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Sports Goulash

Odds and ends of Wyoming high school sports.

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Five on the up and up

Posted by: Patrick Schmiedt on April 22, 2008 at 9:49PM EST

This week's list of the fab five, the teams that caught my attention and should be catching yours, too, if you know what's good for you...

1. Lingle girls track: The Doggers placed third at the Scottsbluff (Neb.) Twilight Invitational. That doesn't sound like much, but consider this: Lingle (school population of about 100) beat the likes of Kelly Walsh, Torrington, both Cheyenne schools, Alliance and Gering, Neb., and Sterling, Colo. -- all of which are at least five times the size of Lingle, if not more. The Doggers' Candace Wollert won the 400 and 800 and the 400 relay team won as well.

(Oh, and by the way, I couldn't help but smile when I saw the results of the girls' 100 hurdles final from Scottsbluff. KW's Jordan Merback was first at 14.53 seconds, while Lingle's Maggie Ochsner was second at 14.57. If you've followed Wyoming track and field, even casually, over the past three years, you know what kind of race this was.... For me, though, it was still a little bit disappointing, too, to see these times, because... well... after I saw those times, I really wanted to have been there there to SEE that race. Wow. As far as I know, they'll meet again on Friday at the Wyoming Track and Field Classic in Casper.)

2. Laramie boys track: While we're at it, let's recognize the Plainsmen, who came up half a point short in Scottsbluff to the hosts. Stephen Michel scored 40 of Laramie's 95 points, winning the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump, but he got quite a bit of help from his teammates. Ryan Ivy proved he can jump and run at the same time, winning the 300 hurdles while finishing third in the 110 hurdles, while Alex Walker, Alex Bradfield and Morgan Asay all added top-six finishes.

3. Rock Springs boys soccer: The Tigers picked up an important victory on Thursday, knocking off rival Green River 2-0. So what made it so important? Well, the Tigers still have a chance to grab the No. 2 seed out of the 4A West, and every conference victory is key. Rock Springs has now won three of those league games in a row and four of five.

4. Natrona County girls soccer: New goalie? No problem. With regular goalkeeper Ashley Akers likely done for the season with a hand injury, the Fillies moved defender Hannah Chapman into goal for their road swing in Evanston and Star Valley. The result was two more shutouts, as the Fillies beat Evanston 3-0 and Star Valley 2-0. NC has only given up one goal through 10 games this season.

5. Normative Services boys track: Friday was vintage Wolves at the Scott Hardy Invitational in Gillette. NSI didn't have a single individual winner, yet won the meet by 13.5 points over Big Horn. The two events the Wolves did win were both relays (the 400 and 1600 relays). From there, it was superior depth -- lots of seconds, thirds, fourths, fifths and sixths -- that boosted the Wolves to the strong finish. It's nothing new, but it's always fun to see.

There are my five. Feel free to highlight another team's accomplishments last weekend by posting a comment below.

Sweet.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

Send This | Categories: Soccer, Track

(20) Comments

Posted by: Kevin Williams on April 23, 2008 12:27PM EST

Patrick,

Good picks. As one who was at Scottsbluff on Friday, I can tell you it was fun to watch all the remarkable performances at the meet. Some of them could make a person shake their head at what they saw.

Posted by: Burke Binning on April 23, 2008 5:31PM EST

Kevin:

You've been going to the SB Twilight/Binfield Relays for years. Don't you find it sad that they still do not have a fully automatic timing (FAT) system? It is frustrating to view the results or talk to my dad about the Best of the West or Twilight and have to ask him if there was FAT yet. And always the answer is "No." It is rare that I have to ask about FAT in Wyoming--a lot of schools have it.

The problem I have with non-FAT meets is a race this close. One timer may have Merback at 14.63 and another has Ochsner at 14.57. But the pickers clearly saw Merback take the victory. How they could see who won with the naked eye when there was supposedly that much time seperating them, I do not know. So to correct the timing error, they give Merback a made up time to adjust their error. It's a crap shoot. Maybe Ochsner won, but someone timed Merback faster, so they gave her the win. It's a disservice to the athletes and the coaches. Borrow a timing system from local schools--I know Torrington has one.

Plus, how many timers can get it that close in a short race like that. I've been timing for years, as have you. How often are you way off on times in the short sprints/hurdles? My guess is as much as most coaches, but way less than the timers they get to work the local meet on their day/evening off.

I don't want to take away from what these two girls are running. Incidently, my sister had a momentous battle over a decade ago with a girl out of Gordon at the Best of the West meet. Gordon girl 14.4--my sister 14.9, awesome race. (My sister was a sophomore then--we know she got much faster) I don't think SB has had a battle like that until the other night.

Great job to the girls for their blazing times. I would like to see some records borken this year.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Posted by: Kevin Williams on April 24, 2008 9:41AM EST

Burke,

One of the reasons that we go to the Twilight Meet is that it is such great competition. Even better is that for the past two years they have had FAT timing, courtesy of the fine folks from Cheyenne. All of the times at the meet were FAT by Finish Lynx. People who saw the race were thankful that it didn't come down to a "picker's choice".

I know in gathering information for the Wyoming Track and Field Classic, I receive a lot of marks from meets held in Nebraska and it seems that not very many of them have FAT timing. It may be due to the fact that Nebraska does not have the qualifying standards that Wyoming has and maybe it seems there is not a need for it.

But to answer your original question, I am sorry that they don't have their own FAT system as I know that there are some teams that no longer attend the meet for this very reason. Hopefully, that will rectify itself soon, but I am glad that they are taking steps to at least use FAT timing in the Twilight Meet.

I saw that the meet record for the 100 hurdles was 14.4, which I'm sure was hand held. With the conversion factor, both girls in the hurdle race would have broken the previous record, but I guess we'll never know.

Posted by: JHalley on April 24, 2008 12:44PM EST

I was over there too. That is an amazing track meet. (Chris Gray would be drooling!) There were great performances at every race in the boys and girls. Our girls' from Torrington (Long and Simmons especially) fared very well. BUt I have to give mad props to "The Ol' Man's" team in Lingle. They not ony hung with the big schools, they took it to them in a few events. What might be the most impressive isn't the stars like Oschner and Wollert, it is that they had all 3 relays place and won the 4X100 over our pretty salty Blazers. It is quite a thing that a school that size has nearly as much quality depth as Central and KW.

p.s. Diana Long of T-town was the athlete of the meet for the 2nd year in a row at the Best of the West meet in SB Tuesday against much of the same NE competition.

Posted by: Kevin Williams on April 24, 2008 12:57PM EST

No mystery about the quality of the Lady Doggers. Anyone that saw them score so many points for the Central team during indoor season had to be aware of the group of athletes assembled at L/FL. Quality is quality, no matter the school enrollment.

Posted by: Chris Gray on April 24, 2008 11:41PM EST

Roger that, Fishy-baby!! I tried to post a comment about the depth & talent of Lingle last night, but lost it somehow. (since it takes about a half hour to type for me, I just went to bed!) I was thinking the same thing-there is more than just Ochsner & Patch; seems to be different names popping up all the time! I've been watching Maggie since you told me about her as a freshman! Your dad is either lucky, or the best coach ever! (probably some of both, I would say!!) Also been watching Long since we spoke at hoops this year! She is a stud! I guess we have a kid here that in his first attempt ever went over 20' in the long & 40 in the triple! I'm looking forward to watching his progress! Hey Halley, say hello to the "Panhandle people" for me!! Oh Patrick- anything else on the sub 8 minute 3200 relay posted by Hulett? Just curious!!

Posted by: Chris Gray on April 24, 2008 11:44PM EST

Posted by: Chris Gray on April 24, 2008 11:48PM EST

Good grief!! It said "error on page" & that it had timed out, so I thought "no post"! Obviously it posted both times! Sorry guys!!

Posted by: Burke Binning on April 25, 2008 7:47AM EST

Sub-8:00 3200 Relay? I am guessing misprint. Any other track guru can chime in and explain how difficult it is to gather a team like that and get the competition to run that fast.

Kevin,

glad to see someone making the Twilight meaningful with the timing system--my dad says they were still using HT at the Best of the West Tuesday night. Too bad.

Posted by: Burke Binning on April 25, 2008 8:52AM EST

Kevin,

Almost forgot to mention it. Good luck with the Track Classic today. I am glad they moved what used to be the Meet of Champions to the middle of the season. It makes it relevant and meaningful. Plus, it actually puts the boys and girls together.

Have a good meet. Hope it goes smoothly.

Posted by: tmillerwyo on April 26, 2008 12:48PM EST

Sub 8-minute 4x800 relay is tough, but I know 2 years ago Gillette had the kids to do it. They had 3 kids place at WYO state in the open 800m (1:51.92, 1:52.70 & 1:56.84), and a 4th kid who placed in the 1600m (4:30.41) and 3200m (9:43.90).

Posted by: Burke Binning on April 26, 2008 1:03PM EST

Yes, sub-8:00 is possible, but from the few schools where the stars align and the race goes as needed. But from the likes of Hulett. Not possible.

Considering the only schools who have gone sub-8 over the years (Gillette a few times, Sheridan, Rock Springs, Cheyenne Central), it is VERY hard. Even the team you mentioned with Gaffney, Strand, and Burke, assuming they all ran it, they didn't get under. You have to have someone to race.

There have been a number of teams on paper who could have gone under (Lander last year comes to mind for recent teams), but with nobody close to them, it is really difficult. You need another team near you on the anchor, and then let your stud take over from there.

Posted by: Ashley Hildebrand on April 26, 2008 5:00PM EST

Burke,

You are so right when you say that it is very hard to run under 8:00 even when you have the kids who have open times that would allow a sub 8. Powell is the team that you are referring to from last year. As a relay team they ran 8:09 at the regional meet with no one near them. The team consisted of Dustin McRann, Tucker Shuler, Nathan Danforth and Michael Hildebrand. Their best open times were: Dustin 1:58.96, Tucker 1:59.53, Nathan 2:00.73 and Michael 1:58.53. They ran those times while trying to chase down Joseph Call of Star Valley who ran a 1:56 at the regional meet.

If they had someone to race against in the relay I believe that they could have come close to sub 8:00, but with no one to race it is very hard. Mikey was the only runner to run a sub 2 split - the rest were over.

BTW, Coach Walkinshaw told me last year at state that you were a bit concerned about your state record. ;o) Don't worry I think it will be safe for quite a while - it is still a really tough time to get.

Posted by: Bulldog Fan on April 26, 2008 6:14PM EST

Burke...I didn't like your comment "But from the likes of Hulett". I'm sure you meant because they are a 1A school, but it sounded bad. They do have a pretty good track program. I agree not with THAT kind of speed, but it is a good program for a small school.

For Monday at the Classic the 800 is shaping up to be a pretty good race this year, too. You have Slight at 1:59.34, Emrick & Rogers are neck and neck at 2:01+ and Strong is not far behind. Last year Emrick ran a 1:59.14. (the winning time was 1:53.95) I'm sure there are some others with a little slower times that will be right in there at the classic. With the weather all of these kids have been dealing with at the track meets it will be great to see them Monday night and see just how fast they all are. I hope the weather cooperates!! I'm really sorry that Zane Bell is not in the lineup as he has already run a sub 2 minute time this year.

Posted by: Burke Binning on April 26, 2008 7:16PM EST

Ashley:

I was more than a bit concerned. I should have known better than to mix up Lander and Powell. Powell had a very talented bunch; groups like that come do not come through a school system often. I am willing to bet they would have loved to have been in every single 4x800 I ran at state from 93-96. All 8:10 or faster and we only won two of them.

Torrington actually had a group in 98 that ran 8:06 alone at home, but never had that team to push them. They had a 1:56, 1:58, 2:00, 2:02 open PRs on that relay. Truth be told, if Douglas' 2nd leg didn't bomb his leg in 94, they are the state record holders, not Torrington.

Bulldog Fan:

You are right to not like that comment. What I should have said was with a limited pool to draw talent from, it is very unlikely that a school the size of Hulett could pull that off. I believe Coach
Hess is there now, and I respect him very much. The best distance coach in Wyoming high school history. There are few who would argue with that.

I'm not saying a motivated group could not run fast. Burns ran 8:10 (I think) and they are a fairly small school.

Posted by: Chris Gray on April 27, 2008 2:09AM EST

Um, I didn't mean to stir anything up with the sub 8 minute time- if all of you guys had seen a previous post on one of these blogs, I had remarked sarcastically about the great times posted by Hulett etc.., & was wondering if maybe they had forgotten to run the last lap, or perhaps the track at Gillette is 400 yards, & not meters, etc... (all sarcastic comments) Of course it was some mis print, or mis time. Anyway, sorry about the confusion-though had some good conversation about the possibilities!!

Posted by: gtown on April 27, 2008 5:16PM EST

Burke, The Gillette team with Gaffney, Strand, Burke, and Kelting ran right around 7:53 at the regional meet but then replaced Gaffney with another runner at state so that Gaffney could score points in the 200.

Posted by: Burke Binning on April 27, 2008 6:33PM EST

gtown,

An even better question: What is Gillette's school record?

We've been talking about just the state meet. In '91, the Camels had a line-up that included the great Jim McCreery, Ryan Bolton, Ed Harrison, and Brian Noecker. In just the open 800m race at state that year they went McCreery at 1:52 and the other three at 1:57. It was also super windy that day--I know big schocker in Casper--but even more impressive because of McCreery's time.

McCreery did not run on the 4x800 that year because he attempted and pulled off the very rare feat of winning the 400-800-1600-3200 events. It rarely happens, but even more rare on the boys side.

I know they had to have run their best 4x800 team at some point during that season. They should have been able to get under 7:50. Of course, Strand and Gaffney were no slouches at 1:51 and 1:52.

I've always wondered the CCHS school records for track. It's been a long time since I got up that way, and I always forget to check.

Posted by: Kevin Williams on April 27, 2008 8:57PM EST

gtown:

At the Camel Qualifier two years ago is when Gillette set their school record in the 4x800 relay with Bob Hewitt-Gaffney, Eric Strand, Paul Burke, and Taylor Kelting running. You are right to think that the team with McCreery, Bolton, Harrison and Noecker would be hard to beat. They were a special group as well. I knew the team two years ago was fast but would not have guessed it was a school record until they announced it on the PA.

Posted by: gtown on April 27, 2008 10:46PM EST

My mistake my mistake, it was at the Camel qualifier. It was a 7:51.