The Cowboys and girls started off their outdoor season with a meet in Boulder, Colorado on March 18. Though some would consider it merely a warmup meet, the Pokes still represented themselves well, nonetheless.
“Overall, as a group, the meet went pretty well,” Hannah Carr, one of Wyoming’s top placers in her event, said. “I think overall people were pretty pleased with their performances.”
For the men, Sam Kirkeide finished fifth place in the 200 meters, and Kevin Blackett took 11th place in the 400 meters. McCade Johnson ran both of his hurdles races well, coming in seventh place in the 110 meter hurdles, and finishing fourth in the 400 meter hurdles. The men really stood out with their 4×400 meter relay team, which consisted of Jace Marx, Jackson Wood, Blackett and Bryce Ailshie. The quad took home first place in the event. Caleb Seeton also took home a first place finish in long jump, with teammate Bobby Wingeleth not far behind him in fourth place, and Leighton Lanier rounding out the Cowboy’s long jump with an eighth place finish. The throwers carried their weight as well, as Kirk Unland finished fifth in shot put with a heave of 11.88 meters. Though they don’t throw discus indoors, those throwers still showed some impressive skills in their events; Garrett Lynch came in third place in the discus competition, with Damon Unland coming in close behind him in fourth place in the event.
“This past outdoor meet was just a start,” Carrie Lane, the new thrower’s coach, said. “It’s our first outdoor meet so they’re a little rusty…a little inconsistent, but that’s about what you’d expect.”
The women also performed well, as many finished high in their events. Kerry white finished in seventh place in the 1500 meter run. Two Cowgirls finished close to each other in the 3000 meter run, as Quinn DeStefano and Ashley Bock came in sixth place and seventh place, respectively. Ariana Williams crossed the line second in the 100 meter hurdles, with teammate Heidi Pfoor coming in close behind her in third. Then, in the 400 hurdles, the roles were a little reversed, as Pfoor came in fourth place, Williams finished in sixth and a third Cowgirl, Marie Doherty, came in seventh in the event. Doherty was also one of six Cowgirls who placed in high jump. Sofia Hof placed fourth in high jump, with teammates Anissa Warner and Madison Ashworth not too far behind tied in sixth place. Behind them came Karlin Rufenacht in eighth place, Hannah Bertelson in 10th place and Doherty rounding out the group with a jump to put her in 11th place. Ja’la Henderson, who saw a great deal of success indoors, continued that success as she took home first place in long jump, with a leap of 6.16 meters. Teammate Allegra Carson also placed in long jump, as she went home with a fourth place finish. Carr, who has stepped up to be a predominant leader for the women throwers, placed second with her discus throw, with teammate Tori Sleep coming in behind Carr in seventh place.
“I want to leave these girls well, and leave them with solid standards to meet, because next year they will be pretty young,” Carr said of her leadership role and motivation to do well.
Though both Carr and Lane noted the Pokes still have some work to do to be where they want to be, there is a general feeling of optimism that the team will ultimately reach the goals they have set.
“I prefer outdoors over indoors, so I always get really excited for outdoors,” Carr said. “It was a really good opening meet, past meets haven’t gone quite as well. It was a pretty good starting point, so I’m really excited.”
