Two more school records go down for LHS track

The majority of the Lovell High School track and field squad made the short trip to Cowley for the Rocky Mountain Invitational Saturday, while three members also qualified for the Wyoming Track and Field Classic best-of-the-best meet in Casper Friday.
Senior Adnan Khan and sophomores Matthew Newman and Owen Walker attended the Track Classic Friday, and Newman, especially, rose to the level of competition. Newman placed fourth in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and in doing so not only beat his personal record, he broke a 34-year-old school record.
Newman’s time of 40.03 broke the record of 40.87 set by Jim Franckowiak in 1990. He also competed in the triple jump and placed second with a leap of 43-10¾, a personal record.
“Matthew did well in the home stretch (of the 300 hurdles),” Lovell head coach Joshua Sanders said. “Some of the others went out too strong, which can happen with really good competition and a high-profile meet. He was feeling powerful and was really strong in the home stretch.”
Khan placed sixth in the triple jump at 41-5¾, slightly down from his jumps in recent weeks.
“Adnan wasn’t having his best day. There are some technical errors I hope we can fix by Regionals,” Sanders said.
Walker competed in the high jump and tied for fifth place, clearing 6-2.
“I think he was hoping he’d do better,” Sanders said. “His approach was off.”
In Cowley the next day, senior Blake Wilson had a strong day and was named the LHS male athlete of the week. He won the triple jump with a personal-record leap of 41-6¼, placed fourth in the 400-meter dash at 56.97 and placed eighth in the 100-meter dash in 12.20.
“He’s been wanting to get a little more height in his jumps,” Sanders noted. “He’s been a little flat in the triple, so there’s been a push for more height. He’s been long jumping, and that has helped.
“This year is the best he’s been jumping in his career.”
Five Bulldogs have now qualified for the state track meet in the horizontal jumps – Walker, Newman, Gavin Robertson, Khan and Wilson – with Newman and Khan qualifying in both the long jump and triple jump. Saturday, Robertson, a junior, placed second in the long jump, hitting the sand at 20-½, freshman Nate Cornia placed fourth at 18-11, a personal record, and senior Parker Anderson placed sixth at 17-9½.
In the triple jump, Cornia placed third at 37-1½, junior Jarrett Allen seventh at 34-5.
“I think having as many jumpers as we have who are doing well has motivated all of them to be the best that they can be,” Sanders said.
Brothers Parker and Kaeson Anderson battled in the high jump Saturday. Kaeson tied for first place by clearing 5-10, a personal record, and Parker tied for third place, clearing a personal record 5-8.
“Both Kaeson and Parker did a fantastic job in the high jump. They’ve been working hard to get better,” Sanders said. “Kaeson has been focusing on his takeoff and making sure that is solid.”
Junior Taggart Shumway continued to perform well in the pole vault, clearing 11-6 to place fourth, and junior Talon Burton tied for sixth at 10 feet.
In the throws, sophomore Halen Strom placed second in the shot put with a personal-record throw of 43-10, and he won the discus at 137-6.
“He’s having a stellar year,” Sanders said. “He missed (qualifying for) the Track Classic barely, like by half a foot (discus), and Gavin missed it by a quarter inch (in the long jump).”
In running events, Robertson tied with Ty Strohschein of Riverside to win the 100-meter dash in 11.55, and he set a personal record in the 200-meter dash at 22.97, good for second place just behind Strohschein (22.73).
“That’s a huge PR for him,” Sanders said. “That’s pretty good getting into the 22s.”
Sophomore Jacob Thomas ran the 400-meter dash for the first time this season and placed third, running the single lap in 56.72.
“I liked his 400,” Sanders said. “He’s not a 400-meter guy, but he ran a good 400.”
Senior AJ Clark ran a personal record in the 800 meters and placed fourth in 2:14.15, and sophomore David Durfee was sixth in 2:17.83 (PR), Thomas eighth in 2:20.27.
Junior Stetson Asay ran well in the 3,200 meters, Sanders said, and although his time was not officially recorded due to a timing error at the meet, distance coach Caleb Sanders recorded a handheld time of 11:31, which would be a personal record.
“I have been so pleased with him,” Joshua Sanders said. “A lot of our distance guys have been putting in a lot of work. They’re motivated and have fantastic attitudes.”
Kaeson Anderson placed fifth in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 18.30, and the 400-meter relay team of Burton, Kaeson Anderson, Shumway and Cornia placed second in 48.35.
The 3,200-meter relay team of Clark, Thomas, Durfee and Asay placed second in a time of 9:21.13.

Other boys results at the Rocky Mountain meet were:
100m dash – Parker Anderson 17th, 12.77, Jarrett Allen 25th, 13.44, Owen Edwards 26th, 13.46 (PR), Dean Anderson 29th, 13.59, Robert Capers 30th, 13.80 (PR), Jett Hessenthaler 31st, 13.97; 200m dash – Nate Cornia 11th, 25.58 (PR), Talon Burton 13th, 26.00 (PR), Taggart Shumway 14th, 26.28 (PR), Edwards 20th, 27.90, Capers 22nd, 28.42 (PR), Hessenthaler 23rd, 28.98; 400m dash – Capers 12th, 1:12.09; 1,600 meters – Damian Wagner 10th, 5:44.76, Thane Zollman 12th, 6:02.37, Jaxen Clark 13th, 6:17.55; long jump – Capers 15th, 16-5¼ (PR), Dean Anderson 17th, 16-3½; pole vault ­– Edwards tie-10th, 9-0; shot put – Tazz McArthur 14th, 34-2, Kyle Wilson 17th, 33-0, Sam Cordova tie-23rd, 28-11; discus – McArthur 10th, 108-11 (PR), Kyle Wilson 11th, 106-3, Cordova 20th, 85-3, Dean Anderson 26th, 78-9, Allen 27th, 77-1.
The Lovell boys placed second Saturday with a team score of 134 points, trailing only Powell with 204.5 points and finishing ahead of Burlington, Riverside, Rocky Mountain, Meeteetse and Greybull.

Lindsay school record
There was also a school record broken in the girls competition. Senior Carissa Lindsay broke her own school record in the shot put set earlier in the season with a throw of 37-1. Her previous best at the Cody meet was 36-6. Lindsay’s 37-foot throw placed her second behind only Katie O’Brien of Powell, who threw 39-11.
“We’ve never had anyone go 37 (feet). That’s a big deal,” Sanders said. “That’s the first time I’ve seen that number.”
Senior Summer Teter tied her personal record in the shot put, placing third at 34-11, and freshman Celeste Lindsay placed seventh at 31 feet.
Carissa Lindsay also placed second in the discus with a toss of 110-9, and sister Celeste was right with her, placing third at 108-2, a personal record.
The female athlete of the week for the Lady Bulldogs is sophomore Becca Nichols, who won the 800 meters in a time of 2:40.46.
“That’s a better race for her,” Sanders said. “She’s been working on her speed.”
Freshman Kandace Asay placed second in the 800 in 2:44.81, freshman Jenna Hessenthaler fourth in 2:45.81 and senior Keyanna Walker sixth in 2:51.84.
Nichols and Raegan May also ran well in the 100-meter dash, although a timing glitch in the fifth heat did not produce an official time.
Freshman Brooklin Clark was strong once again in the 300-meter low hurdles, placing second in 52.40, just 4/100ths of a second off her personal record.
The foursome of Asay, May, Clark and Nichols placed fourth in the 400-meter relay in a time of 54.43.
Celeste Lindsay tied her personal record in the long jump, placing second with a leap of 15-1. Clark was fourth at 14-7, senior Sadie Wassmer seventh with a personal record jump of 14-2½ and freshman Hannity Felkins ninth with a personal record leap of 13-9.
 Wassmer also set a PR in the triple jump, placing third at 32-5¼.
May competed in the high jump for the first time this season and placed eighth, clearing 4-7.
Other girls results at the Rocky Mountain meet were:
100m dash – Celeste Lindsay 16th, 14.71, Kaitlynn Robison 17th, 14.84, Hannity Felkins 18th, 14.93 (PR), Hallie Cornia 21st, 15.11, Jaelen Mayes 23rd, 15.69, Candace Walker 26th, 16.12 (PR); 200m dash – Cornia 13th, 31.67, Walker 15th, 32.70 (PR), Mayes 16th, 33.08; long jump – Kandace Asay tie-11th, 12-7½ (PR), Robison tie-11th, 12-7½ (PR), Mayes 14th, 12-2; triple jump – Walker 11th, 29-11¼, Cornia 12th, 29-9½, Felkins 13th, 29-1, Jenna Hessenthaler 15th, 28-3½; shot put – Felkins 11th, 28-1 (PR), Ella Spanier 17th, 24-7, Haley Sanders 19th, 23-7; discus – Summer Teter 15th, 84-4, Sanders 17th, 78-5, Spanier 21st, 67-8.
The Lovell girls placed second Saturday with 99 points, trailing only Powell with 234 points and placing ahead of Riverside, Rocky Mountain, Burlington and Greybull.

Thermop meet
The Bulldogs will compete in the final regular season meet of the 2024 season Friday when they travel to Hot Springs County for the 2024 Thermopolis Bobcat Invitational.
The meet begins at 1 p.m. with both field events and running events.
The 3A West Regional meet follows on May 10-11 at Mountain View High School. State track is May 16-18 in Casper.