Tracksters fight against weather at state tourney

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Editor
 
Mother Nature proved once again to Wyoming that she is the boss as the All-Class State Track Meet was pounded with snow, sleet, rain, ice pellets and wind on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Casper. 
“In the years that I have done this, it may have been the worst weather I’ve ever seen at state track,” head coach Chad Ostenson described. “It was miserable on Thursday and Friday, and though it was better on Saturday, it was still pretty awful.”
Athletes competing fought each other and the elements to try to bring home some hardware, and although four Dogies and two Lady Dogies were in the hunt in eight different events, they each fell short of making the podium. 
“It’s hard for the kids to get their marks and get their best work done in that kind of weather, but that’s the way outdoor sports in Wyoming go,” Ostenson said. “For the most part, everyone competed in the same conditions, with the exception of those who enjoyed a break in the weather when their time to compete came up.”
Freshman Thatcher Troftgruben underwent a trial-by-fire, or rather a trial-by-ice, in his inaugural appearance at the Big Dance as he raced the 3200 Meter Run to start things off on Thursday. Despite the horrible weather conditions, he finished just two one-hundredths of a second off his personal best time to place 11th in 10:59.71.
“It was pretty nasty out when Thatcher had to run,” Ostenson said. “He really battled hard and did a great job, especially for being just a freshman.”
Freshman Cage Hardy leapt 5 feet, 8 inches in the High Jump to match his previous best mark, which earned him a 10th-place finish in that event.
“CJ did a great job and matched his PR,” Ostenson reported. “He had one really great attempt at 5-10 where he just barely nicked the bar, so he showed out well.”
The third and final freshman, Sam Scribner, was not able to make it over the barrier in the Pole Vault, so he finished with no height in his debut state appearance.
“They set the bar a foot over Sam’s PR, so he had a challenge right from the start,” Ostenson began. “The cool thing is that he competed and made a good attempt at it, so that is great.”
Senior Braden Jenkins ended up 13th in the Discus Throw with a toss of 106-09. Had he thrown his PR of 122 feet, as he did last week at the regional meet, he still would have been short of the podium as there were some incredible throws on the day. The winner from Lovell got under the disc and threw it more than 174 feet. 
“When Braden was throwing, the snow was really getting after it,” Ostenson explained. “The later heats enjoyed better weather and by finals, the sun was out.”
Juniors Shelby Tidyman and Tiernan Stanton represented the Lady Dogies in four events. 
Tidyman picked up a 15th-place finish in the preliminaries of the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 14.03 seconds, then jumped to a 10th-place finish in the Long Jump, marking a leap of 14 feet, 11 1/2 inches.
“Shelby just missed the finals of the long jump by half an inch,” Ostenson frowned. “Getting to do three more may have moved her up in the standings. And then she had to run the 100 Meter prelims right after she jumped so that may have been a factor there, though she looked good in that race too.”
Stanton was 10th in the Shotput, marking a throw of 32 feet, 1/4 inch, and 14th in the Discus with a 92-foot, 3-inch toss.
“Tiernan hit her PR in the Discus by 25 feet last week, and if it hadn’t been for that throw, her 92-foot throw at state would have been right up there as a personal best, so she competed well,” Ostenson said. “I think she was disappointed in the shot, but it was what it was and she did a nice job there as well. Especially after being just five weeks out of knee surgery.”
The 2022 season was a building year, as much of the team was young or had some injuries, so Ostenson is looking forward to a successful season next year. His team showed growth from week to week putting up PR after PR through the entirety of the season.  
“We only had the one senior in Braden qualify for state this season, so we’ve got some good talent coming back,” Ostenson said. “And we’ve got several underclassmen who were just a hair’s breadth from qualifying so I’m excited for next year.”