The Ranger girls 4x800 meter relay team of Teryn Thatcher, Sammi Butler, Sydnie Julander and Sophie Failoni at the Kemmerer Invite earlier this month. The girls have qualified for state. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Michelle Tibbetts) 

The Kemmerer Ranger track team headed north last weekend in their last tune up before Regionals. In Thermopolis on Friday, May 4, the Ranger girls finished 5th out of 21 teams and the Ranger boys finished 7th. At Lander, on Saturday, May 5, the girls were 4th out of 12 teams and the boys earned 5th. Both meets provided a glimpse of the competition heading to the 2A West regional meet in Lander this weekend. Several Kemmerer athletes pushed themselves to their limits and produced some fantastic marks.

The highlight of the weekend was watching the boys 1600-meter sprint medley relay team of Oscar Zhang, Austin Quin Martinez, Tanner Plowman and Louis Failoni break the Kemmerer school record at both meets, with the final time in Lander of 3 minutes 45.99 seconds being the fastest. The previous record of 3:52.8 was set in 1966 by Jim Brown, Larry Capellen, Eddie Georges and Bill Little. Failoni covered the final 800 meters in 2:01, erasing a 30-meter deficit to help the team claim first-place honors and set the tone for the Rangers in their first event of the day.

Anthony Tibbets and Jeydon Boyd continued their strong performances in the shotput at Lander. Tibbetts added two feet to his personal record with a throw of 48 feet 7 inches to place second in a strong field. Boyd threw 45 feet 9 inches for fifth place, a solid foot farther than he has ever thrown at a meet.

Freshman Marisa Orcutt prequalified for the state tournament in the 100-meter dash in Lander with a run of 13.42 seconds, finishing sixth. She also prequalified in the 4x100 meter relay with teammates Brooklyn Hagler, Jillian Tibbetts and Katie Zuniga. They ran the lap in 53.86 seconds in Thermopolis. Freshman Kenley Plowman also prequalified in Thermopolis by running the 800-meter dash in 2 minutes 31.79 seconds for a first-place finish. The girls 4x800 meter relay team of Teryn Thatcher, Sydnie Julander, Sammi Butler and Sophie Failoni prequalified in Thermopolis as well.

The Rangers had a grueling day in the Thermopolis heat on Friday but came back on Saturday to the Lander meet with an amazing attitude of grit and determination. While most teams either took the day off or used it as a wind-down before regionals, the Rangers pushed themselves  and generated a multitude of personal records. The Lander meet ended with TC Coles willing himself through the 800 meter run, 3200 meter run and 4x400 meter relay, back to back and setting personal records in each event.

Other personal records this weekend:  Nick Carson, Terry UranBold, Christina Rivera and Oscar Zhang in the 100-meter dash;  Alvaro DeVicente, Austin Quin Martinez, Rivera and Zhang in the 200-meter dash;  Marisa Orcutt, TC Coles, Holden Stubbs, Michael Grimes, Grady Killian, Carson, and DeVicente in the 400-meter dash;  Sophie Failoni, Sydnie Julander, Jillian Tibbetts, Andres Vega, Tyler Vineyard, Coles, Stubbs, Carson, DeVicente and Killian in the 800-meter dash; Kenley Plowman, S. Failoni, Grimes and Killian in the 1600-meter run;  Vega and Killian in the 3200-meter run;  Shawnna Steed, Quin Tibbetts, Aaron Ortiz, Rivera, UranBold and Carson in the shotput;  J. Tibbetts, Rivera, Steed and Carson in the discus; Coles in the high jump;  and Tanner Plowman in the long jump.

The squad will return to Lander to compete at regionals on Friday, May 11, with field events starting at 11 a.m.