Lady Ranger Laynee Walker — last year’s 2A State Champion in the 300 hurdles — won the event Saturday at the Wind River Icebreaker in Pavillion, the 2024 season opener.

(GAZETTE FILE PHOTO/Don Cogger)

Ranger sophomore Byson McGill — seen here at last year’s 2A State Track and Field Championships in Casper — finished third in the high jump Saturday at the Wind River Icebreaker, clearing a height of 5 feet, 8 inches.

(GAZETTE FILE PHOTO/Don Cogger)

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After a couple of weeks of indoor training, the Kemmerer High School track and field teams had the opportunity to compete outdoors over the weekend, opening the 2024 season at the Wind River Icebreaker in Pavillion.

The Lady Rangers finished second overall in the 13-team field, while the Rangers placed third; the two teams combined to win 11 events, including six individual events and five relays.

“The kids got out and ran pretty well,” said KHS head coach Phil Thatcher. “It was probably in the mid-40s, so a little cool, and it was a little more overcast then we were hoping. The biggest thing was, the wind stayed down pretty good. For not being outside at all for practice — we tried to get there an hour early, let the kids actually get on a track and run around a little bit — we were really happy with them. Both teams performed really well.”

Freshman Cole Rogers won two events for the Rangers, sweeping the 110 and 300 hurdles, with times of 17.41 and 43.43, respectively.

“Cole had a good day, he was right on the edge of qualifying in both hurdles, but again, he hadn’t jumped over more than two hurdles for two weeks,” Thatcher said. “He’s a freshman, so coming out and running those higher hurdles in the 110s, he’s still adjusting to. And in the 300 hurdles — in middle school, they run 200 hurdles, so he’s never run a 300 before. We get a couple of meets under his belt, he’ll be qualified, and looking pretty tough.”

Lady Rangers junior Laynee Walker also won a pair of events to lead the girls, placing first in the 100 meters (13.63) and 300 hurdles (50.41).

“The kids felt good about the meet — they had to work hard, and there was pretty good competition there, in all the events,” Thatcher said. “Jackson brought in a lot of talent, Pinedale had quite a few kids, Burlington was really good. It was good for the kids to come out.”

The KHS track and field teams will be heading south to Farmington, Utah, this week, with a girls’ meet on Thursday, and the boys scheduled to compete on Friday.

“We’ll be down in Farmington this week, and it’s supposed to be 60 degrees,” Thatcher said. “We’re looking forward to that. There will be a lot of tough competition down there, so that will be good for us.”

Lady Rangers

Joining Walker atop the podium was Aralynne Erickson, who won the 400 meter run in personal-best time of 1:06.56.

“Aralynne Erickson had a great performance in the 400 meters with a 1:06 — that was a PR for her,” Thatcher said. “She did some indoor track with Mountain View, and has been running well, staying in shape. That was a really nice run for her, and we’d like to see her continue to work on that. Really happy for her.”

The Lady Rangers won three of the four relay events, starting with the 4x100, featuring the team of Jolee Swasey, Laynee Walker, Natasha Martinez and Claire Crosland (53.53). Also finishing first was the 4x400 team of Ella Thatcher, Laynee Walker, Natasha Martinez and Tyler Thatcher (4:29.91), as well as the 1600 sprint medley team of Jolee Swasey, Natasha Martinez, Ella Thatcher and Aralynne Erickson (4:45.95).

The 4x800 relay team of Arianne Dearden, Aralynne Erickson, Tyler Thatcher and Larander Waldner finished second, with a time of 11:14.03.

“We qualified all four relays for state — we’ll probably end up shuffling a little bit through the year, but relays were our strength last year,” Thatcher said. “It was good to see them get off to a good start.”

Other notable performances included Natasha Martinez, who finished second in the 200 meter dash (29.05). Arianne Dearden placed fifth in the 1600 meters, while freshman Claire Crosland finished seventh in the 100 hurdles.

In the field events, Nadia Runnion was third in the discus (102 feet, 7 inches), while Kylie Price was fourth in the shot put (30 feet, 2.5 inches). Tyler Thatcher placed sixth in the triple jump, with a leap of 30 feet, 10 inches.”

“Laynee Walker looked good in her hurdles, and young Claire Crosland — a freshman — came out and had solid performances,” Thatcher said. “Nadia Runnion qualified for State in the discus — threw over 100 feet — so that was a really good performance. I thought our throwers looked really solid, in both events. Just really solid performances from the ladies.”

Rangers

Joining Cole Rogers as an individual event winner was thrower Derek Hagler, who won the shot put with a toss of 45 feet, 2.5 inches; he also placed third in the discus, with a throw of 126 feet, 5 inches.

“Throwers did well — Derek Hagler had a big meet, qualified in both shot and discus,” Thatcher said. “His PR in the discus last year was like a 109 or a 110, so he obliterated that with a 126.”

Like their counterparts on the girls’ side, the Rangers’ relay teams also had a good day, winning two of the three events they competed in. The 4x400 team of Hunter Burnett, Kane Jimenez, Cole Rogers and Bridger Anderson placed first (3:52.93), as did the 1600 sprint medley team of Hunter Burnett, Bridger Anderson, Brent Erickson and Jace Bullington (4:14.81). The 4x800 team of Jace Bullington, Brent Erickson, Jacob Platt and Bowman Sandall finished second, with a time of 9:56.71.

“The 4x400 relay was really solid, and the 4x800 was OK,” Thatcher said. “Again, a pretty young crew. I think we’ll drop a ton of time in that 4x800. The sprint medley was

really good, and I’m excited to see that group get better.”

Other notable performances included Colter Krell, who finished second in the 110 hurdles (18.12), and third in the 300 hurdles (48.29). Jace Bullington finished third in the 100 meters (12.24), while Bryson McGill placed third in the high jump, clearing a height of 5 feet, 8 inches.

“Colter Krell had a really solid day in the 300 hurdles and the 110 hurdles,” Thatcher said. “Bryson McGill in the high jump cleared 5’8”, went out at 5’10.” I think we can get him over 6 feet this year. I think these young kids are just scratching the surface at what they can do.”

Bridger Anderson placed fifth in the 200 meters (25.38). In the distance events, Bowman Sandall finished seventh in the 1600 meters (5:24.53), and eighth in the 800 meters (2:31.44).

“We have some new kids that came out and did well for us,” Thatcher said. “Bridger Anderson has never run track before, he came out and ran a 25 in the 200 meters. We have a lot of young, new kids on the boys’ side, and they really performed well. It was fun to watch them compete. For them to come in and take third without much experience, it says a lot about their athleticism. Hopefully, we, as coaches, can get them in a little better shape, a little better technique on a few things, and we’ll take a lot of boys to State this year, as well. That will be kinda nice.”

Wind River Icebreaker

Girls Results

1. Jackson 123.50, 2. Kemmerer 106, 3. Pinedale 77.50, 4. Wind River 74, 5. Thermopolis 61.50, 6. Burlington 61, 7. Riverside 51.50, 8. Encampment 38, 9. Shoshoni 16, 10. St. Stephens 11, 11. Greybull 2.

100 Meter Dash

1. Laynee Walker 13.63, 6. Jolee Swasey 13.93, 24. Josie Gunter 15.41

200 Meter Dash

2. Natasha Martinez 29.05, 7. Ella Thatcher 30.01, 12. Tyler Thatcher 28.84, 18. Josie Gunter 32.10, 23. Laranda Waldner 33.82

400 Meter Run

1. Aralynne Erickson 1:06.56, 8. Josie Gunter 1:12.57, 10. Arianne Dearden 1:14.11, 14. Laranda Waldner 1:17.16

1600 Meter Run

5. Arianne Dearden

100 Meter Hurdles

7. Claire Crosland 19.41

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Laynee Walker 50.41

4x100 Relay

1. Jolee Swasey, Laynee Walker, Natasha Martinez, Claire Crosland 53.53

4x400 Relay

1. Ella Thatcher, Laynee Walker, Natasha Martinez, Tyler Thatcher 4:29.91

4x800 Relay

2. Arianne Dearden, Aralynne Erickson, Tyler Thatcher, Larander Waldner 11:14.03

1600 Sprint Medley

1. Jolee Swasey, Natasha Martinez, Ella Thatcher, Aralynne Erickson 4:45.95

Triple Jump

6. Tyler Thatcher 30’10”

Shot Put

4. Kylie Price 30’2.5”, 8. Nadia Runnion 27’1.75”, 9. Janae Skidmore 26’11.5”, 10. Hadlee Wood 26’9.5”, 16. Cambree Dearden 23’7”, 35. Emma Culler 15’6”

Discus Throw

3. Nadia Runnion 102’7”, 6. Kylie Price 90’10.25”, 9. Janae Skidmore 82’6”, 13. Hadlee Wood 75’.5”, 15. Cambree Dearden 70’6.5”, 39. Emma Culler 34’1.5”

Boys Results

1. Burlington 143, 2. Thermopolis 111, 3. Kemmerer 96, 4. Jackson 87, 5. Riverside 43, 6. Encampment 41, 7. Pinedale 35, 8. Shoshoni 23, 9. St. Stephens 22, 10. Wind River 10, 11. Western Heritage Lutheran Academy 8, 12. Greybull 6

100 Meter Dash

3. Jace Bullington 12.24, 40. Derek Hagler 13.54, 52. Abram Hartmann 14.13, 55. Chase Benson 14.94

200 Meter Dash

5. Bridger Anderson 25.38, 11. Kane Jimenez 26.38, 14. Bryson McGill 26.66, 34. Jacob Platt 28.80, 39. Chase Benson 30.33

400 Meter Run

20. Jacob Platt 1:03.63

800 Meter Run

8. Bowman Sandall 2:31.44

1600 Meter Run

7. Bowman Sandall 5:24.53, 10. Jacob Platt 5:54.49, 20. Gabe Platt 6:14.20

3200 Meter Run

11. Gabe Platt 15:27.04

110 Meter Hurdles

1. Cole Rogers 17.41, 2. Colter Krell 18.12

300 Meter Hurdles

1. Cole Rogers 43.43, 3. Colter Krell 48.29

4x400 Meter Relay

1. Hunter Burnett, Kane Jimenez, Cole Rogers, Bridger Anderson 3:52.93

4x800 Meter Relay

2. Jace Bullington, Brent Erickson, Jacob Platt, Bowman Sandall 9:56.71

1600 Sprint Medley Relay

1. Hunter Burnett, Bridger Anderson, Brent Erickson, Jace Bullington 4:14.81

High Jump

3. Bryson McGill 5’8”

Long Jump

12. Bridger Anderson 16’3”, 14. Kane Jimenez 15’6.5”, 24. Brent Erickson 14’8.5”

Shot Put

1. Derek Hagler 45’2.5”, 27. Abram Hartmann 27’9”

Discus Throw

3. Derek Hagler 126’5”, 14. Colter Krell 94’4”, 25. Abram Hartmann 80’1.5”