I’m excited with the way the season turned out. We did not have all that many track athletes but the ones who went out for the sport this winter all performed very well at state track meet for the team. I am very fortunate to be able to coach such a dedicated group of athletes.””

Coach Russell Stienmetz

GILLETTE – The Torrington High School indoor track team peaked at the 3A 2025 state indoor track meet in Gillette from March 6-7, returning to Goshen County with their bag full of medals, new PRs, three new school records and a 3A indoor track record.

The Lady Blazers snagged second place as a team in a field of 14 schools, collecting 81 points. Cody took first with 118.50 points with Worland third at 66.50 points.

The boys’ team fielded only three athletes and still advanced to 12th place out of 16 teams with 18 points.

The girls’ 4x200-meter relay team captured gold with a new Torrington High School indoor track record and a 3A class record. Junior Brooklyn Asmus, junior Natalie Hawes, sophomore Bailey Mehling and junior Trishell Pontarolo crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 1 minute, 47.59 seconds. Torrington beat Worland by 0.91 seconds. Hawes, Pontarolo, Asmus and Torrington alumni Alyssa Wondercheck set the former school and 3A record in 2024 of 1:48.95.

The girls’ 1600-meter sprint medley team set a new Torrington High School record with a third-place finish at state. Hawes, senior Jada Kaufman, sophomore Addisyn Wilkins and freshman Illyana Ponce clocked the relay in with a record-breaking time of 4:34.89. Tylar Stoddard, Emma Walker, Tyne Stokes and Ada Merrigan set the previous record of 4:46.14 in 2022.

Senior Evan Hellus clinched second place in the boys’ long jump, setting a new Torrington High School record in the process. Hellus pulled into the No. 2 spot with a leap of 21 feet, 3 ¼ inches. Benjamin Fuller held the previous record of 20-11 ¾ set in 2023.

Hellus went on to garner gold in the boys’ triple jump, hitting a mark of 41-04 ½. The senior beat the runner up from Worland by more than four inches.

Pontarolo battled her way to the No. 1 spot on the girls’ triple jump leaderboard, earning gold with a leap of 35-00 ½. Pontarolo beat Powell’s Paige Sanders, the second-place finisher, by almost one foot.

Pontarolo also collected a first-place medal in the long jump, clearing 15-11 ¼. The finals came down to less than one inch, with Pontarolo pulling ahead of Powell’s Paige Sanders by one-quarter inch to scoop up gold.

In girls’ sprinting events, Asmus won the 200-meter finals, timing in at 25.81 seconds. Asmus finished with 0.8 seconds to spare over the runner up, Wheatland’s Desirae Iacovetto, while shaving 0.3 seconds off her time in the prelims.

“I’m excited with the way the season turned out,” coach Russell Stienmetz said. “We did not have all that many track athletes but the ones who went out for the sport this winter all performed very well at state track meet for the team. I am very fortunate to be able to coach such a dedicated group of athletes.”

Top eight medalists

Asmus picked up silver in two girls’ sprinting events. Clocking in the finals for the 55-meter dash at 7.26 seconds, Asmus bagged second place in the event. Asmus went on to clinch silver in the 400-meters, posting a time of 1:00.29.

Two athletes progressed to the finals in the girls’ 55-meter hurdles. Senior Taylar Hansen finished sixth with a time of 9.73 seconds. Kaufman pulled into seventh place at 9.85 seconds.

Ponce, Kaufman, Wilkins and Mehling picked up second place in the girls’ 4x400-meter relay, posting a time of 4:33.27.

Mehling also snapped up fifth place in the finals for the girls’ 200-meters, timing in at 27.37 seconds. Hitting a mark of 31-08 ½ in the triple jump, Mehling advanced to seventh place on the leaderboard.

Additional results – girls

• 3200-meters: Callie Taylor in ninth place at 13:31.25.

• 55-meter hurdles prelims: Hansen in seventh place at 9.81 seconds, Kaufman eighth at 9.83 seconds and Wilkins 16th at 10.53 seconds.

• 55-meter dash prelims: Asmus in second place at 7.36 seconds and Hawes 10th at 7.84 seconds.

• 4x800-relay: Ponce, Esperanza Chavez, Anna Frederick and Taylor in ninth place at 11:37.60.

• 200-meter prelims: Asmus in first place at 26.11 seconds, Mehling sixth at 27.64 seconds, Hawes ninth at 28.27 seconds and Kaufman 12th at 28.81 seconds.

• Long jump: Angie Logsdon in 12th place at 14-00.

• Pole vault: Chavez in 10th place at 7-06, Hansen 11th at 7-06 and Frederick 16th at 6-06.

• 800-meters: Ponce in 10th place at 2:39.26, Chavez 18th at 2:57.66 and Hansen 24th at 3:26.05.

• 1600-meters: Taylor in 12th place at 6:11.27 and Frederick 16th at 6:43.91.

• Triple jump: Wilkins in 20th place at 28-05 ½ and Logsdon 23rd at 27-03 ¼.

• High jump: Pontarolo in 10th place at 4-06.

• Shot put: Wittni Bugher in 17th place at 26-03 ¾, Karlee Mathson 20th at 23-02 ¼ and Kendal Schmidt 21st at 20-10.

Additional results – boys

• 400-meters: Travis Nobs in 27th place at 1:01.77.

• 200-meter prelims: Nobs in 23rd place at 27.12 seconds.

• 800-meters: Connor Coxbill in 26th place at 2:27.39.

• Triple jump: Coxbill in 20th place at 31-04.