SCOTTSBLUFF – The evening pulsed with excitement as fans packed the stands in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, to watch the top track athletes from eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska vie for a coveted spot on the podium at the 2024 Best in the West Invite.

Athletes from Lingle-Fort Laramie, Southeast and Torrington High schools represented Goshen County with flying colors, posting 12 podium finishes along with new school and personal records.

Champions

Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) sophomore Sullivan Wilson captured gold in the boys’ 3200-meter run, shattering a long-standing LFL school record in the process. Wilson crossed the finish line more than 11 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Scottsbluff’s Hans Bastion, to post a time of 9 minutes, 56.88 seconds.

Robert Daiss set the previous 3200-meter record in 1984 with a time of 10:20.89.

Torrington sophomore Brooklyn Asmus ruled girls’ sprinting events. Clocking the 100-meters in at 12.23 seconds, Asmus garnered gold in the event, beating Sidney’s Payton Schrotberger by 0.65 seconds.

Asmus went on to secure first place in the 200-meters, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of the rest of the pack with a time of 24.88 seconds.

Asmus, sophomore Natalie Hawes, junior Jaycee Hurley and senior Alyssa Wondercheck snagged gold in the girls’ 4x100-meter relay at 49.17 seconds – pulling into the finish line 1.8 seconds before the runner-up, Sidney. The team set a new personal record in the event, translating into a new Torrington High School record as well.

In long-distance events, Torrington senior Zabdiel Munoz bagged the championship in the boys’ 1600-meters, clocking in well under five minutes at 4:51.55. Munoz won by a 3.77-second margin over Benjamin Cassatt-Reina of Alliance.

Torrington senior Tyler Bennick dominated the boys’ shot put, clinching first place with a toss of 57 feet, 2 ¼ inches. Bennick’s mark landed six feet, four inches further than the best throw by the runner-up, Scottsbluff’s Sebastien Boyle.

Podium top three

Southeast High School senior Harper Boche posted her best shot-put mark for the season and scooped up second place in the event at 38-11 ¾.

Wondercheck garnered second place in the girls’ long jump, hitting a mark of 16-10. Lady Blazers teammate and sophomore Trishell Pontarolo snapped up second place in the triple jump with a leap of 34-10.

In throwing events, Bennick advanced to the podium with a third-place finish in the discus, posting a mark of 144-10 ½.

LFL athletes secured four additional podium berths. Junior Louden Bremer captured second place in the boys’ 300-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 41.06 seconds.

Fellow junior Brody Roberts pulled into second place in the 400-meters, clocking in with a new PR of 51.94 seconds.

Timing the girls’ 800-meters in at 2:30.24, sophomore Jordynn Speckner clinched second place.

Bremer, Roberts and seniors Nolan Spears and Wyatt Sylvester snagged third place in the 4x400-relay with a time of 3:32.26.

Additional Torrington results

Sophomore Callie Taylor secured seventh place in the girls’ 3200-meters at 13:01.09.

Hawes posted fourth-place finishes in both the 100-hurdles, timing in at 16.55 seconds, and the 300-hurdles at 47.35 seconds.

Hurley came in sixth place in the 300-hurdles, clocking in at 48.92 seconds.

Munoz crossed the finish line for the 800-meters in ninth place at 2:12.74.

Two athletes achieved top-five finishes in the girls’ 100-meters, led by Wondercheck in fourth place at 12.96 seconds and Hurley in fifth at 13.11 seconds.

In jumping events, junior Evan Hellus placed seventh in the triple jump, hitting a mark of 39-02 ¾, and took ninth place in the long jump at 18-06.

Freshman Drew Kramer finished ninth in the triple jump with a mark of 37-10 ½.

Pontarolo earned 10th place in the long jump, clearing 15-01 ¼.

Throwers posted solid performances. Senior Trey Parriott picked up fifth place in the shot put, hitting a mark of 48-03, and placed seventh in the discus at 131-06.

Senior Brayden Frazier punched his ticket to state with a qualifying mark of 47-08 ½ in the shot put. Frazier placed sixth in the event.

In the girls’ shot put, junior Teryn Stokes came in ninth place with a mark of 33-08.

Additional LFL results

Senior Holly Leiseth garnered fourth place in the 800-meters, clocking in at 2:35.48.

In hurdles, junior Jada Kaufman placed eighth in the girls’ 100-meters with a time of 17.36 seconds. Sophomore Brady Cook secured sixth place in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles at 16.70 seconds.

Freshman Charlotte Speckner took eighth place in the girls’ shot put, hitting a mark of 33-09 ¾. Sophomore Avary Rising placed 11th in the event with a toss of 32-06 ¼. 

Senior Izzy Spears placed eighth in the discus, clearing 103-06 ½.

Relay highlights included a fifth-place finish by junior Cooper Smith, Spears, Sylvester and Cook in the boys’ 4x100-meter relay at 45.98 seconds.

The girls’ 4x400-relay team – Kaufman, Jordynn Speckner, junior Grace Gibson and Leiseth – placed eighth at 4:25.35.

Additional Southeast results

Senior Wyatt Gladson represented the Southeast boys’ team in Scottsbluff, placing seventh in the 400-meters at 54.87 seconds.

Sophomore Kaycee Kosmicki bagged fourth place in the girls’ 400-meters, posting a time of 1:00.96.

In throwing events, Boche clinched fifth place in the discus with a toss of 108-00 ½. Freshman Haylee Ekwall came in sixth place in the shot put at 35-07.

Hitting a mark of 8-06 in the pole vault, junior Angie Logsdon tied for fourth in the event.

Senior Tylar Stoddard took fifth place in the triple jump, clearing 32-08 ½, while freshman Bailey Mehling placed 10th at 30-06 ¼.

The girls’ 4x400-relay team – Stoddard, Mehling, senior Sasha Haines and Kosmicki – placed fourt, crossing the finish line with a time of 4:16.34.

Tracksters from all three teams compete at the Wyoming Track Classic on Friday and the Dennis Zowada Invite at Lusk on Saturday.