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It wasn’t double vision, but something more last weekend at Harry Geldien Stadium at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper.
The triple jump, often considered the afterthought of jumping events when compared to the high jump and long jump, took center stage in the boys’ competition.
It began on Friday when senior Quincy Paris, of Midwest, shattered the all-class triple jump record with a leap of 48-10 in the Class 1-A boys’ competition. There aren’t many all-class records from the 1-A ranks; in fact, there aren’t any.
Paris has jumped well for the last three years, regularly winning meets with distances of 44 to 46 feet, but last Friday at noon was different.
There was no wind, so detractors couldn’t claim anything was wind-aided. There was very little wind in Casper this entire weekend, a miracle in itself if you’ve ever been to Natrona County.
The Midwest Oiler had the best jump ever recorded, the new state standard for all four classes. He had it for less than 24 hours.
Later on Friday, Lovell junior Matthew Newman flirted with a new mark in the Class 3-A competition. At around 3:45 on Friday afternoon, Newman popped one, a great jump. The officials called out 47-5.5, which would have tied the state record set by Charlie Klinger 30 years ago when Star Valley was in Class 3-A.
When a record is set, the officials running the event are swarmed by WHSAA officials who pore over every aspect of the performance. In doing so, WHSAA officials didn’t like where the end of the tape was set in the sand of the jumping pit and moved it ever so much. It was enough to take a half-inch off Newman’s jump. He was still the state champion, but he missed the class record by a half-inch.
A roar came up from a big group of boys and girls in orange and black uniforms just after the 100-meter and 110-meter high-hurdle finals were completed on Saturday morning.
Gage Brooks, a senior at Natrona County High School, hit a solid mark in the triple jump, flying deep into the pit.
When the officials running the event shut it down briefly for the WHSAA officials to meet and confer, the Natrona County kids went insane, screaming, “It’s a record!” They knew what a gathering of meet officials meant.
A minute later, it was announced “Brooks, 49-3.” It was a new all-class record, eclipsing the jump by Paris the previous afternoon by five inches.
Brooks didn’t get much of a chance to celebrate on his record-breaking leap on his third and final attempt in the preliminaries.
Top-seeded Landon Walker, Brook’s rival in the event since middle school, sprinted down the runway, hit the board perfectly, nailed all three phases of the jump, and landed well into the pit. This time, it was the Kelly Walsh kids who roared while the Natrona County crowd was silent.
The officials scurried over again, and after a few minutes, verified the effort. A new state mark of 50-10.
Neither Walker nor Brooks approached their previous mark in the finals, and Wyoming now has a new all-class triple jump record. People were already saying this was a mark that would never be broken, but that’s a ridiculous statement. Records are made to be broken.
Lander standout Gage Gose set the 300-meter hurdle record in 2023 with a blistering 36.03. Fans two years ago made the same statement: it will never be broken. But, and there’s always a but, if you’re a track fan, there is a sophomore at Kemmerer High School who has the fastest time ever run at the state meet in the event in Class 2-A. Cole Rogers set a new standard in both hurdle events over the weekend with a 37.48 in the 300s and a 14.52 in the 110-meter highs. Brendan Ames of Cheyenne Central holds the 110 record, set in 2007 at 13.73, but Rogers is within striking distance of both.
Rogers is just a sophomore. Boys always get faster as they mature. We should all look for this amazing athlete over the next two seasons.
Speaking of amazing, we don’t have to go far to find an amazing athlete right in our midst. Lander junior Adelyn Anderson set the Class 3-A shot put record a year ago at 44 feet and change. This year, her sights were a bit higher, and she shattered the all-class shot record with a spinning effort of 49-7.75. She beat Natrona County’s Bailee Gibson’s mark in the shot and flirted with Gibson’s discus record.
Anderson has another year, and while her discus record at state trails Gibson by five feet, she threw 161 last weekend in Powell at the 3-A West Regional.
In Wyoming, a state record can only be set at the state meet.
Track is a timeless sport. In other sports, people can speculate whether a team from 1975 could win the title in 2025, or whether a running back or outside hitter was better than anyone before, but that is pure conjecture. On the track, it’s the tape measure and the stopwatch that decide who is the best that ever was.
Watching Riverton senior Davian Spoonhunter drop his time in the 3200-meter run over the last four years has been a study in talent and hard work.
Spoonhunter ran 9:51.39 on Thursday afternoon in the Class 4-A 3200-meter run. That time would have won the 2023 meet by 21 seconds and the 2022 by 24. He would have been third just a year ago at the 2024 meet.
Spoonhunter finished 11th last Thursday.
That’s just the nature of track and field. From year to year, some events are filled with competitors vying to take a state title and possibly set a new standard, while in other years, events are much more pedestrian.
There weren’t many pedestrian events in 2025. The field was full of talented athletes and relay teams in all 18 events.
Jase Burton of Star Valley exemplified the fickle nature of track and field. The senior set a goal and hammered it this year, running the fastest time ever recorded in the metric two-mile, as the 3200 is often called. His time of 9:16.08 is nationally ranked, and unlike the distance guys in California, Texas, New York, or just about anywhere else, Wyoming runners do it at high altitude.
It’s usually rain, hail, or snow falling at the state meet, but this year it was state records.
Lyla Marney set a new one in the Class 2-A girls 3200 at 11:22.75. The Fillies of Natrona County ran 47.81 to win the 4×100-meter relay in record time.
Kemmerer standout Laynee Walker cleared 11-2 to set a new 2-A standard in the pole vault. Laramie’s Flynn Arnold set a new mark with a blazing 47.47 in the 400.
Is it any wonder that Big Horn is a powerhouse in Class 2-A football? The Rams set a new 2-A record in the 4×100 with legs by Noah Smith, Dane Brown, Owen Petty and Cruz Hernandez.
The Star Valley Braves ran the fastest 4×800-meter relay ever recorded in Wyoming with Burton running the anchor leg. 7:51.72 is an amazing time to cover 3200 meters, even with a relay.
Wyoming has trailed many states in the pole vault, but no longer. Kavin Hoff of NC cleared 16-1, a good height no matter the state.
That’s a lot of records in a lot of classes and in a lot of events. There were a “lot” of talented athletes on the green, 400-meter oval at Harry Geldien Stadium this year.