McClaren Wins a State Title; Laramie Volleyball Remains Perfect

If you missed it, Laramie has a state golf champion. Junior Jackson McClaren won the 4A Boys title on Saturday in Casper.

It was another good weekend of competition for the fall sports teams at Laramie High School.

LHS Golf

McClaren rallied from a four-shot deficit and captured his first state championship. The junior shot rounds of 80 on Friday and 73 on Saturday for a two-shot victory.

McClaren’s effort helped the Plainsmen finish in fifth place as a team at the state championships. Laramie finished behind Sheridan, Jackson, East, and Central. No other Laramie boy was among the top-20.

On the lady’s side, senior Camryn Nagy finished in 31st place. The Lady Plainsmen took ninth as a team. Thunder Basin won the girls’ team title followed by Jackson and Sheridan.

LHS Tennis

The tennis teams opened their post-season action with play in the South Regional Championships in Green River and Rock Springs.

Both squads placed fourth and both scored 31 team points.

The Laramie girls were led by the No. 2 doubles tandem of Gerdes/Riedel and the No. 3 doubles team of Kersey/Vasquez, who both took second place.

The Plainsmen were led by O’Connor/Russow, who took second at No. 3 doubles. Sam Alexander added a third-place finish at No. 2 singles.

The teams head to the state championships in Gillette Thursday through Saturday.

Lady Plainsmen Volleyball

Laramie is the last undefeated prep volleyball team in the state. The Lady Plainsmen opened conference quadrant action against No. 4 Cheyenne East and Cheyenne Central.

LHS swept both Cheyenne schools. At home last Thursday, Laramie won 27-25, 25-22. 25-18 over the Thunderbirds. Alexis Stucky led the way with 15 kills and 23 digs. Maddie Stucky added 10 kills and 21 assists.

Head coach Jill Stucky said, “I was pleased with my team’s ‘will to win’ and how positively they responded in tight situations. We kept our focus on the prize and fought hard for the win.”

On Friday, Laramie won at Cheyenne Central, 25-22, 25-20, 25-12. Alexis Stucky finished with 18 kills and 19 digs.

Coach Stucky said, “This match was a grind. We had a touch of an emotional hangover from last (Thursday) night’s match but still managed to control the match against Cheyenne Central. We held on for a hard-fought ‘W.’”

Laramie is now 8-0 on the season and 2-0 in quadrant play.

The Lady Plainsmen will play in the Cheyenne Volleyball Duals on Friday and Saturday. They host Evanston on Friday at 6 p.m. Then on Saturday, it’s non-conference matches at Central and East at noon, and 3 p.m., respectively.

Lady Plainsmen Swimming & Diving

In their first road competitions of the season, Laramie rolled through their opposition in Jackson.

Last Friday, LHS won all three of its duals as part of the Jackson Duals. Laramie defeated Sublette County 153-47; topped Lander 119-76; and beat Jackson 127-68. They won six of the 12 events in the meet.

Saturday, Laramie placed first in the Adam Denton Memorial Invite with 458.5 team points. The Lady Plainsmen won nine of the 12 events. Lander came in second place with 334 points.

LHS heads to Kelly Walsh on Friday for a dual against the Trojans. That is followed by the Sheridan Invite with KW, Cheyenne East, and host Sheridan on Saturday.

Cross Country

Both Laramie cross country squads came in third place at the Michelle Ludwig Invite in Sheridan last Saturday morning.

Libby Berryhill led the Lady Plainsmen and took third individually. She recorded a time of 19:28.43, which was 24 seconds behind the winner from Natrona County.

Ted Rittle was the top finisher for the Plainsmen is in eighth place. He ran the course in 17:21.23.

Laramie will host the three Cheyenne schools for the High Plains Showdown at Jacoby Ridge, just east of Jacoby Golf Course. The varsity girls’ race is at 10 a.m. followed by the varsity boys’ race at 10:30 a.m.