Indoor thinclads conclude season at state meet

In the final meet of the season for the Lovell indoor track and field athletes the goal for each athlete was to earn a spot on the podium as the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs made one more trip to Gillette for the 2026 3A State Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Campbell County Recreation Center last Friday and Saturday.

There were 14 teams competing at the 3A level for a state championship, and when it was all said and done the Cody Broncs and Fillies came away with the state titles. The Broncs scored 109 points to outdistance Douglas, who scored 93 points. The Lovell Bulldogs were able to score 12 points and place 12th. On the girls side the Cody Fillies won the championship in a hard fought battle with Torrington as the Fillies scored 106 team points with the Lady Trailblazers just a half point behind with 105.5 points. The Lady Bulldogs placed 14th with 6 points. 

Celeste Lindsay finished the indoor season with another strong performance, getting to the podium in the shot put by placing third with a throw of 39-7.25 which was only .75 of an inch off her personal record.

“Celeste had an outstanding competition, taking third,” said head coach A. Jay Montanez. “The field in this event was absolutely packed with girls who are all capable of throwing in the upper 30s,” he added.

The only other Lady Bulldog competing at the state meet was Christina Zollman, who was also  in the shot put, placing 11th with a toss of 31-2, which was a new PR for her.

“Christina grew a ton over the season, and I expect some strong performances from her during the outdoor season,” Montanez said.

For the Bulldogs, Halen Strom was the top finisher as he also placed third in shot put with a strong throw of 48-6.25.

“Halen showed impressive composure throughout his competition on Friday afternoon,” Montanez said. After Strom scratched three times at the Park County meet the week before Montanez stated that, “We adjusted some elements of the way he competes, and Halen took this as a challenge and rose to the occasion.” Also competing for Lovell in the shot put was Tazz McArthur, who had a toss of 40-7.50, which placed him 13th. 

Nate Cornia earned his place on the podium at the state meet by finishing eighth in the triple jump with a mark of 37-7.25, then placing 13th in the long jump with a jump of 18-1.50. Montanez stated that Cornia was the busiest athlete at the state meet, competing in three events and performing very well. Anthony Garcia also competed in the long jump with a leap of 15-9 to finish in 25th place. 

Hunter Krei was the third Bulldog to get on the podium as he ran an excellent race in a very competitive 55-meter sprint, placing fourth in 6.69 seconds and was just .03 seconds from the first-place finisher Zane Howes of Burns/Pine Bluffs, who ran 6.66. Montanez said that it was “an awesome race to watch, and the field of runners was so close while crossing the finish line that it was impossible to sort out just by watching.”

Cornia, competing in his third event of the state meet, placed 15th with a time of 7.04, Jacob Thomas placed 19th in 7.15 seconds and Garcia was right behind him 20th place with a time of 7.18.

Thomas also ran both the 400 and 800 meters, placing 11th in the 400 meters with a good time of 55.29 and 15th in the 800 meters in 2:15.96.

Overall, Montanez was “very pleased with the way our athletes competed this weekend.” He added that “this was only the fourth competition of the season for most of these athletes, and the stakes were very high.” As the indoor season comes to an end, Montanez wanted to “thank the volunteer coaches who were integral to any success our athletes had this season. Since I am the only official coach for the indoor track and field program, it would be impossible to properly prepare, motivate and train the 23 athletes who participated this year without help.” He continued, “I would like to thank and acknowledge volunteer coaches Lindsay Lindsay, Chad Lindsay, Gavin Robertson, Josh Sanders and Caleb Sanders for the time they gave to help our athletes.”

The Lovell track and field athletes will transition to the outdoor season right away with practice having begun on Monday, March 9, and the first competition at the Cody Invitational on March 27.