GOSHEN COUNTY  – Folks in Goshen County kept themselves busy with sports events throughout the summer. While the exceptional swimming, baseball, rodeo, softball and Little League teams dominated most of the sports pages, there were plenty of other athletic happenings as well.

Below is a review of additional summer sports highlights in Goshen County to compliment the run-down on baseball, softball, rodeo and swimming published on August 13.

All-stars

The Panhandle Prep Sports Magazine hosted its all-star basketball games in Scottsbluff in late May. The rosters included Southeast graduate Baylie Booth and Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) graduate Natalie Speckner. LFL head girls’ basketball coach Susan Bartel coached the blue basketball team.

Southeast graduate Sasha Haines represented Goshen County at the Wyoming Coaches Association all-star games in Casper in late July, playing for the South volleyball team.

The 51st Shrine Bowl all-stars football game took place on June 8, featuring Goshen County at all levels. Torrington High School (THS) head coach Russell Stienmetz led the South Team, assisted by THS coaches Robb Nicolay and Ryan Workman and LFL head coach Brandon Gifford.

Players consisted of Tyler Bennick, Brayden Frazier, Bryce Hager and Trey Parriott (THS graduates) and Southeast graduate Tiegan Thompson. Torrington’s Emily Yorges served as the team’s trainer while LFL graduate Izzy Spears worked as a team manager. Even the ballboys hailed from Goshen County.

Shooting for success

The County 7 Clay Busters placed sixth at the Wyoming Trap Shooting State Tournament in June 29 at the Goshen County Sportsman’s Club. Remington Mathson clinched third in varsity boys and secured a spot in the 50-straight club. Timberlee Easton took third place in novice girls.

Third-grader Denali Yonkee captured first place in the 7-9-year-old division at a qualifier for the national Drive, Chip and Putt contest hosted by Casper on June 16. Yonkee went on to place third in her age division at the sub-regional qualifiers in Aurora, Colorado, on August 10.

The Panhandle Senior Women’s Golf Association hosted an annual tournament at the Cottonwood Country Club on July 8. The organization encourages wellness through participation in golf for women ages 50-years-young and above. Nearly 50 women from Goshen County and the surrounding region competed in the tournament.

On July 17, members of the Torrington High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams tested out a new shooting machine donated to the program by New York Life Insurance of Torrington. The machine significantly increases the number of shots players can take during workouts to help them improve their shooting across the floor.

Clint Pace shot a hole-in-one at the Cottonwood Country Club (hole No. 9) in Torrington on June 8.

Young golfers honed their golf shooting skills at the annual Torrington Junior Golf camp hosted by PGA professional David Dent at the Cottonwood Country Club from June 10-13.

Honoring excellence

Three coaches and sports officials from Goshen County were inducted into the Wyoming Coaches Association and Wyoming Sports Officials Association halls of fame at a ceremony in Casper on July 19.

Kathy Hamer-Smith was named to the Wyoming Sports Officials Association Hall of Fame. Hamer-Smith dedicated time to officiating volleyball since 1993 in addition to coaching and teaching in Torrington.

Trisha Bates earned induction into the Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame for junior high and middle school coaches. Bates served as a volleyball, basketball and track coach at Southeast Schools for 26 years. She also coached softball in Torrington.

Rick Cotant was honored posthumously in the Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Cotant moved to Goshen County in 1987 and devoted more than three decades to youth sports as activities director at Torrington Middle School and a cross-country and track coach at Torrington High School and Lingle-Fort Laramie High School.

The community came together to honor the legacy of Coach Verl Petsch Jr. for four decades of service as the women’s volleyball and basketball coach and athletic director at Eastern Wyoming College.

Additional sports highlights

Rusty Winget of Torrington snagged two golds and three silvers in swimming events at the Wyoming Summer Senior Olympics in Cheyenne from July 31 to August 3.

A new scoreboard was installed for softball games at Jirdon Park on June 10 through a combined effort by the Goshen County Rec Board, the Torrington Thunder Softball Board and the City of Torrington.

Eastern Wyoming College announced the hiring of Bill Engel as the men’s head basketball coach and interim athletic director in July. Engel previously coached basketball at Minnesota North College – Rainey River.

First responders, along with their families and supporters, dug deep for a good cause at the first responders ninja warrior competition during the Goshen County Fair on August 2. Funds from the event went to support the Goshen County Sheriff Search and Rescue.