

The Lady Plainsmen place one skier in the top eight in both races. Senior Hailey Schmidt placed eighth in Friday’s freestyle race, while freshman Abigail Whitman surged and finished third in the classic event on Saturday.

No team scores were provided.

This was the final tune-up before the 2017 State Nordic Skiing Championships in Jackson on Feb. 24 and 25.

Laramie Indoor Track and Field

Laramie won both team titles at the Shine Indoor Invitational last Friday at War Memorial Fieldhouse in a meet hosted by Laramie High School.

The Plainsmen won seven events led by senior McCade Johnson, who crossed the finish line ahead of competition in two individual events and was on two victorious relays.

Johnson won the 200 meters in a time of 23.43 seconds, which led a 1-2-3 finish for LHS. He added another victory in the 55 meter hurdles. Johnson’s time was 7.41 seconds. He also ran a leg on the winning 4x200 and 4x400 meter relays.

Laramie actually swept the relays with a victory in the 4x800 relay, as well.

The other event wins came from senior Reid Baty in the high jump and senior Reece Shannon in the triple jump. Baty leaped 6 feet-2 inches for the first in high jump. Shannon’s best mark in the triple was 40 feet-8 inches.

The Plainsmen scored 147.4 points and topped runner-up Cheyenne Central by ten. Cheyenne East and Natrona County rounded out the top four in a nine-team scored event.

The Lady Plainsmen also excelled in the relays, as they swept all three. As for individuals, Rachel Battershell led a 1-4 sweep in the 200 meters and also captured first place in the 55 meter hurdles.

The Laramie ladies scored 144 points. Central came in second at 96.5 points, while Natrona County and Cheyenne East took third and fourth among the ten teams that scored points.

A select group of qualified Laramie track athletes will head to the Simplot Games in Pocatello, ID Thursday through Saturday.

Plainsmen Wrestling

Laramie lost its final dual of the season with a conference defeat at Cheyenne South last Thursday night. The final score was 44-36 in favor of the Bison.

The Plainsmen won six of the 14 matches and all came by fall. Ethan Sell pinned his opponent in 23 seconds, while Carless Looney took only 48 seconds and Kaden Schriner took 56 seconds. Other pins came from Idris Elias, Arsenio Lemus and Ryder Gill.

Outside of two forfeits LHS gave-up, there was only one match decided by decision, and that went to South at 160 pounds.

Laramie finished with an 8-10 overall dual record, but went 0-5 in the 4A East Conference.

Next up is the 4A East Regional Wrestling Championships back at South High School in Cheyenne on Feb. 17 and 18.

Laramie Alpine Skiing

The Lady Plainsmen took third and the Plainsmen came in fifth place at the Cody Invite in Red Lodge, MT last weekend.

For a second straight race, junior Lena Weinstein finished in eighth place for both days of competition. She helped the LHS girls score 41 points over the two days of action.

James Barbier led the Plainsmen. He came in 14th last Friday and 16th on Saturday. The Laramie boy’s scored 13 points.

Jackson swept both team titles, as their girls score 160 points and the boys tallied 131.

Last Friday was slalom racing, while Saturday was giant slalom.

Laramie heads back to Hogadon Ski Resort in Casper for a meet hosted by Natrona this Friday and Saturday.