Back-to-back, it has a nice ring to it, and with the preponderance of underclassmen on the Lander Valley girls’ track team, there might be a few more championship trophies ahead.
The Lady Tigers dominated the Class 3-A state track meet, nearly doubling second-place Cody with 149 team points.
Lander had their stars, junior Adelyn Anderson setting a new 3-A record in the discus and shattering the shot put mark with a new all-class standard. Sophomore Paisley Hollingshead won the high jump and took second in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles and the long jump. The Lander 4×800 meter relay of Katy Anderson, Ameya Eddy, Dorothy Jensen, and Daisy Goklish won the event by 50 meters to round out the Tiger gold.
Gold medals are great, but they don’t win state championships without help, lots of help.
There are six ways to score in a track meet (six categories): sprints, hurdles, jumps, throws, relays, and distance.
The Lady Tigers didn’t win gold in any distance race, but the girls running the 800, 1600, and 3200-meter races combined to score 44 points.
Highlighted by Daisy Goklish, Ameya Eddy, Dorothy Jensen, and Eliza Scott all placing in the 800-meter run, it was no surprise that they combined to run away from the field for gold in the 4×800-meter relay.
Jensen and Eddy added points in the 1600 and 3200, with Eddy second in the 1600 and Jensen runner-up in the 3200.
An impressive showing on a remarkable team coached by Josie Rounds.
There are 18 events in a track meet. The Lady Tigers placed girls in 16 of them, all aside from the triple jump and the sprint-medley relay.
Ella Giesmann had a great start in the 100, moving from eighth after the prelims to fourth in the finals. She added a seventh in the 200-meter dash.
Goklish tallied a relay championship, a relay third-place finish with Ava Gerlach, Eliza Scott, and Katy Anderson, but a pair of second-place finishes.
In the open, 400 Goklish led Gerlach and Scott, placing three Lady Tigers on the podium in track and field’s most grueling race.
Lander tallied 23 points in the jumps, with Hollingshead going one-two in the high and long jumps. Lady Tiger vaulters Alexa Colman and Giesman tied for sixth, scoring a combined five points.
Scott, Colman, Lily Grundey, and Giesmann ran 51.36 in the 4×100-meter relay to finish fifth.
Though Lander had the state title sewn up long before the final event of the meet, the 4×400-meter relay, the team showed how grit and talent can combine to win championships in the final performance of the meet.
The 3-A girls’ 4×400 was a fast relay this year. Lander’s first three runners, Gerlach, Anderson, and Scott, had the team in a close fifth place when Goklish took the baton. She gradually gained on Powell’s anchor leg runner, with the duo battling down the final 60 meters of the race. Goklish lunged at the line, delivering a bronze medal for her team by .07 seconds.
Girls Results
100 Meter Dash: 1. Brooklyn Asmus, TOR 12.43, 4. Ella Giesmann, LAN 13.27
200 Meter Dash: 1. Brooklyn Asmus, TOR 25.38, 7. Ella Giesmann, LAN 27.68
400 Meter Dash: 1. Audry Johnson, POW 59.07, 2. Daisy Goklish, LAN 1:00.49, 3. Ava Gerlach, LAN 1:01.07, 8. Eliza Scott, LAN 1:03.78
800 Meter Run: 1. Madison Antonino, PIN 2:21.68, 2. Daisy Goklish, LAN 2:22.29, 5. Ameya Eddy, LAN 2:23.78, 6. Dorothy Jensen, LAN 2:24.16, 8. Katy Anderson, LAN 2:25.10
1600 Meter Run: 1. Madison Antonino, PIN 5:06.86, 2. Ameya Eddy, LAN 5:15.26, 3. Dorothy Jensen, LAN 5:17.75
3200 Meter Run: 1. Madison Antonino, PIN 11:08.88, 2. Dorothy Jensen, LAN 11:27.43, 3. Ameya Eddy, LAN 11:28.43
100 Meter Hurdles: 1. Jaden Meyer, DOU 14.92, 2. Paisley Hollingshead, LAN 15.13
300 Meter Hurdles: 1. Jaden Meyer, DOU 43.88, 2. Paisley Hollingshead, LAN 45.99
4×100 Meter Relay: 1. Torrington 49.41, 5. Lander (Eliza Scott, Alexa Colman, Lily Grundey, Ella Giesmann) 51.36
4×400 Meter Relay: 1. Douglas 4:09.54, 3. Lander (Ava Gerlach, Katy Anderson, Eliza Scott, Daisy Goklish) 4:13.21
4×800 Meter Relay: 1. Lander (Katy Anderson, Ameya Eddy, Daisy Goklish, Dorothy Jensen)
Sprint Medley Relay: 1. Worland 4:21.41
High Jump: 1. Paisley Hollingshead, LAN 5-5
Pole Vault: 1. Brynn Bach, COD 11-0, 6. Alexa Colman / Ella Giesmann, LAN 9-0
Long Jump: 1. Adalyn Olson, NEW 17-2, 2. Paisley Hollingshead, LAN 16-11.75
Triple Jump: 1. Avery Walker, LOV 37-10
Shot Put: 1. Adelyn Anderson, LAN 49-7.75, 7. Daegan Reinhardt, LAN 34-4.5
Discus: 1. Adelyn Anderson, LAN 154-9, 7. Daegan Reinhardt, LAN 117-5