Being able to compete against most of the teams from across Wyoming, including many of the 4A teams, and still scoring key points was great for the team. It was a long day but it was a good experience, especially for the younger athletes who haven’t been to a state-culminating event.”

Coach Russell Stienmetz

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Indoor tracksters travel to the Simplot Games on February 20-22.

GILLETTE – The Torrington High School indoor track team raised the bar with top 10 finishes and new PRs at the Basin Nation invitational in Gillette on Saturday, February 7.

The Basin Nation was the only indoor event in Wyoming the previous weekend, and 21 teams gathered to compete at the Campbell County Recreation Center Fieldhouse – the location for the state championships in several weeks. 

The Torrington girls finished eighth on the team leaderboard with 30.5 points. The boys fielded four athletes and tallied six team points.

“Gillette was a huge track meet, bigger than the state event,” coach Russell Stienmetz said. “Being able to compete against most of the teams from across Wyoming, including many of the 4A teams, and still scoring key points was great for the team. It was a long day but it was a good experience, especially for the younger athletes who haven’t been to a state-culminating event.”

The girls’ 1600-meter sprint medley relay team set a new Torrington High School indoor record with a fourth place finish and a record-breaking time of 4 minutes, 44.62 seconds. The team consisted of juniors Brooklyn Asmus and Natalie Hawes on the 200-meter legs, sophomore Bailey Mehling on the 400-meter section and freshman Illyana Ponce on the 800-meter portion. The previous record of 4:46.14 was set in 2022 by Tylar Stoddard, Emma Walker, Tyne Stokes and Ada Merrigan.

Asmus garnered bronze in girls’ sprinting and mid-distance events. Asmus opened with a third-place finish in the finals for the 55-meter dash, posting a time of 7.35 seconds. Asmus shaved .08 seconds from her time in the prelims for the event where she also placed third.

Asmus also snagged third place in the 400-meters, clocking in at 1:03.67.

Hitting a mark of 34 feet, 7 inches in the girls’ triple jump, junior Trishell Pontarolo bagged bronze in the event.

Mehling came in ninth place in the girls’ triple jump, clearing 31-05 ¾.

In boys’ events, senior Evan Hellus advanced to sixth place on the leaderboard in the long jump with a mark of 20-03 ½. Hellus also captured sixth place in the triple jump, reaching a length of 40-06 ¼.

Hawes, Mehling, Pontarolo and senior Jada Kaufman took fifth place in the girls’ 4x200-meter relay, timing in at 1:52.85.

The girls’ 4x400-realy team – Pontarolo, Kaufman, Ponce and Mehling – captured fifth place as well with a time of 4:32.12.

Additional results – girls

• 55-meter dash: Hawes in 44th place at 8.14 seconds.

• 200-meters: Hawes in 33rd place at 29.47 seconds.

• 400-meters: Addisyn Wilkins in 32nd place at 1:08.39 and Taylar Hansen 70th at 1:17.15.

• 800-meters: Callie Taylor in 40th place at 2:55.34 and Esperanza Chavez 63rd at 3:17.37.

• 1600-meters: Taylor in 18th place at 6:13.40 and Anna Frederick 38th at 6:44.49.

• 55-meter hurdles: Kaufman in 19th place at 9.98 seconds, Hansen 27th at 10.18 seconds and Wilkins 43rd at 10.67 seconds.

• High jump: Pontarolo in 28th place at 4-04.

• Pole vault: Hansen and Chavez tied for 28th place at 7-00 and Frederick 33rd at 6-06.

• Shot put: Wittni Bugher in 40th place at 25-09 ¼, Karlee Mathson in 53rd at 23-03 and Kendal Schmidt 61st at 22-01 ¼.

Additional results – boys

• 55-meter dash: Landon Fuller in 60th place at 7.26 seconds.

• 200-meters: Fuller in 27th place at 24.70 seconds.

• 400-meters: Fuller in 12th place at 55.30 seconds.

• 800-meters: Connor Coxbill in 43rd place at 2:26.42.

• Shot put: Zeek Yung in 33rd place at 28-02 ½.