The resolve, competitive spirit and selfless attitude out athletes exhibited this week was phenomenal. I could not have asked for anything more from this group of kids. Both teams have put themselves in good positions heading into the 2A East regional meet in Sundance this weekend.”

Coach Mike Lashley

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LFL tracksters are on the road for the 2A East Regional Meet in Sundance from May 10-11.

GLENROCK – Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) High School tracksters pulled out all the stops at the 2024 SEWAC Conference Meet hosted by Glenrock on Saturday, May 4.

Both the girls and boys teams captured the championship, defeating Southeast, Pine Bluffs, Burns and Niobrara County in the process.

The Lady Doggers secured first place with 147 points, winning by a 34.5-point margin over Burns (112.50 points).

The contest for the top spot in the boys’ competition came down to the wire, with LFL pulling ahead of Burns, 157-151.50.

“We had some great performances at SEWAC,” coach Mike Lashley said. “While both teams won several events, it was our depth that ultimately made the difference. I challenged the kids on the bus ride to Glenrock and they definitely responded. Most of our athletes were loaded up with events and the SEWAC meet moves along pretty quickly, so we knew it was going to be a mentally and physically challenging day for the team.”

LFL tracksters rose to the occasion, Lashley added.

“The kids stayed focused, allowing us to accomplish one of the team goals we established at the beginning of the season,” Lashley continued. “The resolve, competitive spirit and selfless attitude out athletes exhibited this week was phenomenal. I could not have asked for anything more from this group of kids. Both teams have put themselves in good positions heading into the 2A East regional meet in Sundance this weekend.”

Boys champions

LFL relay teams dominated the meet. The 4x100-meter team – junior Cooper Smith, senior Nolan Spears, senior Wyatt Sylvester and sophomore Brady Cook – snagged gold with a time of 45.56 seconds. The team beat Pine Bluffs by a 0.09-second margin.

Pulling ahead of Burns by 7.43 seconds in the 4x400-relay, junior Louden Bremer, Spears, Sylvester and junior Brody Roberts won with a time of 3 minutes, 34.31 seconds.

In the 4x800-meter relay, sophomore Brayden Posten, freshman Tyler smith, Spears and sophomore Sullivan Wilson garnered gold with a time of 9:35.25, finishing more than 13 seconds ahead of Burns.

Cook, Spears, Bremer and Roberts rounded out relay highlights with victory in the 1600-meter sprint medley at 3:45.93 – three seconds faster than Burns.

Wilson scooped up gold in two distance events. The sophomore won the 1600-meters, posting a time of 5:05.41 and crossing the finish line more than four seconds ahead of the runner-up, Cooper Sanchez, of Burns.

Wilson went on to win the 3200-meters, timing in at 11:22.43, and pulling ahead of Sanchez by six seconds.

Bremer secured gold in the 300-hurdles, crossing the finish line by a 0.80-second margin over Ethan Norris of Burns at 41.56 seconds.

In field events, Sylvester snapped up first place in the pole vault, hitting a mark of 12 feet and beating Burns’ Ethan Norris by six inches.

Cook won the discus with a toss of 138 feet, 4 inches. The sophomore’s throw fell nearly five feet beyond the mark hit by the runner-up, Mitchell Birkhofer of Pine Bluffs.

Girls champions

The Lady Doggers posted exceptional performances in mid- and long-distance events. The race for the top two spots in the 1600-meters was neck-and-neck, with senior Holly Leiseth winning at 6:10.19 and sophomore Jordynn Speckner coming in a close second at 6:19.60.

Jordynn Speckner captured first place in the 800-meters, clocking in at 2:32.62. Speckner pulled ahead of the runner-up, Niobrara County’s Gracie ZumBrunnen, by 0.19 seconds.

In hurdles, junior Grace Gibson punched her ticket to state with a first-place finish in the 100-meters and a qualifying time of 17.64 seconds. Gibson went on to prequalify in the 300-hurdles as well, placing second at 50.64 seconds.

Junior Jada Kaufman scooped up gold in the 300-meter hurdles, clocking in at 50.64 seconds.

Relay highlights included a win for Gibson, junior Kenzie Wilkins, Kaufman and Jordynn Speckner in the 1600-sprint medley with a time of 4:47.49. The team crossed the finish line more than 16 seconds ahead of Pine Bluffs.

The 4x400-meter team – Kaufman, Kenzie Wilkins, freshman Addi Wilkins and Jordynn Speckner – bagged gold, beating Southeast by a 0.17-second margin to clock in at 4:32.21.

Boys top eight

In sprinting events, Cooper Smith secured second place in the 100-meters, timing in at 12.02 seconds.

Roberts snagged second place in both the 200-meters, posting a time of 23.99 seconds, and the 400-meters at 52.06 seconds.

Posten achieved sixth place in the 400-meters with a time of 55.59 seconds.

Wilson pulled into second place in the 800-meters, clocking in at 2:08.36. Junior Nathan Fish came in sixth  at 2:16.91.

Tyler Smith clinched third place in both the 3200-meters, timing in at 11:57.60, and the 1600-meters at 5:18.97.

Bremer garnered third place in the 110-hurdles, posting a time of 16.78 seconds. Cook placed fourth in the event with a time of 17.23 seconds.

In the 300-hurdles, freshman Rogan Fisher placed fifth at 51.65 seconds.

Three throwers advanced into the top eight in the shot put. Cooper Smith led the pack with a fourth-place finish at 40-00 ¾. Senior Marcos Martinez finished seventh at 35-09 ½, with sophomore Colter McFarlin in eighth place at 35-09 ½.

Cooper Smith earned fourth place in the discus, hitting a mark of 129-04. McFarlin placed sixth at 111-04.

Fish rounded out the top eight with an eighth-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 10-06.

Girls top eight

Sophomore Anna Frederick and junior Haven Torres both scooped up hardware in two middle- and long-distance events. Frederick took second place in the 3200-meters, posting a time of 15:05.83, and placed sixth in the 1600-meters at 6:52.39.

Torres picked up fifth place in both the 400-meters, timing in at 1:19.85, and the 3200-meters at 17:32.03.

Leiseth secured third place in the 800-meters, crossing the finish line in 2:46.24.

In hurdles, Addi Wilkins clinched third place in the 300-meters, clocking in at 53.52 seconds, and placed fifth in the 100-meters at 19.49 seconds.

Field-event highlights included a second-place finish by senior Izzy Spears in the discus, hitting a mark of 108-05. Freshman Charlotte Speckner placed eighth in the event at 97-09.

Sophomore Avary Rising came in third place in the shot put, clearing 34-11 ¾. Charlotte Speckner secured fourth place in the event at 34-11.

Sophomore Kaiten Schilreff took third place in the long jump, posting a mark of 14-00 ½, and placed fourth in the triple jump at 29-10.

Frederick finished eighth in the pole vault with a mark of 6-00.

The 4x100-relay team – sophomore Kiera Fleenor, Addi Wilkins, Kenzie Wilkins and Gibson – clinched second place, timing in at 54.49 seconds.

In the 4x800-relay, Frederick, Fleenor, Torres and Leiseth also placed second with a time of 11:59.26.