Carissa Lindsay breaks shot put school record

By David Peck
It was a strong start for the Lovell High School track and field team March 21 as the Bulldogs traveled to the Cody Invitational and participated in a large meet that included 14 teams ranging from Class 1A to 4A.
The Lovell boys squad placed third with 71.5 points, trailing only Cody and Worland and topping large schools like Buffalo, Riverton, Campbell County (Gillette), Sheridan and Lander, and on the girls side the Lady Bulldogs finished a solid eighth and broke a school record in the process.
“I felt like we had some strong performances right out of the gate,” head coach Joshua Sanders said. “I was really happy with our veterans, who took it upon themselves to help out the younger athletes.”
Sanders said early meets always include a process where athletes try events and coaches learn how they perform.
“We definitely do (learn from competition),” Sanders said. “We’re still in that stage trying to figure out what events will work best for an athlete.”
Senior Carissa Lindsay broke the LHS school record in the shot put with a toss of 36-6, a record that changed hands among Lindsay and then seniors Kallie Owens and JeaNayha Gruell last season and ended up with Gruell at 36-5 by season’s end.
“That’s a good signal for a senior,” Sanders said of Lindsay’s throw, which left her in third place in Cody but with a personal and school record, plus prequalified her for the state track meet.
“Sometimes you’re not sure what you’re going to get with a senior, especially after a strong junior year,” Sanders continued. “Sometimes seniors lose focus. This is a signal she’s maintained her focus.”
Lindsay also placed sixth in the discus with a throw of 98 feet, and freshman sister Celeste also placed in both throwing events. Celeste Lindsay’s seventh place throw in the shot put, 31-7, is the top throw for a freshman in Lovell history. She also finished 11th in the discus at 91-6.
In other field events, freshman Candace Walker placed eighth in the triple jump with a leap of 30-9¼.
“She did a good job of pushing in her hop jump (first phase) instead of jumping up,” Sanders noted.
Fellow freshman Brooklin Clark nearly placed in the long jump, finishing in a tie for 10th place at 14-5¼.
Sophomore Becca Nichols placed in two running events. She placed third in the 400 meters, covering the oval in 1:04.04, and sixth in the 100-meter dash in a personal record time of 13.36, just 1/10th of a second off the state qualification standard.
“She’ll get better at (the 400),” Sanders noted. “Her aerobic phase – being able to hold that speed for longer distances -- hasn’t been worked yet, so that time will drop.”
Freshman Kandace Asay finished ninth in the 400 with a time of 1:04.04, and freshman Jenna Hessenthaler finished 10th in the 800 meters in 2:45.63.
“Jenna and Kandace showed a lot of promise,” Sanders said.
Clark looked strong in two hurdling events, Sanders said. She finished 13th in the 100-meter intermediate hurdles in 18:48, which Sanders said is third on the all-time LHS freshman list, and 18th in the 300-meter low hurdles in 56.12.
Other girls results March 21 were:
100m dash – Kandace Asay 32nd, 14.23, senior Hallie Cornia 48th, 15.08 (PR), Hannity Felkins 49th, 15.10; 800 meters – Sadie Wassmer 14th, 3:06.87, Candace Walker 15th, 3:16.81; long jump – Celeste Lindsay 13th, 14-3, Felkins tie for 21st, 13-5 ¼; Asay 40th, 12-1½, Jaelen Mayes 41st, 12-1, Cornia 45th, 11-11; triple jump – Cornia 11th, 29-5, Wassmer 13th, 29-4½, Felkins 15th, 29-2½.
Boys results
The Lovell boys dominated the jumping events in Cody Thursday, placing first, third, sixth and seventh in the long jump, first, third and fourth in the triple jump and second, sixth and eighth in the high jump.
Sophomores Owen Walker and Matthew Newman crushed their respective personal records in the long jump, both qualifying for State in the process. Walker won the event with a jump of 20-10¼, and Newman placed third at 20-2¼. They were motivated to succeed, Sanders said.
“They had some disappointment in that event last year,” Sanders said. “They weren’t top four on the team and were disappointed with that. Both of them were intent on fixing that this year.”
Junior Gavin Robertson placed sixth in the long jump at 19-2, senior Adnan Khan seventh, hitting the pit at 18-9¾.
“Gavin is ultra-focused right now,” Sanders said. “He’s explosive. You’ll see him push the 21-foot threshold. Matthew Newman is also very explosive right now.”
Newman won the triple jump and prequalified for State with a personal record leap of 42-11, and Khan missed prequalifying by one inch, placing third at 40-10. Senior Blake Wilson placed fourth with a leap of 40-4½.
Walker placed second in the high jump, clearing a personal record 6-2 and prequalifying for State. Robertson also “prequalled” in the event, placing sixth at 6-0, a PR. Freshman Kaeson Anderson cleared 5-8 to place eighth.
Junior Taggart Shumway nearly qualified for State in the pole vault, placing third by clearing 11-6.
“He feels really confident on the pole we’re using right now,” Sanders noted. “It will make him a little more consistent this year.”
Sophomore Owen Edwards tied for fifth at 9-6.
In running events, the quartet of Newman, Khan, Wilson and Robertson had a pair of handoffs that weren’t particularly smooth, Sanders said, but still placed second in a time of 45.21, prequalifying for State.
Anderson showed promise in the 110-meter high hurdles, Sanders noted, finishing 13th in a time of 19 seconds even.
“He’ll adjust to the height (after middle school),” Sanders said, noting that Anderson’s time is the second fastest freshman time for LHS in the event.
Two sprinters nearly placed in the 100-meter dash. Khan finished ninth in 11.83, Robertson 10th in 11.90. Both prequalified for State, and Robertson’s time was a personal record.
Sophomore David Durfee nearly placed in the 3,200 meters, finishing 10th in 11:41.73, and junior Stetson Asay was right with him, finishing 11th in 11:50.48, a personal record.
Other boys results March 21 were:
100m dash – Owen Walker 23rd, 12.23, Blake Wilson 26th, 12.26, Nate Cornia 49th, 12.70, Parker Anderson T-63rd, 13.02, Taggart Shumway 72nd, 13.18 (PR), Jarrett Allen 85th, 13.39, Wilson Hendershot 94th, 13.52, Dean Anderson 13.62, Owen Edwards 13.80, Jett Hessenthaler 13.82; 1,600 meters – Jacob Thomas 24th, 5:26.62 (PR), Thane Zollman 37th, 6:02.40 (PR), Damian Wagner 38th, 6:08.55, Jaxen Clark 43rd, 6:36.27; long jump – Parker Anderson 11th, 18-1 (PR), Hendershot 28th, 16-6¼, Cornia 36th, 16-1, Dean Anderson 58th, 13-10¾; triple jump – Cornia 19th, 34-6¾, Allen 22nd, 34-0, Hendershot 26th, 33-6½; high jump – Parker Anderson 20th, 5-2; shot put – Halen Strom 12th, 40-3½ (PR), Elijah Montanez 28th, 35-0 (PR), Tazz McArthur 55th, 31-8, Kyle Wilson 58th, 30-5½, Sam Cordova 73rd, 28-3; discus – Strom T-12th, 112-1 (PR), Montanez 27th, 100-1 (PR), McArthur 36th, 91-9, Cordova 41st, 88-9, Kyle Wilson T-55th, 80-1, Dean Anderson 80th, 69-9.
Buffalo Friday
The Bulldogs will travel across the mountain to Buffalo Friday for the Jerry Campbell Invitational. Action begins at 10 a.m. with field events, and running events start at 10:45.