(Lander, WY) – The fast-moving front that hit Lander Thursday morning and Riverton an hour later found its way across the desert to Casper just as the all-class state track meet got underway at 2 p.m.
The athletes were “treated” to high winds, rain, sleet, hail, and finally snow as temperatures dropped to 35 degrees on the track. You have to be tough to compete in track and field in Wyoming.
With conditions deteriorating rapidly in the late afternoon, meet officials moved the 100 and 110-meter high-hurdle preliminaries to Friday morning, moving the original schedule ahead by 30 minutes. They moved all the remaining field events to various times on Saturday.
Despite the horrible conditions, the boys and girls of Fremont County competed well, not just against competitors from other schools, but from the weather as well.
Lander’s phenomenal distance runner Dorothy Jensen ran away from the field in the Class 3-A 3200-meter run with an outstanding time of 10:54.90, only seven seconds off the 3-A record set in 2018, which many thought was unreachable, by Sydney Thorvaldson of Rawlins and later the University of Arkansas.
Shoshoni freshman Alyssa Good finished second in the 3200 with a time of 12:17.68, trailing Big Horn’s Lyla Marney, who set a new 2-A record in a time of 11:01.06.
Wyoming Indian’s Dai’Onna Posey was sixth in 12:43.89, and her teammate Colton Sun Rhodes was also sixth in the boys’ division with a 10:49.47.
Lander senior Logan Milek raced well, leading the 3-A race early and finishing third in 9:58.34.
Senior Wesley Underwood had the highest finish in the young history of Fort Washakie track and field with a third place in the 1-A division in the 3200 with a time of 10:34.81.
In the long jump, three athletes from Fremont County reached the awards stand.
Lander’s Finn McFadden was fourth with a leap of 20-5.25.
The Shoshoni long jumping duo of Sawyer Arnhold and Addie Mason finished sixth and eighth, respectively. The Lady Wranglers are currently in second place in team points, just two points behind Big Horn.
Shoshoni’s sprint medley with Katie Edwards, Arnhold, Mason, and Good was third in 4:41.88, and Lander’s medley of Eliza Scott, Cassidy Shaffer, Ava Gerlach, and Katy Anderosn was second in 4:24.26.
The Wyoming Indian medley relay team of Ron McElroy, Aven Posey, Kaiden Moss, and Marley Underwood was seventh in 4:09.80, and the Lander Tiger medley team of Brooks Even, Jaxson Butler, Ryne Robinson, and Logan Heller was fifth in 3:53.34.
The weather is predicted to be much better on Friday and Saturday.
Lander senior Ava Gerlach helped a runner from Rawlins with her number – Randy Tucker 
Riverton’s Marshall Walton in the 3200 – Randy Tucker Riverton’s Samantha Krantz in the 3200 – Randy Tucker Anastasia Nowland in the 3200 – Randy Tucker Katy Anderson sprints home on the 800 meter leg of the sprint medley relay – Randy Tucker
