Southeast Cyclone senior Chase Lovercheck put pen to paper Friday to sign his letter of intent to run track for Portland State University in the fall.
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YODER – Southeast Cyclone senior Chase Lovercheck put pen to paper Friday to sign his letter of intent to run track for Portland State University in the fall.
“I feel relieved now because I don’t have to worry about the recruiting process anymore,” Lovercheck said after he signed. “I don’t have to worry about figuring out where I’m going to go or what I’m going to do next year.”
Lovercheck has put together a stellar track career for the Cyclones so far, reaching the state meet every year. As a freshman in 2015, he took seventh in the 3200-meter run (10:54.42) and 15th in the 1600 (5:05.46).
As the Cyclone advanced through high school, he dropped into the middle distances. In 2016 at the state meet, Lovercheck finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:01.22 and eighth in the 1600 with a time of 4:50.02. He was also a leg of the fifth-place 3200-meter relay team as a sophomore.
Lovercheck had a stellar state meet as a junior last spring. He won his first state title in the 800 with a time of 1:57.93. He also took second in the 400 (50.79 seconds) and 15th in the 200 (24.99 seconds). He also won a relay state title in the 1600-meter relay last year.
“It’s kind of hard to stomach that it’s going to be a lot tougher next year and that I won’t be the best guy at Portland,” Lovercheck said. “It’s cool to think that the training is going to be so much better and that someday I may be one of the better guys in our conference.”
Lovercheck is a four-sport athlete that has excelled in all four sports. He holds the Southeast High School record for most rushing yards in a game, with 288 yards on the ground against Bayard, Neb. on Sept. 1 this season. He also was a four-time state placer for the Cyclones in wrestling, placing sixth, fifth, fourth and fifth during the four seasons. Lovercheck is also a solid pitcher and outfielder for the WestCo Legion baseball team in Scottsbluff, Neb.
“I never wanted to wrestle and I wasn’t the best football player. I wanted to play baseball for a while, but track is what I really excelled at,” Lovercheck said of his athletic choice at the next level. “There is nothing better than beating people in a foot race. There is no other variable than who can run faster than the other.”
Lovercheck has been faster than a lot of racers he has faced so far this spring. At the Bayard, Neb. CD Invite, he won the 400 and finished second in the 800. In Mitchell, Neb. the senior finished eighth in the 200 and fifth in the 400. Most recently at the Okie Blanchard Invitational, Lovercheck snagged second in the 800. He is also a leg of Southeast’s 1600-meter relay team, which won in both Bayard and Mitchell, with a third-place finish in Cheyenne.
The future Viking still has four meets before the SEWAC Invitational, which is followed by regionals and state. Whether he picks up more state titles in Casper or not, he will still be making the trip to Portland, Ore. for the fall.
“I was looking for something different than Wyoming so I could experience different things outside of the country,” Lovercheck said of the decision to run for the Vikings. “Portland has such a great program as far as track goes and they’re rebuilding the team.”
