Dogies host Laura Chord Memorial

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
It’s been four years since Newcastle has been able to host the Laura Chord Memorial Track Meet, due to the track being buried under feet of snow or to COVID-19, so head coach Chad Ostenson was thrilled to be able to make it happen this season.
The Dogies and Lady Dogies chose to sit out their first scheduled track meet a week and a half ago, so it was the first time on the track and field for the teams on Friday, and Ostenson admitted being quite pleased with the performance of his crew. 
“We did pretty good, and it was nice to have the weather hold off just long enough to get all the events in before it got nasty,” he chuckled. “Mike [Gregory], Beau [Gregory] and Carrie [Murphy], along with everyone else who helped out on the day, did a great job of putting things together.”
Clayton and Sally Chord, along with their daughter Katrina Huft, were also on hand for the meet held in honor of their daughter Laura. 
Shelby Tidyman made her varsity debut as a sophomore, finishing third in the open 200 meter race with a time of 28.94, third in the long jump leaping 14 feet, 5 inches, and fifth in the 100 Meter Dash in 13.78. 
“Shelby is just so fast that a lot of the speed she carries in the long jump does her well. We have a ways to go with form and technique, but it was a pretty good preliminary jump,” Ostenson analyzed. “The 100 and 200 are right in her wheelhouse, and I think there’s going to be nothing but time drops for her as she gets into the season.”
Jaylen Ostenson also had a good day in her first varsity meet, finishing fourth in the 300 Meter Hurdles in 51.66, fifth in the 100 Meter Hurdles with a time of 18.48 and third in the discus throw with a toss of 89-01.
“Jaylen had a pretty decent day in the hurdles. Both she and I were a little disappointed in her 100 finish, but were pretty pleased with how the 300 turned out. There’s definitely room to take some time off,” Ostenson began. “It was her last throw of the day that got her the 89-01, and I was pleasantly surprised.” 
Newcomer Sierra Blaney also had some skills to show her coach as she came in sixth in the discus throw with a lob of 79-07. Tiernan Stanton showed off her strength in the shotput, finishing third by hurling the shot 32 feet, 2 inches. 
“That’s where Tiernan really shines,” Ostenson nodded. “You wouldn’t think it with how tall and skinny she is, but she is really pretty strong, and when she gets everything going, it’ll be good.”
Holden McConkey, also a sophomore, had some talent to display as he claimed fifth in the 100 meter run in 12.47 and 10th in the 200 meter with a time of 25.28. Though he scratched in his three attempts at the long jump, a courtesy measure had him leaping 19 and a half feet. 
McConkey also ran the anchor leg of the 4x100 Meter Relay, taking fourth place with a time of 47.67 with the other members of the four-
by-one,  seniors Gunner Ramsey, Grayson Ramsey and Dylan Drost. 
Zach Purviance and Tristan Troftgruben went one, two in the 800 meter run with times of 2:08.83 and 2:09.50, respectively.
“Those were both good runs,” Ostenson nodded. “There’s time to be taken off but it was good to get a baseline of where they are, and with Zach and Tristan, it was really a race between the two of them. It was good they were both in to push each other.”
Bridger Alishouse had a nice run in the 1600 meter race finishing second with a time of 5:21.06. Ostenson admitted that he doesn’t spend a great deal of time with the distance runners on a daily basis, so it was a nice surprise for him to see Alishouse perform so well. 
In the two mile, Teegan Hatheway had a strong run, especially for a freshman in his first time out in varsity track. He finished fourth in the race in 11:49.88.
Grayson Ramsey took fourth in the 300 Meter Hurdles race in 48.27, with Drost hot on his heels finishing sixth in 50.50. 
“That was Dylan’s first time running it so I was very happy with how he did,” Ostenson acknowledged. “The 300 hurdles is a big boy’s race so I was pleased with how both of them did in that.”
The 4x400 meter relay team of Gunner and Grayson Ramsey, Jacob Prell and Purviance finished first in a commanding fashion with a time of 3:54.59, a full nine seconds ahead of the next team. 
“That is the tough guys’ race and it is the relay that closes out the running events, so it’s kind of a big deal,” Ostenson explained. “There are six or seven guys chomping at the bit to get on that team, so that will be a good motivator to keep those guys cutting time.”
The 1600 Meter Sprint Medley Relay consists of two 200 meter, one 400 meter and one 800 meter legs. Gunner Ramsey led off that race and handed off to his brother, Grayson, for the 200 meter legs. Troftgruben took on the 400 and Purviance anchored with the 800. There were two heats of the race, and the Dogies finished first in theirs, however ended up second overall finishing four seconds behind the team from Thunder Basin.
“I should have had them in a faster heat to run against Thunder Basin,” Ostenson admitted. “That’s another good crew there with the Ramsey brothers and Tristan and Zach.” 
Gunner Ramsey finished second in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 8 inches.
“That was a pretty good start for Gunner,” Ostenson stated. “His previous best was 6 feet, 0 inches at regionals as a sophomore. He has only jumped three or four times so far this year, so I am looking for some good things from him this year.”
Travis Scribner was a pleasant surprise for Ostenson in the shotput as the junior tossed the shot 35 feet 10 and a half inches to claim fifth place on the day. Jacob Prell finished 10th, with Alex Peterson right behind in 11th. The two threw 33 feet, 9 and a half inches and 33 feet, 3 and a half inches respectively.
In the discus, Braden Jenkins and his brother Skyler Jenkins took seventh and 10th, respectively. Braden had a nice 103-feet-eight-inch throw and Skyler tossed it 96 feet,
6 inches. 
This week the team heads to Wheatland on Thursday where Ostenson expects to see a few more 3A teams.