Shorthanded Bulldogs produce strong results in Cody

Though short in numbers, the Lovell High School track and field team got off to a strong start for the 2026 season at the Cody Invitational last Friday.

Head coach Joshua Sanders estimated that the team was perhaps at 30 percent capacity due to the previous week’s spring break and other issues, which left many team members without enough practices to compete in a meet.

With limited numbers, the Lovell boys placed fifth with 61 points and the girls sixth with 28 points.

Still, there were some strong performances, with several personal records set and athletes qualifying for the state track meet.

Coaches selected junior Celeste Lindsay as the female athlete of the week for her performance in Cody. Lindsay won the shot put with a throw of 37-7½ – two feet over the state qualification mark. Her winning throw was the second longest all-time throw in LHS history, a record set by Summer Teter at 38-7¼ in 2024.

Lindsay also placed second in the discus with a toss of 106-9.

“We’re talking about a girl who couldn’t compete last year because of an injury (knee during basketball season),” Sanders said. “What a great story about a girl who came out firing like that. She had a strong indoor season, which serves as a springboard to the outdoor season.

“I’m just happy she’s able to compete again. It was hard for her to sit around last year, especially knowing what she can do.”

Freshman Myles May had a strong high school debut, placing sixth in the 200-meter intermediate hurdles in a time of 18.36.

“That puts her fifth on the all-time freshman list (at LHS),” Sanders said. “She has a lot of agility and coordination. Her speed will develop this year.”

May also placed sixth in the triple jump, sailing 29-10¾, tied with fellow freshman Gracie Angell.

“Gracie is a girl that works hard and is not afraid to push herself,” Sanders noted. “I think they both will be good contributors this year.

Other results for the LHS girls in Cody are:

100m dash – Brooklin Clark 17th, 14.83, Myles May 20th, 14.92, Jaycie Allen 30th, 15.60, Lindsey Scheid-Leonhardt 32nd, 15.69, Sofia Khan 42nd, 16.72, Bostyn Tippetts 47th, 19.26, Isabella Martinez 48th, 20.16; 400m dash – Eliza Wagner 11th, 1:11.75; 800 meters – Gracie Angell 18th, 2:56.12; long jump – May 14th, 13-3½, Jaycie Allen 22nd, 12-2½, Khan 23rd, 11-11; discus – Christina Zollman 15th, 79-3, Caitlyn Allen 28th, 65-1; shot put – Zollman 14th, 28-2 ½, Caitlyn Allen 28th, 24-1.

Newman shines

It was an easy choice for the male athlete of the week. Senior Matthew Newman qualified for four events at the state track meet in his first meet of the season.

“That’s impressive,” Sanders said. “He’s the core of our team. He’s a dedicated athlete. Besides the fact that he’s talented, he enjoys competing.”

Newman won the triple jump, hitting the sand at 43-9 and qualifying for State by nearly three feet. He also won the 110-meter high hurdles in a time of 15.65, qualifying by more than a second.

Newman placed third in the long jump at 20-11 and fourth in the 100-meter in 11.63, qualifying for State in both.

“This is another year for Matthew to figure out what he’ll do best. He can do lots of things very, very well,” Sanders said. “Narrowing down the four events (for State) will be a challenge.”

Sophomore Hunter Krei qualified for State in the 100-meter dash, placing third in a time of 11.50.

“Hunter is probably our fastest kid, and his time put him at number two for sophomores (at LHS),” Sanders said. “Our challenge for him is finding ways to build him up but avoid a significant injury.”

Halen Strom started his senior season by qualifying for State in both the shot put and discus. He beat the shot put standard by more than four feet and placed third in the event with a toss of 50-10 ½, just four inches off his PR. He also placed third in the discus, throwing 135-10.

“Fifty feet is one of those benchmarks (in the shot put),” Sanders said, “so that is significant.”

Senior Tazz McArthur was also strong in the throws. He placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 128-7 and seventh in the shot put at 43-4.

“He had a strong season last year, and I anticipate he’ll have an even better season this year,” Sanders said.

Senior Jacob Thomas placed third in the 800 meters, running the two laps in 2:11.63, a personal record.

“It was good to see him get that (time),” Sanders said. “He’ll progress, and we’ll see if we can get him under 2:05.”

Other results for the LHS boys in Cody are:

100m dash – Nate Cornia 19th, 12.04, Anthony Garcia 29th, 12.25, Robert Capers 58th, 13.30, Karson Seitz 66th, 13.71, Brandon Jasso 74th, 14.04; 1,600 meters – Rick Jensen 14th, 5:52.48, Gabriel Buchholz 18th, 6:02.24; long jump – Seitz 21st, 16-4½, Capers 22nd, 16-3½, Jasso 36th, 14-4½; discus – Kyle Wilson 17th, 103-9, Sam Cordova 22nd, 97-8, Christian Garcia 36th, 84-4, Gage Pillow 62nd, 61-11; shot put – Cordova 43rd, 30-4½, Pillow 60th, 25-8, C. Garcia 61st, 25-4½.

Worland meet

The Bulldogs will travel to Worland today (Thursday) for the annual D&D Invitational. Field and running events begin at 1:30 p.m. The LA Kohnke Invitational follows in Powell on Saturday, April 11.