Jones sets THS record at Best in the West

Locals pick up 11 wins at all-star track meet

Andrew Towne
Posted 4/28/22

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. – Torrington High School’s Mattie Jones broke the schools’ pole vault record Tuesday evening at the Best in the West Classic in Scottsbluff.

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Jones sets THS record at Best in the West

Locals pick up 11 wins at all-star track meet

Posted

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. – Torrington High School’s Mattie Jones broke the schools’ pole vault record Tuesday evening at the Best in the West Classic in Scottsbluff.

Jones tied the school record at 10 feet, and on her ensuing jump, cleared 10 feet, 1 inch to break a record which has stood since 2018 when Nakalyn Garner set the mark.

The THS senior said it’s a record she’s been eyeing since she was a freshman.

“I’ve been working for this for a lot of years,” Jones said. “Since I vaulted with Nakalyn, I looked up to her. It was cool get to that, and I was really proud of myself.”

The Best in the West was also her first meet with a new pole, aiding her efforts on Tuesday.

“I got an 11-6 120, and I’ve been using a 11-foot 120 pole. That really helped me get over the 10-foot barrier that I’ve been trying to get over this whole season, and I was really mentally into it yesterday.”

The height was good enough to win the event, and it was one of 11 wins by athletes from Torrington, Lingle-Fort Laramie and Southeast on the evening.

“That was awesome. She’s been chasing the school record in the pole vault, and she’s captured that,” THS coach Mark Sims said. “She’s worked really hard and done a lot of good things.”

Senior Allison Brummell also picked up a win for the Lady Blazers in triple jump with a leap of 34-9.5, while senior Tyne Stokes won the 400-meter dash in 1 minute, 1.22 seconds.

Jordan Stoddard scored two wins on the day to lead Southeast, winning long jump at 18-2.25 and high jump at 5-5. Stoddard also placed second in the 100-meter dash in 12.98 seconds.

Shelby Ekwall set a personal record to win shot put with a throw of 40-2.5, beating out teammate Harper Boche, who finished fourth, and Torrington’s Emma Johnson who placed eighth.

Torrington’s 4x800-meter relay team of Tiffany Kruegger, Ada Merrigan, Amberly Froerer and Tyne Stokes finished runner-up in 10:30.16.

As a team, the Lady Blazers finished second with 81 points, while Southeast placed fifth with 43.5 points. LFL ended up 21st with two points.

In the boys’ division, individuals from all three schools picked up wins.

Torrington’s Brendan Flock won the 100-meter dash in 11.23 seconds, edging Southeast’s Ryan Clapper who finished second in 11.24 seconds. In the 200-meter dash, Clapper scored the win, beating out Flock, who finished second.

Torrington’s Aydan Loya picked up the win in the 800-meter dash in 1:59.84, while LFL’s Myles Wilson won the 3,200-meter run in 10:47.80. The LFL Dogger 4x400-meter relay team of Nolan Spears, Slade Hopkins, Louden Bremer and Kyland Fuller won in 3:27.24.

Fuller also finished second in the 400-meter dash in 50.52 seconds, while Southeast’s 4x100 team of Wyatt Campbell, Austin Short, Grant Logsdon and Ryan Clapper finished second in 43.82 seconds.

In field events, Torrington junior Ryan Baker finished second in discus with a throw of 140-4, while Blazer sophomore Tyler Bennick was third in shot put at 48-4.75.

As a team, the Torrington boys finished fourth with 61.5 points, while the Doggers finished sixth with 32 points. Southeast was ninth with 26.

All three schools will be in action Friday in Torrington. After the Kelly Walsh meet was moved to Thursday and Saturday’s Dennis Zowada Invite in Lusk was canceled, the trio of Goshen County schools will be hosting the T-Town Qualifier at Wiseman Field on Friday. Action gets underway at 9 a.m.