Dogies qualify in three more events

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The annual Buffalo Twilight meet Friday afternoon and evening was a good one for head coach Chad Ostenson’s track crew. Several personal bests were achieved, and Shelby Tidyman added to her state slate while Gunner Ramsey made an impression with his first foray into an all-individual meet by qualifying in two events. 
“It was a great day for us,” said Ostenson. “Shelby crushed the 200 and Gunner was impressive. We decided to see what he could do and he qualified in two of his events and was close in the other two as well.”
Ramsey usually mans one of the legs of any of three relay races, but this week he got to try his hand — or rather feet — at four individual events. It was his first time running the open 100 and 200, as well as the first long jump competition of his career. 
He opened up strong, finishing fourth overall in the 100 Meter Dash with a 3A State qualifying time of 11.65 and was the first 3A athlete to cross the finish line. He also cleared six feet in the high jump for the first time this season to add that event to his state slate. 
In the 200 Meter, he was a mere .25 of a second short of qualification with his seventh-place finish of 23.71. Once again, he was the first 3A athlete to cross the finish line. In the long jump, the senior soared 19 feet, 8½ inches, so was less than a foot short of the qualifying mark. 
“We are going to have to think about how to adjust as we head into this week,” Ostenson said. “We have some other kids who we can put into relays and still be all right, so we may have to do that to free Gunner up for his individual events.”
Tidyman rose to the challenge of a mixed-class race finishing third in the 200 Meter Dash, clocking in at 27.55 and punching her ticket to the state meet in her second event. In doing so, she cut nearly a quarter of a second off her previous best time, and was the first 3A runner to cross the finish line by about a second. 
She also had another good showing in the 100 Meter Race which she qualified for last week, finishing ninth overall but second in the 3A ranks. Tidyman had another ninth-place finish with her 15 feet, 4 inch leap in the long jump, but once again was second against 3A competition. 
“Shelby had a heck of a run in the 200,” Ostenson said. “That’s a tough race, but she looked strong coming around the corner.”
Jaylen Ostenson cut nearly .10 of a second off her time in the 100 Meter Hurdle and crossed the finish line in eighth place. Her 17.35 finish was the third best in 3A, as two runners from Buffalo got the better of her. The same two Lady Bison were the only 3A competition to outrun Ostenson in the 300 Meter Hurdle where she finished seventh with a time of 50.46.
“Jaylen took time off her 100 hurdles, and was close to her best time in the 300,” Ostenson stated. “Buffalo has a good set of hurdlers, and our conference is just tough overall in the hurdles. It will be a battle.”
Tara Carter was the final Lady Dogie to score points for her team as she finished fourth in the two mile run with a time of 15:23.05. Overall, the four girls competing for Newcastle garnered 14 points on the day to tie for ninth place.
The Dogie men scored 59 points, which put them in eighth place overall. Those who joined Gunner Ramsey in posting points for their team included Zach Purviance and Tristan Troftgruben, who finished eighth and ninth respectively in the 800 Meter Run with a mere .11 of a second difference between them. Only one 3A runner did better than them, with Purviance coming across the line in 2:07.06 and Troftgruben in 2:07.17.
Bridger Alishouse was seventh overall and the second 3A runner with his 11:44.42 finish in the mile run. Though he did not score points for the team, Teegan Hatheway was just two places behind Alishouse with his 11:53.71 finish.
Grayson Ramsey and Dylan Drost finished seventh (43.76) and eighth (44.02) respectively in the 300 Meter Hurdle with only two 3A runners ahead of them, and Christian Santos was seventh in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 10 inches. 
Though shot putters didn’t score any points for the team, Jacob Prell, Alex Peterson, Aidan Gorman and Xavin Gallardo all threw personal best distances on the day. 
“Our shot putters had a great day with most of them PRing, and there was some good competition up there,” Ostenson began. “Grayson and Dylan both ran well and took time off their PRs in the hurdles so that was awesome.”
The Dogie relay teams took the absence of Gunner Ramsey in stride as Drost and McConkey filled in his position in the 4x400 Meter and 1600 Sprint Medley relay teams.
Grayson Ramsey, Troftgruben, Drost and Purviance filled out the 4x4 and finished second behind Sheridan in 3:39.23, while McConkey, Grayson Ramsey, Purviance and Troftgruben made up the sprint medley and were third in 3:53.19 behind Thunder Basin and Buffalo. 
“Our medley team did well with the switch and they even had a problem with one of their handoffs,” Ostenson explained. “The baton was dropped in the 200 to 200 exchange between Holden and Grayson, but it stayed in the lane so we were able to finish the relay and not be disqualified. That took some seconds off, so their time was pretty good considering.”
This week is the final competition of the regular season, and the Dogies will be traveling to Torrington on Friday which will give them the opportunity to run on the regional meet track venue prior to that culminating event next week.